Archive: undefined/2013

Taking The Path You Create

Earlier today, I was reading Otake’s Secrets of Strategy by Hideo Otake 9P when I stumbled upon an interesting quote:

In the opening there are no predetermined shapes. - Otake 9P
I know that it might seem terribly obvious to some of you, but it struck me as rather profound when I read it.

Otake was discussing the fact that many amateur players play joseki faithfully believing that since they are joseki it can’t be that bad. He considers this a huge flaw with our rationale because joseki are only as good as the position it was meant to be used in. So when he said that “there are no predetermined shapes” in the opening, it opened my eyes as to how unimaginative I have been with my openings lately.

Perhaps this quote will cause me to start playing some very odd experimental games where I lose and drop rank; but if it means that I’m developing my own creative style as I play, I have a feeling it will be an enjoyable journey: win or lose.

Book Review: Master Play - The Style of Lee Changho

Master Play Lee Changho Cover

Master Play: The Style of Lee Changho

Description: In the first volume of Yuan Zhou’s series “Master Play,” Zhou provides amateur players with insight into the legendary Lee Changho. Zhou provides two in-depth commentaries on two of Lee Changho’s games to illustrate Lee Changho’s brilliance and why his famous “calm and solid” style it is so effective. Very useful for kyu players who find themselves consistently in violent games.

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The Style Gap

For anyone in the go world, it should not come as a surprise to you when I say that a majority of go books that I own are from the Japanese school of go (e.g., Kiseido). After all, a lot of new players come to know of the game through Hikaru no Go, which would explain why there is generally a large focus on Japanese go terminology, literature, KGS, and so forth. As a result, I would not be surprised if a large number of go players are unaware that the go they’ve been exposed to all this time is just one style of the major countries.

Now, for those players who are immersed in the professional world, I’m sure you would agree with me when I say that Korean and Chinese styles of go tend to go unnoticed by these players. It is by no means their fault for not knowing this, but realizing this has made me aware of a fantastic learning opportunity for players interested in truly getting stronger.

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Ranked Games = Bloodlust?

I have no idea what’s going on. It’s like whenever I play a ranked game, my personality changes and I become hell-bent on destroying groups. Any notion of growth or progress that I’ve made seems to be thrown out the window. How frustrating!

I think part of my problem is that I stop reading when I play people around my rank. I just play moves that feel okay and then try and repair the damage later on. In addition, I have no notion of giving any leeway to my opponent. It’s quite mind boggling…

A game of go is a game of go… It should make absolutely no difference if it is ranked or free. The problem now is to figure out how to hit my zen state when playing ranked games…