Ilan
Hello there, I am ilanpi AKA Ilan Vardi. You can find out
more about me on my websites http://cf.geocities.com/ilanpi
and
http://www.lix.polytechnique.fr/Labo/Ilan.Vardi/
My e-mail is ilanpi@mail.com
As far as go is concerned, I started playing in February 2003 and have reached 8K on Dashn and 3K on KGS. I hope to keep improving . I am somewhat optimistic based on the following two facts: I got to 4k without knowing or understanding anything about the opening (though I now seem to know more about the opening than my Dashn opponents).
That was in May 2004. Now it is November 2004 and I am 4K on Dashn and on KGS. So in 6 months, I have gotten stronger and weaker. I had an encouraging experience yesterday: I was observing a Dashn game in which a 4D put six of his stones in auto-atari, and his 4D opponent didn't notice until his next move (and ended up winning by 2.5 points). Up till then, I had been wondering how much my auto-atari weakness would hold me back.
My impression must be correct, because it is 10 days later and I am now 3K on Dashn. Moreover, I was watching a game between two 5 dans just now, and one of them played the non sente monkey jump in the endgame when the small monkey jump was sente. Also, a KGS 1 Dan told me that his Dashn rating is 5 Dan. Seems like Dash isn't what it used to be.
It's two weeks later, and I'm now 1K. Looks like I might be able to make shodan by Christmas.
I am now 5K on KGS, so in the last two months, I have lost 3 ranks on KGS and gained 5 on Dashn. It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.
January 1, 2005 a big breakthrough! I finally have 100,000 betting points on Dashn. That means I get a little sword next to my ID, instead of a little moon.
January 4: I am finally 1D* on Dashn. That was my new year's resolution for 2005, so not much else to do this year.
January 6: I started playing on Cyberoro where I registered as 1K. I have two wins and two losses, so this rating is realistic, except that there is a slight problem with the Cyberoro software.
January 13: After a good start, 5 wins and 5 losses at 1K, I started to lose almost all my games and have gone down many ranks. Hopefully, this is just a Period Of Transition in which I get adjusted to the different style from Dashn.
The only aspect
that I somewhat understand is minigo, that is, 7x7 and
9x9 go. If you have any questions about that, I may be
able to help you. I have started writing 9x9 reviews on the
Go Teaching Ladder, see http://gtl.xmp.net/members/info?p_key=1027&pseudo=ilanpi
Recently, I have become reticent due to Review / Ilan's Dreaded Analysis.
My go equipment wish list starts with a 17" screen. One day I would like one of those kaya boards with legs, but in 9x9 size.
Aldlob in KGS?: You can ask Mr Kuroki (
http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp). They sell nice kaya 9x9 goban (with and without legs), though are not listed in the web.
Niklaus: You mean something like
this? It's not really kaya, but at least 9x9 with legs.
Yes!! Thank you for pointing it out, who cares about kaya anyway?
I continue to have deep thoughts about the game of Go, and I publish these regularly on my website.
- Linux and Go:
http://cf.geocities.com/ilanpi/linuxgo.html
- Dirty Go Books:
http://cf.geocities.com/ilanpi/dirty.html
- Review of La Joueuse de Go:
http://cf.geocities.com/ilanpi/joueuse.html
I used to be pretty good at chess (2340 in the US) and I will write up a comparison of chess and go, if I ever get to an equivalent level in go. My fundamental opinion can be summarized in this way: "Chess is pop music and go a symphony." Oh, and I should specify that I don't particularly believe that either form of musical expression is superior to the other.
I have also written a website about Dots and Boxes, a game
which is somewhat similar to Go, and which shares Go's
mathematical foundations, see
http://cf.geocities.com/ilanpi/dots.html