Life In 19x19

I'd like to extend my greetings finally after lurking for about a week.

I am a very early beginner who has taken up Go in the past few weeks. I've played about 7 games, all against other beginners, because I cannot seem to focus in online games. I reckon this is a hang-up I will need to get past seeing as I really don't have many convenient real-life opponents.

I do not expect to post much for a while, but I hope one day I will be able to contribute.

Hello and welcome to L19! Where do you play online? I would recommend you visit the Beginner's Room at KGS go server where you will find many players willing to help with the basics. If you have any questions then this forum is the place to ask! You should also check out Sensei's Library, which contains almost all go-related information you will ever need.

Sverre wrote:Hello and welcome to L19! Where do you play online? I would recommend you visit the Beginner's Room at KGS go server where you will find many players willing to help with the basics. If you have any questions then this forum is the place to ask! You should also check out Sensei's Library, which contains almost all go-related information you will ever need.

I tried some games as a Guest on KGS actually. I guess I should register. I'll definitely take a look at the Beginner's Room.

Sensei's Library, at least at my experience level, has been pretty unhelpful so far. Though I've read some a lot interesting stuff on it most of the articles just do not seem to explain the concepts very clearly. Like I said though, I chalk that up to my inexperience (or perhaps my pedantic nature, worsened by studying philosophy). The biggest problem is that like TVTropes.com, I can get lost there for hours!

Well, given your level of experience, most of it is going to probably be over your head. You'll probably want to focus on just a few basic things. One, play lots of 9x9 games to get to get a feel for basic tactical concepts and basic shapes. Two, learn about life and death and do basic problems. Here are a few to get you started:

Thanks for the suggestion.

The first two were a piece of cake. The third one I got wrong my first try, but sadly it immediately showed the correct answer.

Are there any places where I can find interactive problems that will play out my mistakes? I like to see the economy of play so I can understand why one move is wrong rather than another.

You can try out 321go.org. It contains an online course along with a huge amount of go problems to learn from. Once you have taken that program there and played some games you should be 15k or stronger.

Howdy! Glad to meet you, let us know if you have any other questions.

karaklis wrote:You can try out 321go.org. It contains an online course along with a huge amount of go problems to learn from. Once you have taken that program there and played some games you should be 15k or stronger.

Thank you!

Ya'll have been really helpful. I appreciate your hospitality immensely.

You can try goproblems.com

There's a well known seller on ebay that sells a software that he calls "Dan Tutor Shortcut to Dan" that contain some very easy problems as well as more difficult. I have made a tool that converts them all to sgf format if the original program isn't to your liking. I'll probably post the converter tool online in a week or two when I find the time.