Fwiffo/Blog

Sub-page of Fwiffo

2004-12-20

OK, I'm not improving dramatically, but I have started to see where I'm going wrong. My reading is good (I'm doing very well at the problems I'm been trying), and I can read out good sequences in games I play. In fact, I think my reading is improving past where it was when I started my vacation, but my play in actual games has been reckless and I haven't been paying attention to strategy beyond the local situation. I'm playing impatiently and too fast. I'm getting greedy, launching too many invasions at inappropriate times and creating too many weak groups.

The worst thing is just carelessness. Instead of playing carefully read out moves that work, I'm playing speculative things thinking "hey, I wonder what this will do" when I've got urgent, important, big or safe moves to play elsewhere. That was a habit I had previously broken myself of (or partially), that it looks like I have to break again. When I do read, I do fine, but sometimes I just don't read or only make a half-assed effort. So, it's discipline and attitude as much as anything else.

2004-12-18

I'm questioning now whether I should have even gotten started again. I've dropped to 17k and don't feel like I'm even getting the rust worked out. That means I've lost 90% of the skill I gained since this time last year. I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to get most of it back at this point, it might be six months just to get back to single digit status. I do realize that the KGS ranking system has changed, but losing 8 stones of strength is mind boggling.

jantiff: Don't lose hope, what about getting your games reviewed ? I think it's a good way to find out what's wrong, if you can't figure it out by yourself. And do some tsumego ! It's the best training ! :)

Fwiffo: Oh, I do all that, but I'm just kinda shocked at the damage to my skills caused by taking a few months away from the game.

Cheyenne: Take a look at the ranks of some of your usual opponents, see if they dropped the same amount. Try playing them with at the old handicaps. You might find that your rank change is more a function of the changes in KGS then in your overall skill. One thing also is that while you might have a temporary drop in your skill because you took some time away from the game, you should be able to regain that quite quickly, use this time to try some new things and look at your game in a different light.

Fwiffo: Well, that would include you CC. :-) Most of the familiar faces I know on KGS haven't improved their rank in my absence; indeed, many have dropped a stone or two even if they've been playing that whole time. My robot dropped two stones even. So, in addition to the most recent tweak, I think ranks have just gotten stiffer in general on KGS.

LukeNine45: My personal feeling is that ranks at KGS have gotten two, probably three, stones stronger over the last four months...

2004-12-17

My game really went to pot without practice. I'm nowhere near 9 kyu right now and it might be weeks before I'm as good as I was before.

I decided to break down my page into subpages today.

2004-12-09

I gotta quit it with these six month vacations.

2004-04-20

Finally 9 kyu. Took about the same amount of time as the last several promotions, but felt harder this time. Seems like I've been playing really poorly and lost some games that were just sloppyness. Most of the games I've won have been pretty sloppy too. Either way, my avatar is quite out of date - I'm going to go for a big redesign this time to celebrate my single digit status.

Hopefully now that games are getting harder with my rank catching up, I'll also start playing more disciplined. I think if I can stay focused and careful throughout a game and not get sloppy, impatient or too bloodthirsty, I'll be playing at a 6-7 kyu level soon.

2004-04-10

I've made 10 kyu officially now... I only have 13 days to make 9k, which should be easy. A strong player suggested that if I make 9k in 13 days, I should have loftier goals than 3k by Christmas. So, now the goal is Shodan by New Year's Day, 2005. It seems like a stretch, but not an inhuman task.

2004-04-03

Hmm, I've got a strange problem. I'm clearly way underranked (I've been playing about the strength of 8k, but I'm only ranked at 11k). There's a 5k I play on occasion who would beat me with 6 stones only a few weeks ago, who I clobbered taking four stones recently - probably 2-3 is about right. I've played a couple good games against a 2d taking 9 stones (lost one by 10.5 and won one by 15.5).

I can't improve my rank fast enough - players near my actual strength won't play ranked games against me in an even game. I'm getting really sloppy because all my ranked games (either even against a person of 10-11k, or 8-9k with a handicap) are too easy - I'm winning them all even if I don't play my best. I guess the solution is to just keep playing until my rank catches up. Unfortunately, I think playing easy games is going to hurt my progress.

Also, I find it odd that I am clearly not stuck at the common 11k plateau, but was stuck at a plateau around 14k. It took me two and a half months to advance from 15 to 13k, and now I'm blowing though ranks faster than the ranking system can keep up. I can't identify anything that's caused my rapid improvement, but I'll just enjoy the ride - I don't think I'll be able to get used to losing again.

Neil: Hope you don't mind this question being put on here! What rating system are you using as your "rank" here? If it's KGS, then you're probably stuck with having an inaccurate rating until one of two things happens: 1. You get a new account or 2. Mr. Shubert modifies the rating algorithm to age games more quickly when the games are played at a lower rating.
My advice would be not to worry about your rating unless it really causes a problem. Of course, I would say that because I'm stuck with a rating a bit too high due to an involuntary break from the game and KGS's rating inflation.

Fwiffo: Wow, somebody's reading my page! Cool! Yes, it is KGS. Your problem isn't such a bad one - you get more difficult games, which though painful because of the number of losses, are helping you improve much more than easy games. Fortunately, I think my rank will catch up soon - every ranked game I win at the "suggested" handicap jumps my rank 1/4 to 1/3 stone. I doubt my actual strength is improving by near that much (if it is, I guess I don't have anything to complain about.) So, I guess I'll just play more in the hopes that my rank will catch up in a couple weeks. My understanding of the ranking system is that games drop off more quickly if you have a weaker ranking - perhaps they should drop off more quickly if your recent winning percentage is far from 50%?

Neil: The big losses help me only if I don't get frustrated, which is especially a problem when I'm giving a handicap. As for the rating system, I wasn't aware that the change to age weaker games more quickly was made. If it was, then yes, you shouldn't have any problem catching it back up.

2004-03-28

11 kyu already... Gotta rethink my goals. I actually think I'm still underranked because I've been winning all my games against similarly ranked players pretty easily, even when I've played quite sloppily.

2004-03-15

12 kyu on the Ides of March. I played today's game poorly to start, but I was given an opportunity and made a massive kill to win. I've been winning almost all my games against players near my rank, so I think I've been under-ranked for a while - we'll see how things go over the next few weeks. I'm thinking I need to tighten my short term goals - 11 kyu by my birthday is conservative.

2004-03-03

Finally made 13k for real today. Several people tell me I'm more like 8-9k, but I don't buy that. Sure my rank is lagging behind my improvement, but I don't think I could really match a 9k on even terms. On the other hand, I don't think a 9k could give me four stones either.

Made a new avatar to celebrate... I'd like to get a better drawing of Fwiffo - maybe get an upgrade to a Black Spathi Squadron ship - especially if this persue and attack style I've picked up lately continues to serve me well.

I've gotten a bit reckless in my ranked games lately because my rank has been lagging. I've gotten lucky in a couple where I don't think I deserved to win, but pulled the game out of my butt in the end with something lucky (like a huge kill that I got because my opponent missed something.) I need to play stronger people to get my concentration back.


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