Stuck at 11k KGS

[Kansai-ben]

thank you all again.

are there any recommendations where i should focus to improveme after you saw the game?

[gogameguru]

I looked at it, but I couldn't work out if you were black or white. Did you say somewhere and I'm just not seeing it? Sorry if I'm missing the obvious. Based on the title of the thread, I can only guess that you're black?

[SoDesuNe]

Yep, he's Emi : )

[tezza]

Hi Kansai-ben,

Found this interesting thread - "Stuck at 12 kyu" from last year (viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1540). I especially like Magicwand's post:

in my opinion rank reflect the level of understanding of the game.
it will take time for them to gain deeper reading ability and that might be why they plateau.
for example: you can achieve 12 kyu by avoiding getting killed.
but for you to pass that level you have to understand what thickness and influence does.
once you understand thickness and influence you might be stucked at 1k.
once you understand the flow of the game you can pass 1k~1d level.
after that every dan level is a plateau for me.

Cheers
tezza

[Kansai-ben]

Hi Kansai-ben,

Found this interesting thread - "Stuck at 12 kyu" from last year (viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1540). I especially like Magicwand's post:

in my opinion rank reflect the level of understanding of the game.
it will take time for them to gain deeper reading ability and that might be why they plateau.
for example: you can achieve 12 kyu by avoiding getting killed.
but for you to pass that level you have to understand what thickness and influence does.
once you understand thickness and influence you might be stucked at 1k.
once you understand the flow of the game you can pass 1k~1d level.
after that every dan level is a plateau for me.

Cheers
tezza

sounds true

[Kansai-ben]

GO is really an amazing game!

meanwhile i become 10k. i finished the book "attack n defense" and now i am focusing on the whole board when i am playing.

it opens new ways of seeing the game of go.

and because i focuse too much on the whole board i sometimes forget to take a close look on fighting problems.

so it happens that i lead a game ag a weak 11k player (who is just looking for fighting) by around +30 points, but then he scorses a bad hit - and i loose by -10 points.

so i have 2 learn to focuse on both the board and the fighting, which is new learning to me, but nevertheless, very interesting!

[KGO]

Why would you read books about go when you're a kyu? I don't get it. Seems extremely inefficient to me.

I think your time is far better spent playing more games and watching lectures to get a feel for how the game should be played.

Lectures:
http://eurogotv.com/index.php?menu=Vide ... =Murugandi
http://www.youtube.com/user/dwyrin

Use josekipedia and eidogo for joseki.

[SoDesuNe]

I don't get why reading one of the best books about Go strategy written (part of - assumingly) by a professional Go player is worse than watching a lot of lukewarm explanations from a KGS 5-dan? (Bat is better in this regard, but I still don't get the point).

Playing a lot of games while studying Go seems perfect to me.

[quantumf]

As someone who read a lot of books while (barely and eventually) reaching 1d, I must admit that they did very, very little for my go strength, and probably hindered me, in that they gave me the false illusion that strategic principles and "correct" moves could compensate for poor reading skills. However, and its a big however, I found them fascinating and they sustained and nurtured my interest in the game. If all I had done was tsumego and games, I think I would probably have abandoned the game ages ago.

[KGO]

I don't get why reading one of the best books about Go strategy written (part of - assumingly) by a professional Go player is worse than watching a lot of lukewarm explanations from a KGS 5-dan? (Bat is better in this regard, but I still don't get the point).

Playing a lot of games while studying Go seems perfect to me.

Because it's easier to remember a live demonstration than words on a page. I don't think there is much difference between learning from a pro and learning from a kgs 5d when you're still a ddk.

I'm not saying that reading books about go won't help your game, only that I think it is inefficient use of your time. Why resort to them when there are better resources available. Bats and Murugandi lectures were incredibly helpful to me in getting me to where I am today. My strength is at least 1d now and I still haven't picked up a single book about go. Meanwhile I see people loitering around at DDK and SDK level that have read multiple books and I can't help but feel that they are wasting their time.

Oh and one more thing that I forgot. Having a friend (read: Rival) to review and discuss with is really helpful. Nothing sticks in your mind like the times where your friend could see something you could not.

[hermitek]

Because it's easier to remember a live demonstration than words on a page.

For someone it is for someone it isn't.

Also to appreciate Bat's lectures you have to be at least SDK. If someone enjoys reading books, why shouldn't he.

[KGO]

For someone it is for someone it isn't.

Also to appreciate Bat's lectures you have to be at least SDK. If someone enjoys reading books, why shouldn't he.

I don't think you have to be at least SDK to appreciate Bats lectures. I think the best thing about the lectures is that they teach you about priorities and direction of play. I never even would've known what a base was if I hadn't seen it in a Bats lecture.

Maybe you're good at remembering and applying stuff you read, but I don't think that's true for most people. If you enjoy reading books about go and you improve from them, then go ahead. I still think it's inefficient. Especially for a ddk.

[Buri]

Hi Kansai Ben,
I'm down here in Gifu City. I am also familiar with how difficult it is to find lessons clubs etc at a reasonable fee.
I have played and still do on KSG which is a wonderful site. It does have a small drawback as far as I am concerned. The sheer speed of the games tends to inhibit enough careful thought for really low level players such as myself. In the process of losing my first few hundred games (who said 50?) I learnt an awful lot of bad habits even though I pour over the books and work diligently on tsumego and tesuji. It helped to join DGS as well. There you can find high level players but can slow the pace down and read a book the day before you play a move......
I have Lso joined the INTERNET GO SCHOOL and have found the lectures mavailable on line a very powerful learning tool. I strongly recommend that site. A years worth of lectures will set you back about ichiman yen.
Maybe when I have improved a bit we can play a game. I haven't been to Osaka in honks.
Cheers,
Buri

[Christien]

If you want to improve fast, don't bother with books right now. Simply, play as many games as possible (like 15+ games a week). Go is like any other profession. To get good at it you need to PRACTICE . Guess what? Carpenters don't become good carpenters by reading carpentry books, on the contrary their hands on experience determines their skill level. Go functions the exact same way.

If you feel you still must read books I suggest the following:

Learn to Play Go 1-5: These will enforce the fundamentals in your play. It's just an introductory series. I got to 10 kyu with just these books

Opening Theory Made Easy: Another good book. Straightforwardness of the book makes understanding the opening much easier. I also believe there is a chapter on shape which I found helpful.

All About Thickness: Great book! Not much text it's simply a bunch of diagrams that helps the reader understand thickness and influence.

Problem books are always great. Essentially, they're situations that may arise in your game and strengthen your skills to prepare you for situations that arise in your game. When I said stay away from books, I mean theoretical books. I don't suggest reading any theoretical books up to 1 dan, even though I'm not quite a 1d an yet (struggling between 1-2kyu).

[Charlie]

If you're stuck at 11 kyu on KGS, register for an account on IGS and alternate between them. The style over there is very different.

I swap servers every three games. (As a mathematician, I can't actually count to three so this is more of an approximate thing but you get the idea.)

On KGS, I learn to fight tooth-and-nail and to win games dominated by win-or-lose battles. On IGS, I get to put fancy ideas like fuseki and joseki and leaning attacks into play. Taking the style from one server to the other is a whole barrel of fun.

Since I have been alternating, I find that I tend to rise above silly fighting more frequently and, conversely, to punish joseki-esque over-plays more severely.

I implemented this policy two weeks ago and I am now 8 kyu on KGS and 12+ on IGS.

I do read books. (I am currently reading Attack and Defense by Akira Ishida.) There are times when it is simply not possible to play games (not enough time, other-half wants you to keep her company, no Internet connection...) and, for those times, books exist.