For this week's go meditation, I am featuring my game from the Pumpkin Classic that I had the pleasure of visiting for a round. This game was an interesting challenge for me since it had been a while since I had played a game in person, let alone play a handicap game. As this is a handicap game where I play White, I hope that my thoughts throughout the game will help you understand better why players sometimes make the moves they do in handicap games. Enjoy!

Read More

In today's go meditation, I am glad to welcome back fellow friend and go player Bonscott. For those who don't remember, I've played a number of even games against Bonscott (even though there is a few stones difference between our ranks) and actually lost quite a few of them before. So when he challenged me to a game recently, I made sure to not underestimate him!

In terms of the game, you'll get to see the rather uncommon 3-3 opening. In addition, this is a good game for study in regards to the importance of selecting the correct strategy in conjunction with your opening moves. As you progress through the game, you will notice that Black's attempt to shift from territorial to moyo and how it results in a difficult uphill battle for Black.

Finally, in light of Halloween last Friday, I’ve included a fun life and death problem with a pretty detailed variations at the end of the game. Hope that you enjoy this game!

Read More

For this week’s meditation, we are going to be reviewing my first professional simul game from Go Congress - Day 1! Through this game, you’ll get to witness the enduring strength of professionals in simul games. Even though the game looks overwhelmingly in Black’s advantage for a good portion of the game, it is in the middle game where their precise analysis becomes extremely evident.

In case there are those wondering though, Dahye’s felt that I played well for most of the game; but as you’ll see in the game, an oversight on the security of my own groups was the ultimate reason for my demise. Hope that you enjoy the game!

Read More

For this week’s meditation, we are turning back the clock to my first game at the Go Congress 2014 — Prelude! For those who need a refresher, this game was from the day I arrived in New York and was asked to play a match while we were waiting for people to arrive. It’s a fun game that shows just how you can find the opportunity to reverse a game if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and complicate things. Hope you enjoy this game!

Read More

As the weeks have passed, one of the major factors in me starting to play go again has been the numerous friends who have been kind enough to take time out of their day and ask me to play. Just like last week’s MGM, this week’s MGM features teafree. It’s an exciting one that is chocked full of ko battles and exciting exchanges. I hope that it keeps you on the edge of your seat as we navigate through the treacherous waters of this kifu! Enjoy!

Read More

The following game is one that I had the pleasure of playing last week thanks for Daurak. I still have some reservations about playing games, so it’s helpful to have friends who ask to play games. And just to clarify, our ranks are not accurate at the moment; so we went ahead and played an even game (although I think we accidentally did no komi). Hope you enjoy the game!

Read More