Life In 19x19

The only official tournament I've ever taken part in was the "11th Lee Chang Ho Cup Amateur Baduk Championship" last year in Jeonju city, South Korea. I lost all my first round games against some 50+ years old korean guys with bizarre play styles and that was that. Wasn't all that tired and didn't think much of it, went to watch the main event and chilled around 'till dinner.

At the Canadian Go Open last year, I recall being exhausted from Go. That didn't stop me from playing a game afterwards though .

At the only other tournament I went to, at the U of Waterloo, I wasn't very tired at all afterward. I could have easily played a couple more tournament games that day.

The only tournament games I've played have been on KGS, so it might be a bit different from the in person tournaments. In this regard, I'd say I'll be feeling both exhausted AND excited. It's just how things work with me. I enjoy this game, and tournament play is generally when most people play their best, or at least try to play better than normal. So, even in person, I'm sure I would be very happy to play another game even after my tournament game.

I've got more than 70 tournaments behind me and lately I've found it to be harder and harder to focus. On the game as a whole and local situations both.
So I play too fast, take many rests to have a smoke or a cup of coffee. Sometimes it seems I spend more time watching other boards than my own.
I really need to find a way to shift this, but as it is I'm not tired at all after three rounds.
I remember though, when I spent enough time to get into byo-yomi, that I'd be a total zombie after three rounds, and sometimes after two or even one when it turned out to be complex/difficult...

/Mats

I just came back from a tournament half an hour ago. I played badly, lost all three games, two of them on stupid, brain-dead mistakes.

Joaz Banbeck wrote:I played badly,

at a tournament this weekend I played an self-atari when we were filling dame at the end of the game...

I also had a real triple ko, but that was in a casual game at the end of the first tournament day

overall a fun tournament, but I wish I would have had one more win (I did create good positions on the board, but did not turn it into victories very often)

After tournaments my head hurts(sometimes) and am extremenly tired, but also feel a great deal of satisfaction. Thats why I go there.

No Go players were I live so no Go tournaments. Maybe one day I will get to play in a Go tournament. I wonder if a Go tournament is as frieghtning, exhausting, and insane as The chess torunaments I have played in.

It depends on the tournament.

In January I played in the Dutch Championship and I was absolutely exhausted after the second weekend. These are 1h30m plus 1x30s byoyomi games in a very serious atmosphere, with a lot at stake (Being one of the weaker players there, I was mainly playing to get a 50% score (4/8), which allows you to play again the next year).

Last weekend I played the Korean Ambassador's Cup, the qualifier for the KPMC, with 7 rounds of 30m plus 1x30s byoyomi, and it wasn't nearly as exhausting, especially after I had lost my second game and was out of the running for victory.