How to Really Get Strong at Go

   

This page is to serve more as a discussion page where all people that achieved a certain level may talk about it. All the steps it took to make it to that level etc...

zelda91:

I will give an example as it was for me. Then add more technical data at the end.

First of all I started go in Jan. 2007; on the Flyordie Go Server by playing on 15x15 board which did not give me real power. I did however learn the value of the center and I have to thank my ex-best teacher Summergenius for his help at that. In a month I was about 10kyu in level. Then in February I started an account zelda91 on kgs which I dont really use lately. ( you may of course notice it is both as a wink to the legend of zelda series and the username of waya from hikaru no go on the internet server, as I believe he was a very cool character) Ok, then I played a lot of strange games that you can see in the KGS archive. It is not until I played a game vs Elandal[4k] at the time that I was able to get strong. I got a 3k? rank which i turned into 5kyu from the game's 8kyu which was all thanks to the marvelous kgs algorythm which I happen to not understand. Then I played lost, lost, lost, lost, lost very much. Then I heard of kogo joseki dictionary which I used during games (shame on me) and I easily got stable 3K. That was around before end of june 2007 if I am correct. However it was in May that I really got into go. After my dog ran away while we werent there. He was probably adopted :( and had no dogtags.Anyways it made me play go like never before. Then I looked at ancient chinese games during summer and also dosaku, who was my idol player. I went to the sea that year for like 5 days which is longest I can take for sea. Studying those games I came back and made 2k in one month. Finally leaving the 3-4k gap. However, I was not solid and fell back to 3k several times. Upon which I decided to make a second account Mitsuomi which I ranked to 1D by the winter of 2007. meaning in less than a year. I was strangely capable of playing games and winning them back then. However I am positive that I was weaker and that those wins were only relying on simple fuseki(openings) I tried getting 1d on zelda91 but didn't make it, which was probably the greatest mistake I have done. I started teaching on kgs in the beginning of 2008. I had around 7 students from early 2007-2009(now) Teaching made me more confident, maybe too confident as I was soon overpassed by some people, well not overpassed but they came close. And I am pointing at certain players which will be surprised to see it :D (if I did point out haha!)

Anyhow, to space the text a little.

Teaching go helped me develop less selfishness and made my style very influential rather than territorial. It also relaxed me through that year. I learned many joseki which I probably forgot most of. That is when after a year of play in february 2008 I took a break from go of 1 month, upon which I was stronger! yes breaks, are good for you, they make you stronger haha! (well they did for me) Then came a period of misfortune where Mitsuomi fell to 1K to never go above it until much later in 2009. Thankfully a player named Zureiyaa appeared, and helped me stabilise my play during that period getting me into good opening formations and totally changing my view of go. I however didn't make full usage of his talent and focused on learning my own, which was probably bad. The change of style took time but I finally learned something good. Then the whole year up to 2009 I played with Mitsuomi and other accounts. and got to 1D on most of them. I still however doubt in myself since then, as I can lose games that would be normally worth 1D if won, which i did lose. Well I did also win games with taking very high 6-7 handicap worth the same level.

After that I used Guin which I easily got to 2D in spring of 2009. And kept like that until now. No matter the downfalls that will happen, even if I go down to 1K again. I know that I will have learned a lot in this time. So this is like a personal experience of mine and how I got to 2D in more or less 2.5 years of playing. (note that in many eyes 2D is not that strong)

Please write your stories people of how you got strong and how others will learn from it!


How to Really Get Strong at Go last edited by 77.28.23.57 on October 11, 2009 - 15:21
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