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Tderz
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Actually, I do not recall anymore exactly how I got there but I learned playing Go in summer 1979 in the smallest of 5 Berlin Go Clubs. For several months I did not imagine that there were many other players playing Go ... until the first tournament came up ... and I became addicted fast.

For some time (2 years?) - not I was playing Go, rather Go was playing me.

Still, I could say I also benefitted as a whole (besides Go) from it (learning languages, visiting countries while going to tournaments, trading there, learning s.th. about myself), despite that there might be shorter ways to achieve these goals for life (language courses, philosophy books, studying more in earnest at university).

If you ask someone about his/her promotion speed in Go, it's likely that often the times get shorter the longer ago that took place. Facts are that I was around 15kyu? in Mali Losinj (1980?*, YU), 4kyu in Linz (1981?, AT), 1kyu in Kopenhagen (1982, DK) and about 1985 3dan.

  • You see, I must check the dates. I'm sure about the place, but not about the date anymore.

Go-websites which influenced me lately:

I quite like the following link, where Steve Bailey created a table for classifying semeais: [ext] Liberty Counting Tables (It was an eye-opener for me. Be careful to understand the meaning of all, one and none in the liberty column - it's important!)

Jan van der Steen's all-encompassing, incredible [ext] Go, an addictive game-site hosts internet books as Charles Matthews one's on [ext] ko. (Which is another eye opener) Good for teaching shape in the club is [ext] Shape up! also by Charles (and some Korean Pro?). I learned something new there too.

[ext] Goproblems which I use to practice on and where I occasionally comment. In the near future I would like to contribute some problems. First I have to overcome some SGF-problems.

Very hilarious are these [ext] comics or [ext] these.

Concerning the history of WeiQi/Go [ext] QiJing ShiSanPian is interesting.

Although I try to focus on the big picture in real games ('try' - as everyone?!), i.e. not to forget why, when, where and if at all to fight, I like combinations more than e.g. fuseki or esp. joseki, endgame where I consider myself now weak for a 3 dan. Being quite quite a slow player, non-byoyomi games can be a nightmare with any allotted time, and I lost several very often just because of time management problems. I enjoy café-house type games with lots of fun talking and prefer them much over impersonal internet games. Didn't play (much) Go from 1995-2002 due to work, exams, children (was less than ten times at the club). Except a weekend in Lippstadt and one week in Maastricht 1994 I cannot remember having participated in tournaments from 1989 to 2001 (1999, 4 games in Augsburg).

Therewith I forgot much Joseki- and/or Fuseki- knowledge of the little bit I knew in the 80's. What is left seem to be only rudimentary opening principles and so I try to rely on that and good shape. Reading a book on Fuseki might help me to overcome my time problems in the beginning (no need for inventing it oneself). Regularly I go through tsume go and tesuji problems, which also kept me fit through those 10 years of relative absence.

Just founded a Go club named Go4Go at work (Jan. 2003). In August 2003 we had 30(!) paying members (20,- EURO/year) of whom 8-12 come regularly to my teaching lessons (shape, shape, shape and sente/gote, basics of semeais, opening, extensions, invasions ... and everything what comes up during their games) and play once a week for sometimes two hours (12:00-13:45). Due to to the short time, we played for about six months on 13x13 boards and only then made the switch to the big one. We did not yet pay much attention to our individual ladder rankings, i.e. don't fill in the results and do not know the exact kyu strength (20-15 kyu, I guess). Yet, it is already possibly to see some differences among the students, i.e. twice white groups where killed by the same persons (didn't affect the outcome, white won) and and our 7 kyu lost a handicap game.

I realize that two hours once a week is much to few time spent on Go, hence I encourage them to play online or to join a club. Several learnt the game 20 til 30 years before, some (1) are even joining a normal evening club occasionally.



This is a copy of the living page "Tderz" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2004 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.