Rust

This page covers rust in the senses of (a) rusty go skills and (b) the programming language of that name.

Table of contents Rusty go skills Techniques for Dealing with Rust Comments Rust (The Programming Language)

Rusty go skills

Rust is that familiar feeling you get when you stop playing go (or practicing any skill) for any reasonably lengthy period. You still possess the ability, but you find it more difficult to apply it. Normally, the problem disappears with practice, because the links between your conscious mind and your memory are repaired and restored, but it can be de-motivating while you are trying to come back to the game.

Techniques for Dealing with Rust

1) Practice. In particular, practice tsumego.

2) A "compass". By this, I mean choosing a set of, say, "three most important principles to follow" to act as a way of concentrating one's mind and getting a sense of direction. One of the more off-putting sensations I am experiencing is being a bit "out to sea" - not being able to remember how a game should flow.

3) Review your games, ee.g. with a friend, clubmate, professional or on a teaching ladder.

Comments

Tamsin: I set up this page to define the notion of rust. Being rather rusty myself, I would appreciate it if people can add to the list of rust-removing methods! And, being rusty at using Sensei's Library, could any of the admins send me my password (to t.jones1ATtesco.net)? I can't remember it, so I can't log on!

Hiker: I know this situation all too well. This problem can be compounded by the nature of ranking on the online servers. If you take even a short break (say 3 weeks or so), your rank will continue to increase. In may case, I gained 2 stones without playing a single game. Returning to regular play can be frustrating experience if you identify too much with your rank. Let it go and concentrate on a set of skills.

To get back on the horse, as it were, I began doing tsumego regularly. I also had one of my recent games reviewed by friends and at the Go Teaching Ladder. After a month of frustration, I am feeling as if I'm improving somewhat again. I'm constantly amazed how much concentration this game takes.

Rust (The Programming Language)

In arriving at this page you may also have been looking for information about this programming language - Rust. There are a couple of software libraries for Go using this language

• https://github.com/Chicoryn/dream-go
• iomrascalai