In praise of the League

[Koroviev]

There's lots of discussion here on the faults of the league, which is fine of course, and the best way to improve.

But I'd like to post my appreciation for the league, faults or not. I just joined this month, and have only managed to squeeze in four games around my tough work schedule, but they've been by far the most enjoyable games I've played online, and there were helpful comments from my much stronger opponents. The league format is a great motivation to play seriously.

Hopefully I'll be playing even more in future months.

Thanks to Stalkor and the other mods/maintainers.

[Apoah]

I agree. Also new to the league (in my 2nd month) and it has been the most fun I have had playing Go. For the most part, my opponents have been very nice and willing to review after the game.

I've never had the opportunity to play so many high level players on an even game, this is really fun! And even with similar strength players it is nice to actually talk through a game afterward with them instead of getting the "lucky win. ktksbai".

I'm happy to be a part of it!

[Nikolas73]

Thanks guys, you've sold me, I will try to join in a few weeks .

[liquido]

I just joined the league this month. It has only been a few days, but I'm already happy I joined. I'm fortunate in that I can get games like this with stronger players at my local club where we also often review afterwards. However, my local club only meets once a week so this is a way I can get more of these games.

Due to the nature of the league, I really try to win my games so I can hopefully advance to the next class next month. I feel this probably ups my level of play and hopefully has long-term positive effects. Hopefully I'll report back in a few months that I've gained a number of stones in strength

Another aspect of the league I've noticed is the observers-players interaction. It seems people are more likely to want to watch a game when the players are both trying hard, probably because they make less stupid mistakes. These observers also just seem to be more polite than some of the rabble I've witnessed in other KGS games. After the game is finished, observers and players often interact in the review. If a few players around the same rank review a game together, it's likely that they'll all get something out of it, even the winner. This level of interaction between players with a rank difference is beneficial to not only the lower level, but also the teachers. Teachers become better teachers with more experience and one of the best ways to truly learn something something is to teach it to others.

I may just be looking at things a little optimistically here, but that's how I'm choosing to see them

I would also like to thank those that keep this league running. Your efforts are much appreciated

[Serenitatis]

I have joined in December and are very pleased! Very good is to bound in all members thru polls.

I have adapted this method for our club-tournament.

Thank you very very much

[Go_Japan]

I also wanted to express my appreciation for the league. I live in Japan and although I speak Japanese, sometimes playing against Japanese players is difficult. I do not have all the vocabulary to really understand what they are saying when explaining some complicated patterns.
In addition, I seem to lack motivation to sit in a smoke filled room with a bunch of Japanese guys (the youngest of which is old enough to be my father). I also lack motivation to play with random people on KGS (or pay for IGS).
Every game I had in the league was great. I was able to meet someone from some different area of the world and chat with them. There is always someone willing to review the game, even if they are similar strength to me.

So, thank you for motivating me to play more and helping me learn to get better. I am already playing more seriously and thinking about each and every move a bit more than I did playing more casual games. I am still making a lot of bad moves, but I see them when I play them, rather than not at all.

[JulianvdB]

I've joined this league only since a couple of days, and even though I'm a dan player I really like the system here. I've already played a few games already and even though my opponents were ranked lower than me the games were quite serious, if the attitude is like this in all the classes of the league I'll definetily stay in it