Definitely NOT 26k

I had offered adriana (26k) a rematch after my win against her with a 4-stone handicap (she was ranked 25k then). This time, we played evenly and I was slaughtered. Again, I made what mungo (4k) calls silly mistakes that are often from lack of mindfulness.

She agreed to give me 1-2 stones next time. One stone might still be a stretch since my best playing ability on a good day is barely 27k.

As I've mentioned a couple of times in KGS chats, rank is probably both a measure of skill and mental alertness. A shortage of either one can cripple a player's abilities.

Learning Quest

yoyoma (2k) asked me yesterday to make a greater effort at claiming and defending the corners and sides. I do have a tendency to prematurely extend into the center and will often neglect my corners. This leaves me open to 3-3 point invasions.

You can expect to see a change in my style of play for a while. My initial attempts yielded only small islets surrounded by seas of my opponents stones. I'm not sure I have quite the right idea, ... yet.

I was able to play yesterday and today thanks to delays in some server batch jobs; effectively postponing my crunch period to Thursday and Friday. We seem to be suffering from a minor virus infestation on some of the unimportant servers but it's diverting IT resources away.

During one game yesterday, I resigned even though I was notably ahead because it had run into the time for my lunch date with ChiyoMama. yoyoma told me that this probably wasn't fair to my opponent; granting him/her a win by default and artificially inflating his/her rank. He suggested that I at least ask for an adjournment next time.

I was fortunate to run into DrPep (29k?, also on IGS) and frankiii simultaneously; playing a game with the former. I lost but the pleasure of chatting with them was well worth it. frankiii was also kind enough to review and analyze our game. It's shocking how many moves could have made the loss even worse.

I finally gave rbraham (27k) a chance to play a more even game against me. He won but KGS crashed shortly after our game and it's now showing up as Unfinished.

First Impressions: Graded Go Problems For Beginners, Vol.2

I've just started on the exercises of Graded Go Problems For Beginners, Vol.2 (hereafter referred to as GGPB2). The problems are ranked 25-kyu to 20-kyu. I'm only up to number 29 of 326. I already answered two of these sub-optimally and have noticed that my average response time is about 25 seconds. That's about double the time it took for me to solve most of the problems in Vol.1.

The longer times are understandable since the problems now require multiple moves; the reader needs to think ahead. In the first 29 problems, I saw how ladders evolve from patterns and how shortages of liberties can be created. I could have used the latter in my teaching game with fathwad (17k).

This volume certainly benefits from the halo effect of the first book; but my first impression is that it will go on my recommended list. I'll write-up a full review when I'm done with it.

The longer times needed for solving these problems now has me considering that I should reset my default game times to allow15 minutes plus 5 byoyomi periods at about 1 minute each (with perhaps 20-25 stones). I currently set it to just 3 periods at 45 seconds each with 25 stones.

I won't be online again at KGS at least until Wednesday. Besides reading GGPB2, I'm skimming through the introductory chapter of Invincible and now have a better idea of what Shusaku Fuseki is and why the man liked it.

Per-Åke Lindblom's site is a real labor of love.

Per-Åke Lindblom of Sweden had sent me some advice for ChiyoChan. His own site is a real eye-popper as one begins to navigate through it. It looks like a single-handed attempt to do for chess what Sensei's Library does for Go. Even though his site is notably smaller than Sensei's Library, the sheer volume of information that he has written and accumulated (in five languages) is impressive.

It looks like his site received a chess award. Makes me wonder if there is, or should be, a similar award for personal Go sites.

The little mistakes count a lot

fathwad (17k) played a teaching game with me this evening which I lost by 23.5 moku because I missed a pinning opportunity which would have allowed me to save a threatened group on the bottom of my board.

Q18 would have been the pivotal response that probably
might have tipped the balance heavily in Black's favor.
Of course, I didn't play that.

Even without the pin, I might have won but I undercounted the liberties of my P17 group and sacrificed my L3 group when I didn't have to. My own time settings (15 min + 3, 25-stone byoyomi at 45 seconds) worked against me as I felt pressured to move and didn't take the time to fully read the board.

Overall however, it was still a very good game. In it, I recalled mungo's (4k) warning that, in some handicap games, white's victory will rest on being able to separate black's stones. My opening moves were intended to avoid that and, at the early part of the game, succeeded in 2 out of 3 sections of the bottom (until I blundered).

(Speaking of mungo, I hope he's doing alright given the hurricane that's hitting the Southeast.)

fathwad had observed and commented on an earlier game with Stukov (25k), his younger brother.

Observing this evening's teaching game were chrono3450 (16k), Akman (?) who I once played a match with on IGS, and aKuei. aKuei (30k?) now has a new identity in SlashZero (25k?). I owe him an even game so he can assess his progress. We started learning Go at about the same time.

I also need to sharpen my saw by doing a few more Go problems on a regular basis; my work schedule permitting.

In other news, I updated the Sensei's Library article on buying Go equipment in North America. I added Mark Henderson's Fun & Games shop which is located in The Great Mall of The Bay Area which is situated in the city of Milpitas. Mark has small Go sets with wooden boards and single-convex glass stones for just $19. These are great for beginners on a shoestring budget. Mark's shop has no website but you can call his shop at (408) 945-5745.

Correcting my tactics

yoyoma (2k) reviewed my game against rurquhart (23k) and I came away with these points:

1. Don't be afraid to extend while defending the corner (assuming it makes sense to do so).
2. Walls are of diminished use (and possibly useless) if they have no base.
3. Play a little further back when building defenses.
4. Playing on both the 3rd and 4th lines can add balance to defending the sides and corners (this was an overview of the Chinese Opening).
5. KGS ranks can be a poor indicator of one's true playing ability.
   

The review improved my game and prevented me from getting into suicidal dogfights. I had to stay up through the night to finish some work, and so I engaged in matches while waiting for some server batch jobs to complete. I found myself better able to handle breakouts and invasions.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my daughter ChiyoChan has taken up chess.

Boo-hoo! Where did I go wrong?!

FICS, one of the few remaining free chess servers.

But seriously, I've been trying to help her find a helpful online community where she too can play and have her games reviewed. What I've discovered is that the bulk of online chess servers have gone pay-to-play. Thus far, I found only three sites that offer full-featured free play and that largest of these is FICS, the Free Internet Chess Server. Now if only I could find the best client software for her besides Jin.

I can't help but wonder if, someday, IGS and KGS might themselves go pay-to-play if the server traffice becomes too heavy. KGS already has its premium paid service and WWGo is free only to non-Japanese (for the purpose of promoting Go).

Anyway, for those who play both Go and Chess, don't be surprised if you happen to see me on FICS. I'm a very poor chess player but I may be there on the rare occasion that ChiyoChan needs assistance

The next level of difficulty is coming

I won most of my recent games at a strength of 29k after adjusting the handicaps. I can reasonably expect to start losing more games as I try to advance further. That's how I would expect the natural learning cycle to play out (unless I was some natural Go prodigy).

Foiled! Lost the lower-right corner.

I encountered a strong beginner by the name of ggtesada (now 28k?). I lost our even match by 17.5 moku. It wasn't a bad loss but I really should have played a tenuki earlier in the game to secure my territories. ggtesada is from Incheon, South Korea, and has a short but formidable looking record on KGS.

Until next week?

I played a 6-stone handicap game this evening against genchan (23k) and won by 33.5 moku. It was a free game (his preference) but I also wanted an unpressured match. NannyOgg (-) was observing and said that I played well. Many thanks for the compliment!

As with most of my recent matches, the sum of my lessons, experience, practice and studies are contributing to the effectiveness of my play. What I had learned about pins from my July 28th game gave me 8-moku. As before, yoyoma's guidance on denial-of-base was critical. It was still too early for me to apply any of the lessons that mungo had taught me this afternoon (and I still need to review everything) but I was still able to apply his earlier ones.

My rank graph. Ever so slowly inching back upwards.

The differences in strength among the lower kyus is rather small but I think it is reasonable to assume that I have gotten at least one stone stronger even though my 30k rank doesn't reflect it. This renews my hope for the long road.

This may be my last game until Wednesday of next week. Today was the calm before the edge of the storm at work. The fiscal month-end is coming; and after that comes the fiscal quarter-end. There will be a brief lull between the two where I hope to ramp-up my games again.

I should still be posting to my blog since I may come across some interesting readings. Stay tuned.

I was happy to again meet Shugyosha (29k?) on KGS. I had played him on IGS back on June 30th in a very enjoyable game that I didn't mind losing. He's taking some pro lessons so he may begin to develop as quickly as, or perhaps even faster than, Zero9090 (now 20k) has been. He's a fine opponent and he strikes me as a sharp mind. I hope he achieves whatever goal he has set for himself.

mungo's review & ChiyoChan learns ... chess?

I had a poorly played game today against Ninpuu (30k?). Although I won by 82.5 moku, I made several blunders which could have been exploited and lost me the game.

mungo (I know he used to be 4k) was watching and invited me for a review afterwards. He showed me several variations to my plays where I could have turned around what I thought was a lost situation. Some were deep and yet beyond my level of analysis but others were relatively simple. I'm very thankful for the time that he took to prepare his game analysis. I've stored his variations so that I can go over them again tomorrow.

Uh, ... gee. Chess is good dear.
But what about Go?

On the homefront, my daughter ChiyoChan has taken a stronger interest in ... chess. Perhaps she just wants to be a little different from her father. I'm still glad however that she's gotten into a pure-strategy game. It's also given me an idea for another 4-panel comic (but that shall have to wait for a while).

Thank you for being a tough teacher, Kageyama-sensei

I've only browsed through the first chapter of Toshiro Kageyama's Lessons In The Fundamentals of Go which I borrowed from the library. I already found a useful piece of advice which worked to my advantage in my last game.

In a nutshell, Kageyama-sensei said, "Don't be lazy in the simple matters."

It's obvious that Kageyama will not suffer the indolence of any Go student. Here's an excerpt from his first chapter on ladders (shicho).

Ladders should be the school that teaches you to read patiently, move by move - black, white, black, white, black, white - which is the only way.

Some will say, "Phooey, that much I know already; it's just that it's too much bother actually to do it." Others will say, "Look, I'm still weak at the game; I can't do anything difficult like reading." So much for these lazy students, let them do as they please. They are not going to get anywhere. They need to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck and have some sense knocked into them.

Ouch!

Well, here's the result.


I read through my ladder and saw that the white stone in K3 would not interfere. My opponent did not and he resigned when he realized his mistake. The game was my 30k versus his 27k with a 2-stone handicap, making it a 29k match.

It's an important lesson for all of us beginners.

Kageyama-sensei reminds me a bit of my former kendo instructor, Charlie Tanaka - who has since become the president of the All US Kendo Federation. I think I'm going to add this book to my library and hopefully do a Kyu Review on it.

glGo backgrounds now on Pandanet

You can now download them all in one zip file.

Peter Strempel made my glGo backgrounds available on Pandanet in PNG formats. I'm very thankful for this because it does not look like my former free webhost, Portland Communications, is in business anymore. He had mentioned these in rec.games.go which, to my surprise on Saturday morning, caused the traffic to my blog to suddenly quadruple.

I had created these backgrounds to enhance the look of my IGS client, glGo. Peter mentioned that version 1.3.1 would make it easier to change the background images through the menu. Currently, you need to rename and drop these files into the appropriate subfolder for glGo.

Also added to the same page were frankii's flat graphics skin which gives glGo a printed book look. Perhaps, one of these days, I'll make a food-based skin with M&Ms or cookies for Go stones. (I guess that shows you where my mind is.)

Last night, I just couldn't muster the same level of concentration that I had played with on Friday evening. All but one of my games were losses as can be seen from my KGS game archive. I was, admittedly, mentally exhausted and should have gone to bed.

No Go today. ChiyoChan and I may drive to Golden Gate Park for some archery.

Doing a little better

I was able to focus on my game this evening. ChiyoChan is at a party. ChiyoMama is letting me decompress at Go. One of my biggest projects was completed and will only require cosmetic tweaks this weekend before its presentation on Monday. I've taken off half of the burdens that I started my week with.

All this allowed me to play better.

First game applying
"denial of base" strategy

Second game, applying
the same strategy.

After two losses, I won against the LibertyBot (24k) with a 5-stone handicap. I then won against rbraham (27k) in a ranked game with a 3-stone handicap and against dpc (23k) in a free game with a 7-stone handicap. rbraham seemed to understand that concentration affects one's ability but dpc seemed to be unhappy with me. He probably thinks that I'm some sandbagger and I suspect that I'm now on his censored list. I owe rbraham an even match soon.

Maybe my rank will change tomorrow and I'll be entitled to fewer handicaps.

But I do think that I was well-focused and playing a more solid strategic game as yoyoma (2k) had taught me in one of our reviews. He explained, in effect, that I didn't have to kill groups, only that I had to keep them from interconnecting and forming any base with eyes. That was what I focused on and it seemed to have worked well this evening.

In tactics, I applied mungo's (? but he's an ex-4k) lesson of keeping my connection points either well-protected or, preferrably, solid. I avoided weak points which could be cut.

Kyu Review: Graded Go Problems For Beginners, Vol.1

Welcome to the first of ChiyoDad's Kyu Reviews!

Book Summary

Title: Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol.1
Publisher & ISBN: Kiseido Press, 4906574467
Price & Sources: $15 from Amazon or from Kiseido Online Ordering
ChiyoDad's Rank Suitability Assessment: Introductory to Beginner
ChiyoDad's Rating: 5/5 - Add it to your library

Review
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol.1 (heareafter referred to as GGPB1) is an exercise book which helps develop your ability to read formations and determine where best to play your next move in order to execute your tactical objectives. The preface section contains a brief introduction to the rules and a glossary of Japanese terms but this may not be sufficient for some absolute beginners. I recommend that it be purchased as a study supplement after you have started with an introductory book like Go For Beginners or Learn To Play Go, Vol.1 or, at the very least, after you have completed The Interactive Way to Go.

It's a highly recommended addition to your library if you're just starting out (introductory level) or a lower-level beginner (25kyu and below). For players in that fall into those categories, I rank it 5 out of 5. More advanced beginners will get less value from it.

The first half of the book provides the reader with four levels of Go problems to solve. The latter half provides the solutions and an explanation of the correct move. I liked the way that Kano Yoshinori had sequenced the problems since this helps build the reader's understanding.

The solution explanations can be a little sparse for some problems which is also why I recommend that GGPB1 be used in conjunction with a more thorough introductory book. Take for example problem 47 on page 18. While it makes a lot of sense for experienced players to play in an empty corner during the opening moves, absolute beginners with no introduction to strategy may not see this as an obvious choice. They may instead feel that it is better to immediately surround enemy stones to contain or kill them. (Yes. We've all been there, and may even still be there.)

Having played more than 200 games as of this writing, I easily breezed through the first two levels of problems but began slowing down afterwards. Although I was still able to solve the problems of Levels 3 and 4 with 97% accuracy, I noticed that my response speed increased to 45-120 seconds as I tried to read out some of the problems. That can be detrimental in a timed game; particularly as the overall board complexity increases. I've seen the games of two of my stronger opponents sharply degrade when they are under time pressure.

Like many study guides, you get out what you put into them. To get the highest benefit from GGPB1, I recommend that:

1. You take the time to understand the moves and countermoves that would result from your proposed solution and check the answer only after you are convinced that your move is the right one.
2. You mark and repeat the problems that took you the longest time to solve.
3. You run through the problems twice or thrice.
   
4. During your repeat runs of the problems, try solving the them without reading the tactical objectives in the description. The text may say something like, "Black to kill with 1 move." Ignore that and just ask yourself, "What is the best move for Black or White in this formation?"
   
5. If possible, use an application like Drago to compile and play the problems in rapid and random sequences. Drago measures the amount of time it takes for you to respond and keeps track of your first-response accuracy. Drago can also change the formation's board orientation and switch colors. With this approach, I have discovered that I can still misread a formation. This is a very good way to test yourself.

WHOA! Big book

I received a Visa gift card for participating in a bank promotional offer and bought myself copies of Invincible: The Games of Shusaku and Opening Theory Made Easy for my library. The former is probably still too advanced for me but I felt it was an acceptable indulgence with the gift card. I wanted it for leisure reading.

Invincible is big

Kiseido sells Invinciblefor $40. I first thought it was rather pricey but I can now see why. This is probably their largest book; weighing in at a hefty 1 pound and 15 ounces whereas their typical book tips the scale at only 7 ounces. It has 420 pages with its text in the same size of typeface as all the smaller Kiseido books (there's a lot of commentary). It measures 10 x 7 x 0.9 inches compared to 7.25 x 5 x 0.38 inches for Opening Theory which was priced at $15. The whole package shipped from Japan - ¥4,200 and ¥1,800 charged for the books respectively - and arrived seven days after I had put in the order.

If you'd like access to online SGF files of Shusaku's games, I had mentioned one link in a previous post. You can also find some on GoBase.org's archive.

My current work-related projects don't give me enough solid time to play a focused 19x19 game right now. Thus far, I've only been playing free games on KGS; mostly 13x13s and at odd hours. In the photo above, you can see dust beginning to settle on my desk; there's little time for cleaning. I'm still hoping to see you all online soon (even if it might be in the wee hours of the California morning).

Busy weeks ahead

Click on the image to enlarge

This is the time of our fiscal quarter that my projects pile up. That means that I may not be able to play Go or post as frequently to my blog.

I rushed to complete the above cartoon for all of you folks so you'll have something amusing to read and share in the meantime. Hope you like it. This one took more than a minute to do (three hours, really). Based on what I had read from his biography, Charles Schulz took as long or longer to do his four-panel black-and-white strips.

I'd welcome any attempt to translate the cartoon into Japanese, Chinese, Korean (or any other language) so other HikaGo fans can enjoy it. Please just provide a link-back to my blog.

Yuichi, maybe you're up to giving it a try? I've always heard that humor provides the greatest translation challenges.

The original panels drawn on 8.5" square sheets.

For those who inquired, all the illustrations were hand-drawn. I then scanned these into Photoshop, added the color, and then added the text. I again used Photoshop to resize and assemble the images into one 4-panel comic.

Practice sketches that I did early last week.

Since I had never drawn Homer Simpson before, I drew five study sketches from images that I found on Google until I felt I could render him correctly on my own. That grey ball in the photo is an artist's kneaded-rubber eraser; not a lump of my brain.

Undevicienigophobia

Undevicienigophobia - An abnormal fear of playing on a 19x19 Go board.

Perhaps a true student of Latin might coin something better, but let's call it that for now.

I've experienced it, and Mahgy (30k?) alluded to it during our game last night. Beginners who cut their teeth on 9x9 and 13x13 boards suddenly feel lost on a 19x19 board. Take anyone out of their comfort zone and they'll experience anxiety.

But that seems to be what we go through with every game that challenges us, doesn't it? Every new player of greater ability, every unfamiliar move, and every new formation disturb our harmony and force us out of our comfort zone. And yet it's also what makes us grow as Go players. Heat forges steel.


Just recently I got rid of the question mark that was suffixed to my 30-kyu rank on KGS which probably makes me a bona fide 30k ... for now. It's such a small accomplishment on the road to shodan and, as was said to Caesar, "All power is fleeting".

I'm happy with it and it's a good excuse to add a little cash to my goban-for-shodan reward fund (refer to the bottom of that linked post). But I know that I could just as easily drop back to an unconfirmed status so it's best not to dwell on it.

To date, I've played 237 games on IGS, KGS, WWGo, DashN and CyberOro. That's still small compared to some of the other players that I know.

IGS Graphing Program

frankiii (20k KGS and 21k IGS) has developed a graphing program for IGS players. Thus far, he's tested it on Zero9090 (21k+), myself and himself. Maybe it will one day make it into glGo or be featured on IGS.

frankiii's chart

Zero9090's chart

ChiyoDad (the IGS slacker's) chart

My chart tells me that I need to play a few more games on IGS one of these days.

frankiii also has a Go blog. Drop by and see what goes on in the mind of a higher kyu player.

Russian blog

Photo courtesy of Game of Go in Russia

I stumbled across an English blog for the Russian site named Game of Go in Russia. I very much enjoyed going through it. Scroll down and you'll see some very interesting high-quality photos of the Russian Go scene. Explore the archives and you'll find even more fascinating photos and entries of activities.

It looks as though the English blog has been active since February of 2005. Clicking on the Cyrillic links will take you to the original Russian page. I'm afraid I can't read Russian so its contents escape me.

ChiyoDad's Kyu Review

My friend Alan suggested that I do some reviews of beginners' Go books. It's an idea that I had considered before but I felt this was far above me since I'm just a newbie wallowing in the lower kyus.

But it does make a lot of sense. If a book was written to help a beginner improve, it should prove itself in the arena of kyu-level players who have had little to no exposure to pure-strategy board games. If it's too hard for me to grasp, then I'm clearly not in its targeted audience yet.

I won't be able to launch into this right away but you'll be able to look forward to The Kyu Review from yours truly.

Thanks for the idea, Alan!

The games of Shusaku & Fast matches

Shusaku's gravestone.
(Photo courtesy of Dave Jarvis's website.)

aKuei (29k?) had asked me if I knew where he could find the games of Shusaku. The only online resource I'm aware of is this page from Jeu de Go (in French). I thought I should post and share it with all of you. Click on the red buttons for the SGFs.

One of the nice things about Go is that no translation is needed.

I've been winning my games lately but I'm not happy with how I'm playing. A lot of the matches turn into bloodfeasts (or should we call them stonefeasts?). yoyoma (2k?) had noted that bad style of play during my match with Mahgy (30k?). Being good at capturing stones will be of less importance in higher-level games where long-term strategy is needed.

aKuei had noticed it. I am playing fast games and am setting my time limits to keep them fast. Part of it is because I'm trying to apply Sorin Gherman's (6d) advice. Part of it is that I have so little time for long games. It puts pressure on myself and my opponents but I'm hoping that it will pay off in the long run by allowing me to gain more experience and, after reviewing my games, identify and eliminate bad habits.

I'm flying!! ... CLUNK!!

For one brief moment (about 24 hours) it looked like my KGS rank would finally move out of the 30k? doldrums. It slammed back to earth rather quickly.

yoyoma (2k?) once told me that the KGS ranking was iterative; and if any of my former opponents did worse, then my rank would degrade. Of course my sudden drop could also be explained by some of my recent losses.

Like many endeavours, Go is a journey with no end. So you better enjoy the trip.

Go Gamestore's Bi-Convex Marble Stone Set

Mahgy (30k?) inquired about where to get a go set for about $150. I recommended The Go Gamestore in Canada which is currently offering their Bi-Convex Marble Stone Set for $145 plus $24.50 shipping. I had compared their Yunzi stones against their Marble stones in a previous post.

Back online!

My "minute-manga" are no longer minute
and are taking me more than a minute to draw.
(Click on it to enlarge)

My files are now 80% restored and I was able to play a five-stone handicap game against therose (25k?) this evening. I won but I still need more ranked games to accurately assess my level. I tried to follow the advice of those who had been teaching me and had commented on my games.

yoyoma (2k?) had reminded me last week against making unnecessary moves (example: capturing stones that were already dead). "Every unnecessary move is like giving your opponent another handicap stone," he warned. Even so, after reviewing my game, it looks like I made some moves that were small in their scope.

My computer briefly lost its connection to KGS. Not sure if it was a Java glitch or if it was caused by my anti-virus software. I'll need to check on this.

It's been a busy week and weekend but I'm very happy to be back online and playing Go!

yoyoma and aKuei (29k?) were watching my game but it looked like they both went to bed before it finished. I need to turn in as well.

Almost recovered

Something I sketched this morning.

I am about 65% recovered from my PC system failure that took place on Tuesday. I'm hoping to be fully recovered by Sunday. All the hardware is configured but I still need to reload my applications.

I did install the clients for both Kiseido and IGS on Tuesday night and also managed to play one game. That's been the extent of my Go-related activities since then. I'll be glad when my new PC is fully operational.

My computer is kaput

My homebuilt, dual-CPU 400MHz PII finally reached an unrecoverable state. It had served me well since 1998; well past the normal lifespan of your average desktop. I'm blogging through ChiyoChan's PC right now.

Needless to say, I will probably spend today and tomorrow (and perhaps even the day after) getting a usable system, reloading software and recovering old files. C'est la vie (de tech). I couldn't find any good deals on FatWallet.com so I'll have to shop at Costco instead.

Registered at Yukari House & Need a new webhost

I'm not sure if I'll be able to find more information to improve my game but I was able to register at Yukari House. It took a lot of slow translation using Google's language tools but I was finally able to navigate through the forms. My Japanese hasn't improved much since college and I wasn't that great at it either.

I received a response to my introductory post. It seems that someone there already knows me (and perhaps from CyberOro). I'm still struggling to correctly translate the message.

One other fun aspect of playing Go online is that I get to practice a little of the foreign languages that I studied over the years. So far, I've communicated in Farsi, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish and Thai.

It looks like my free webhost in the UK, port5.com, may have folded. My CLG File site has been down for four days. Does anyone know of a reliable free webhost that doesn't put advertising on your site?

Today's minute manga

One reason why old Go players envy young Go players.

Note: My Post-Its weren't handy so I did this on a regular notepad.

The more you study ...

I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
- Thomas Jefferson

I played a 19x19 against Masakari (30k) and won by 22.5 moku. He had sente for most of the game (or so it felt to me) but I was able to gain a small advantage in a lower left corner invasion.

I just happened to have been browsing Haruyama's and Nagahara's section on tesuji in the corners just before the game (Basic Techniques of Go). That, plus my experience with pins (as Alan described my previously missed opportunities on Thursday) helped me think through the moves and build a living group while capturing a cluster of black stones.

It's cliché but it's worth repeating. You can learn a lot from your lost games.