Life In 19x19

My worst habit is the fact that I can't stand losing a game. I haven't managed to eradicate that one yet.

I'm also afraid of making mistakes, so I take alot of time and the result is that I sometimes lose in byo-yomi because I don't have enough time to read out a sequence.

OtakuViking wrote:My worst habit is the fact that I can't stand losing a game. I haven't managed to eradicate that one yet.

I'm also afraid of making mistakes, so I take alot of time and the result is that I sometimes lose in byo-yomi because I don't have enough time to read out a sequence.

That does sound like an annoying habit. How do you develop your game? I take slumps as opportunities to branch out a little. I think it was Takemiya who recommended that one approach the game some what scientifically and introducing new ideas into their repertoire, even if initially they lead to sub optimal play, then evaluating the results later.

Fedya wrote:

TheBigH wrote:Go sometimes makes me feel stupid,

Only sometimes?

Okay, most of the time. Sometimes I see it the same way I see science; like a vast universe full of secrets that we are able to discover, and I find that more inspiring than discouraging.

I have a tendency to get angry too, in no small part because it seems that things that work for my opponents suddenly don't work when I try them.

This. Times infinity bazillion.

I've become aware of another bad habit. This one has to do with how I read. I've never been particularly good at it, constantly struggling with the visualization of stones, but what I've started to notice is that when I come to a capture, I often simply don't read any further. Obviously, a capture is not necessarily the end of the story, but some childish anti-go mechanism in my mind tells me that running into an atari means that that line has been read far enough.

1) Not reading well (or deep) enough to get me out of some sticky situations
2) Still friggin' missing snapback setups!!! (see 1...)
3) Trying too hard to get something in all over the board and ending up with more weak groups than I should.

On a positive note, I've finally started counting more often and that seems to be helping. I finally read Cho's counting book (4 years after hearing a pro recommendation for it...) last month. At this point, the basic concepts were more practice than eye-opening but I think it reminded me that I only need to win the game by 0.5 points, not 10, 20, or 40. So that's helped me play a "better" when I have secured a lead (as long as it isn't an imaginary lead).

Bruce "Revolutionary Self-Critic" Young

Sometimes I get lulled into the feeling that my opponent isn't going to try to capture any of my stones. How weird is that?

Loons...
Mostly, I try to find the best global+local move.
But once in a while, rather, quite often, "I wonder where [insert person here; for Hikaru, it was Sai] would play."
Or, "Dammit, I know I'll pick the wrong move here and get yelled at later by [insert person here]!"
Maybe a poll would show if others share the same experience above.

Haha, I meant I just avoid broken shape like the plague when fighting.

I'm rather fond of bad shape moves. I try not to play them where a good-shape move will do, but sometimes I screw it up. By bad shape, I mean broken knight's moves, elephant jumps, empty triangles, etc..