Shaddy's Journal

[Shaddy]

So today, I have a new, possibly insane goal. But first, some background:

I learned go when I was ten or so, but didn't take much interest and dropped it. When I was fifteen, I picked it back up and worked my way up slowly and now I'm seventeen and kgs 1-2d. Two years to shodan, I feel, is intolerably slow (since I don't have much to do but go, school, and video games) and so I resolve to make kgs 7d by this time next year. I figure it took me about a year to gain six stones from 6k to 1d, so another year, another six stones, that's within the limits of possibility.

So.. how to achieve this goal? I think the best way is to play an absolutely massive number of games (worked so far) mixed with relatively less joseki and LnD study, so that's what I'll do. I'll do my best to play at least five (probably more) games each day on kgs or wbaduk, and by the time the year is over I resolve to complete at least the xuanxuan qijing. The games will probably be quite fast, I have no need for 30 minutes main time (though that may change as I improve). I guess that's it. On this day next year, July 26, 2011, I'll be 7d or I'll have died trying.

[Li Kao]

Quite the ambition.

[Marcus]

Sounds like fun! Good luck to you!

[gaius]

I hope that you're not serious about this... Ambition is good, but let's be realistic! 1d-7d in one year? Forget it. For example, at 7d KGS you'll be about the level of the Dutch champion. Even if you study more than full-time as insei, no way.

Still, I hope you will make something like KGS 3d in one year. Or even better, play some tournaments, then you'll know your actual real-life rank!

[kokomi]

[usagi]

It's possible.. but you would have to become an insei. Barring that I don't think you would want to do that if you knew what you needed to do to do it.

Here's what it would entail. First quit your school and/or job. Second move away from all your family and friends. Preferably to a place where no one even speaks your language. Those 2 alone will free up a lot of your mind to Go. Third thing you're going to want to work on memorizing an entire different Shūsaku game (or whatever) every day. Or at worst every 2 days. Then comes the tsumego. You're going to want to start at the bottom. You could probably do 50-100 or so a day and then go over them again a few times, but your going to need a system to organize them and run through them. That alone can be expensive. How much value do you place on it? Let's someone offered to sell you a Tsumego system for $3,000. Do you think that is a rip-off or a good value?

Well you could do it yourself, it would take a good few weeks. Do you have that much time in your one year journey?

I'll be honest with you, by this time next year I might be stronger than you. There are all sorts of ways to look at it. Try placing a dollar value on it. How much would you pay to achieve your goal? That's a rough estimation of what you are willing to go through to get it. If the figure is $30,000, I'd say it's doable. Less than $15,000, probably still doable if you quit your school and work and can live with your parents. But difficult.

Anyways you will need a whole study program designed for you. There's plenty of opinions around. I have mine as well but I don't feel like typing them out right now. You might want to hire a pro to create a study map for you, that might be better in the long run anyways.

Good luck!

[oren]

Third thing you're going to want to work on memorizing an entire different Shūsaku game (or whatever) every day.

Why Shusaku? I think if you're trying to become that strong that quickly, you're better off studying games with modern joseki.

[daniel_the_smith]

Best of luck to you.

I think the KGS (or whatever) rating graphs deceive people-- they make it look like each rank is the same distance apart. I don't think that's the case at all, I think it's an exponential function of some sort. The distance from 6k to 1d is probably about the same as the distance between 1d and 1.5d (or something like that).

Nevertheless, I hope you succeed.

[Loons]

Go Shaddy ! I like the attitude.


If you do wind up dying - trying, your epitaph will surely be awesome.

Hmm, now I want to have "I guess I died trying" as my epitaph.

[Shaddy]

First day update:
Today (yesterday?), I played 22 games. Some free, some ranked, some blitz, some medium-fast games.. I got a little better with leaning attacks and remembered something I tend to forget when I play blitz- take territory while attacking. Tomorrow (or today, I guess, it's morning) I'll go through Invincible and memorize some games. Let's set five games as the goal.

To those who are saying/thinking "Shaddy's insane! 6 dan-ranks in a year is insurmountable without becoming a monk and playing go 24-7!", well, yeah, probably, but I'm gonna try this and I'll get what I get. I think 3d before the end of this calendar year is reasonable even without an insane study plan, I'm probably capable of holding 2d right now. I made this journal so that I could have some kind of goal, since without one I kind of don't play much and wind up going days without games (which of course isn't good for improving). Before my life in 19x19 tournament game I was playing several games a day, trying to get ready, and after that I kind of.. stopped. Now, I have a target, so there'll be no more stopping!

[Numsgil]

Best of luck to you.

I think the KGS (or whatever) rating graphs deceive people-- they make it look like each rank is the same distance apart. I don't think that's the case at all, I think it's an exponential function of some sort. The distance from 6k to 1d is probably about the same as the distance between 1d and 1.5d (or something like that).

Nevertheless, I hope you succeed.

I think so too.

It would be interesting to take the graphs of a bunch of different people and do some curve fitting to it and arrive at a linear scale. Then people can chart their progress and see if they're at least moving upwards at a constant rate or not.

[Magicwand]

rating is set to the handycap stone not to the time for one to improve.
i think rating at kgs is very accurate if you consider handycap stones.

yes it is true that players usually reach a plateau after 1d.
but i hit my plateau at 3d. and improving ever so slightly since then.

edit: actually i lost my go concentration skills i used to have when i was younger.
i think i am deproving.

[kokomi]

First day update:
Today (yesterday?), I played 22 games. Some free, some ranked, some blitz, some medium-fast games.. I got a little better with leaning attacks and remembered something I tend to forget when I play blitz- take territory while attacking. Tomorrow (or today, I guess, it's morning) I'll go through Invincible and memorize some games. Let's set five games as the goal.

To those who are saying/thinking "Shaddy's insane! 6 dan-ranks in a year is insurmountable without becoming a monk and playing go 24-7!", well, yeah, probably, but I'm gonna try this and I'll get what I get. I think 3d before the end of this calendar year is reasonable even without an insane study plan, I'm probably capable of holding 2d right now. I made this journal so that I could have some kind of goal, since without one I kind of don't play much and wind up going days without games (which of course isn't good for improving). Before my life in 19x19 tournament game I was playing several games a day, trying to get ready, and after that I kind of.. stopped. Now, I have a target, so there'll be no more stopping!

22 games!22 games!!22 games!!!

[Shaddy]

Day 4: Two games from invincible memorized, some ~200 tsumego from 1000 life and death problems done. Another twelve or so games between the last three days. My counting's horribly inaccurate, I keep thinking I'm ahead by ~15 points when the game is actually quite close, or I'm losing, etc.

[Shaddy]

Well, here I am a year later. I didn't manage to study much during the school year, but in the summer I went to China for a month just to study go, and judging by my performance at Congress I'm around AGA 5d now. (I went 4-1 in the 4d division of the Open, one forfeit due to oversleeping). Not bad, but not there yet, and there's still a long way to go..