For today's go meditation, I thought we would go ahead and take a break from even games and feature a handicap game! This game features my friend Bonscott and a very difficult game for White. In fact, if not for a few crucial moments, Black had played remarkably well and was not allowing White any easy opportunity to catch up. Though the game is decided by a cut that both of us initially miss, it was a tough game for White and Black should be very proud of the game below. Hope you enjoy!

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For today's go meditation, I am featuring an opponent who was rather unique. Before he accepted my challenge, the first thing he asked was, "Do you play fast?" And the reason this is significant is because it launches us into a discussion during the game about kyu players' tendency to make automatic responses. And after some back and forth, I suddenly felt very compelled to not make any automatic responses. So in a number of ways, I definitely have to thank my opponent for forcing me to raise the level of my game by slowing down. In addition, though I was a bit saddened by the fact that I lost after having a commanding position, I definitely learned a lot from it and have no regrets.

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For today's go meditation, I am featuring first true ranked game as a 4 kyu. Though it is a game that I manage to convincingly win, it is important to note that I was very lucky to have an opponent respond to my taunts to fight. If my opponent had simply played a bit more lightly and watched the connections, that the game would probably have looked more like a charging bull running in circles. In terms of what I think you can take away from the game however, it would probably be how I am able to control the game and ensure my opponent is not given a single chance to reverse the game through calm analysis and play. I hope you enjoy!

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For today's go meditation, I will be reviewing a game I played recently with fellow go tweeter goBum! Though we have known each other for quite a while now, I'm surprised it's taken us so long to finally play a game with one another. =D Nonetheless, I'm glad we were finally able to do so and you can see the game below along with some insight that I received from a dan player who gave us a review afterwards. There are quite a few moments where I made abysmal moves that are shameful and vulgar, but it was a fun game and I definitely learned quite a bit from it. Many thanks to goBum for letting me use the kifu and I hope I can give you a better game next time!

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For today's go meditation, you will witness an even game that I played recently against a 5k opponent. Overall I felt that I handled it quite well, but I will note that I got lucky during a ko fight in the M11 area. You'll see what I mean. And though it wasn't intentional, the game ended up looking like a yin-yang when we were finished. Kind of amusing. xD

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For today's go meditation, I am happy to feature fellow go player and friend moboy78! We've talked about playing a longer game with one another for quite some time, and I'm glad we finally did! He was technically supposed to give me a 4 stone handicap at the time (since my rank had dropped to 6k). Hehe. xD However, though I don't ever like tooting my own horn, even I had to admit that my rank on KGS is pretty bogus for the most part. So we agreed to play an even game and played a really fun game that you will find below. Hope you enjoy!

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For today's go meditation, we continue with another game between cloudbrows and myself! Though not nearly as explosive as the last game we played, I think that this game is an excellent example of poor attacking along and the importance of whole board thinking. In addition, I am trying to expand the breadth of the review with more commentary than before in hopes of expanding the range of players that will be able to understand and gain something from my reviews. Let me know if there's anything more I can do!

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For today's go meditation, we return to even games as I show another game from my kadoban with long time friend and rival Nate. As he humorously commented after the game was over, it seems that him and I have a difficult time playing "nice games." It seems that we either have these all or nothing games that almost always end in someone going down in glorious fire. At least from my end, I don't ever intentionally try to force the game into that kind of direction; but perhaps my fighting style is what causes it. With that said, I hope you enjoy this week's game review.

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