Life In 19x19

Hi all, i'm new here so go easy on me!

I have been playing for a few months now and have managed to get up to 9 kyu on KGS.

I'd like to register for a tournament in UK just to see how I get on and also to experience playing a "serious" game in person, rather than my usual games on KGS.
I have no intention of winning, it would be mainly for experience.

So what does everyone here think? Is 9k a bit early to start attending tournaments?

Cheers,
Scott

cubesmith wrote:Hi all, i'm new here so go easy on me!

I have been playing for a few months now and have managed to get up to 9 kyu on KGS.

I'd like to register for a tournament in UK just to see how I get on and also to experience playing a "serious" game in person, rather than my usual games on KGS.
I have no intention of winning, it would be mainly for experience.

So what does everyone here think? Is 9k a bit early to start attending tournaments?

Cheers,
Scott

Howdy, Scott!

No rank is too early to enjoy a tournament. I went to my first AGA tournament when I was about 9k KGS, and it was a blast! Starting so 'early' was also fun, as it gave me incentive to improve faster, to outstrip those real-life opponents. It was rewarding to play someone as white the next time, who I had played as black originally.

My only warning is this: check with a British player or Sensei's Library's rank comparison chart to see what 9k KGS translates into. There is some difference between all ranking systems, and you don't want to seem like either a sandbagger or an overconfident boor. But definitely do it, and report back on your experiences. And welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the encouragement! And also for the advice regarding the ranking systems.. that could have been embarrassing!

There's a few events in September which I'd like to attend. All being well, i'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers,
Scott

I did my first tournament at AGA 20 kyu, and was not remotely the weakest player.

Edit: that's probably a bit unusual. But I've never been to a tournament where there weren't players weaker than 10k.

UK tournaments vary in strength quite a bit, but it looks like you're strong enough that even in the generally stronger tournaments there'll be players weaker than yourself. Plus people are generally a welcoming bunch, and will be delighted to have you along.

hyperpape wrote:I did my first tournament at AGA 20 kyu, and was not remotely the weakest player.

Edit: that's probably a bit unusual. But I've never been to a tournament where there weren't players weaker than 10k.

To add a +1, 9k is plenty strong. I was probably in the mid-20ks myself (hadn't even seen a monkey jump before my 3rd game of the day) when I did my first tournament. It was exhausting, but fun!

Enjoy your F2F play!

Bruce "Senior Tournament Director != STD" Young

thanks everyone, i'll go for it!

You don't even need to look up any information about ranking comparison. Just tell the TD when you register that you are 9k KGS and they will take care of the rest for you.

Welcome to the UK tournament scene

I would guess as a KGS 9k you should probably enter 10 or 11k BGA - which tournament is it?

hi topazg,
On the BGA website, i was looking at the "Northern" tournament on 4th September but it only just occured to me that i'm away on holiday that week!
(I'm going to Portmeirion, where "The Prisoner" was filmed)

So instead, i'm probably looking at the "East Midlands" tournament in November.
Will anyone from this forum be there?

Hmmm, if it's the Leicester space centre as normal it's pretty handy for me to go to. Call it 70-80% chance I'll be there I think

If that's going to be your first one, we should hook up at the beginning in case you have any questions on things (protocol etc, whatever)

That sounds great! Thank you. I'm already feeling less nervous about my first game!

I will be in touch with you on here closer to the time anyway.

Cheers,
Scott