Life In 19x19

Okay, so I know ahead of time this is likely an idiotic question that will get me laughed at, but it's something I've been curious about lately.

Can Pros (strong amateurs?) really replay their own games from start to finish? Hikaru no Go put this into my head awhile back (sometime last year) but I've finally decided to ask.

Make fun of me if you want, but this is a legitimate question.

Yes, and I would say a majority of amateur dan players can as well.

At a review session a pro made a half-joke when I came to the demo board with my laptop to show my game. He said "You are 3 dan you should be able to remember the game!"

I don't think I know any dan players who wouldn't be able to get at least to the mid endgame without much difficulty. Most of them, including myself, have little difficulty remembering an entire game for at least a day or so afterwards. It is a valuable and helpful skill!

The hardest part is the first 4 moves.

i was able to do that when i was 10k.
it is not hard if you dont try to memorize the move but think about why you played that move.

Not only can strong players replay their own games from start to finish, but at the 2008 US Go Congress I saw Takemiya Masaki (9 Dan) replay a game he hadn’t even seen yet.

Takemiya was late to the commentary session of the US Open finals and replayed the opening of the game just from looking at the mid-game board position. To the delight of the crowd he got every move on the board correct, making comments all the way, until he was caught up with the most current move. Truly the ways of pros are mysterious.

Magicwand that makes sense. I guess as you get stronger, you play less random moves and it makes it easier to remember.

I don't have the ability yet at all, really. -_- I think it's amazing people can do stuff like that.

Redbeard wrote:Not only can strong players replay their own games from start to finish, but at the 2008 US Go Congress I saw Takemiya Masaki (9 Dan) replay a game he hadn’t even seen yet.

Takemiya was late to the commentary session of the US Open finals and replayed the opening of the game just from looking at the mid-game board position. To the delight of the crowd he got every move on the board correct, making comments all the way, until he was caught up with the most current move. Truly the ways of pros are mysterious.

That's amazing!

I remember having read that Lee ChangHo had difficulties in remembering games.

As to my concern, I tried remembering some commented games, and to my surprise, I succeeded in remembering 200 moves quite easily. Ko fights are bothering me though...

I'm not there yet but I' m trying
I had to train my way up starting with 9x9 games. It is very helpful when teaching beginners if you're able to reply the game and point out mistakes. Of course when the players get better and switch to larger boards your training suddenly intensifies.

I can now replay any 9x9 game in any condition and any 13x13 game when I haven't drunk too much.
I'm only recently trying myself on 19x19 and it has to be a serious game (20+ min) against an opponent of equal strength. I also have to replay the game as soon as I'm finished at least once otherwise I can't remember it longer than 1 hour

Tryphon wrote:I remember having read that Lee ChangHo had difficulties in remembering games.

As to my concern, I tried remembering some commented games, and to my surprise, I succeeded in remembering 200 moves quite easily. Ko fights are bothering me though...

Oddly enough, I can replay our Malkovich with ease. I usually play it out on an actual board and whatnot and then decide on a move.

Mnemonic wrote:I'm not there yet but I' m trying
I had to train my way up starting with 9x9 games. It is very helpful when teaching beginners if you're able to reply the game and point out mistakes. Of course when the players get better and switch to larger boards your training suddenly intensifies.

I can now replay any 9x9 game in any condition and any 13x13 game when I haven't drunk too much.
I'm only recently trying myself on 19x19 and it has to be a serious game (20+ min) against an opponent of equal strength. I also have to replay the game as soon as I'm finished at least once otherwise I can't remember it longer than 1 hour

I'm not sure I could ever replay a game even after playing it all the way through. It might have something to do with my ADHD. Or maybe I just lack the ability. I'm currently trying to memorize professional games, so maybe that will be a jump start to being able to replay my own games.

hailthorn011 wrote:Oddly enough, I can replay our Malkovich with ease. I usually play it out on an actual board and whatnot and then decide on a move.

It is 16 moves long, for thetime being

Replaying your own game is good. But if you cannot replay, don't worry about it. I think I heard that even Lee ChangHo couldn't replay his own game.

What is this about Lee ChangHo couldn't replay his own games? It sounds like it happened once, or he said it once, and that it's become a popular anecdote.

I would be enormously surprised if he really can't remember his games...

amnal wrote:What is this about Lee ChangHo couldn't replay his own games? It sounds like it happened once, or he said it once, and that it's become a popular anecdote.

I would be enormously surprised if he really can't remember his games...

Same here. Lee Changho is awesome.