axd
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Hello, world!
I'm Alexander Duytschaever, aka "Alex", born in Gent in 1967. After having spent thirteen years as a Fighter Controller, I quit the Belgian Air Force and started a career as Software Developer in the
ATM domain.
BGF member since January 2004, currently performing at the local Go club in Gent.
I learned about Go some time around 1985 in Gent when I stumbled over a book written by Leon Vie, which activated my fascination for Go's black and white patterns.
I remember I tried to introduce Go (probably in the late 80') in a Shogi club that met in some cafe (forgot the name - it's a shop now) not far from the Botermarkt/Belfortstraat, without much success however. Although I remember having discussed the game with a school friend (David, must have been 1988), a few years later I moved to the other side of the country and had the occasion to really start discovering Go together with a former colleague, Christophe Fichefet. Later I got Internet and we first tried the ASCII interface of NNGS - a rather unsatisfactory way to play - until DGS (June 2003) and later KGS came in sight. In 2005 I completed a kind of loop and joined the Go club in Gent.
Go is intimately woven into my daily life in several ways, my Go club is a source of joy as well as pain... And I'm a recent changes junkie beyond recovery.
Feel free to browse collected Go walls at http://users.pandora.be/dual/go/walls.
I can be reached at *gmail at alexander.duytschaever@*com
More links at http://del.icio.us/axd/go
This page is becoming way too big - there's a persistent smell of http://c2.com/cgi-bin/wiki?WikiSquatting, seems to me...
Bookmarks
SL should have a Favorites/bookmarks mechanism (better than the customisable links in the left nav bar) to ease managing links one wants to visit, to avoid having to edit a (home) page each time a link must be added/deleted
- Benjamin Teuber/Guide To Become Strong
- DieterVerhofstadt/IdeasOnGoTheory
- DieterVerhofstadt/Ideas on improvement
- Haengma
- How To Teach Go
- Basic Instinct
- Articulation Problem
- Beginner Study Section
- Understanding Joseki As A Beginner
- When To Resign
- Priority
- Deadweight Value Of Thickness
- Bending Back
- Go On A Board Without Lines
- Systematic Joseki
- A Static Treatise On Shape
- Useful phrases in other languages, Onegaishimasu
- MentalityPath
- Philosophy Of Go
Recommended links
- uxs
- Kris created an interesting summary of terms/concepts
- Handicap For Smaller Board Sizes
- nice to know what handicap to use on smaller boards
- RGG FAQ
- things you always wanted to ask
- holosys
- Chris Lawrence made some
gorgeous pics of his freshly acquired Go set
http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/
- that's where I hope to buy a goban one day...
http://www.ymimports.com/
- alternative?
More links
- Very Artificial Problem
- Most Difficult Problem Ever
- Difference Between Pros And Amateurs
- Spot the Empty Triangle
- Fun Go Facts
- Go Dreams
ChiyoDads Go blog
SGF editors
- MultiGo
- easy to use, quick; my best pick (before I switched to Linux :). Not so user-friendly against GnuGo (but it improved). It has some very nice features: tutor mode, for example.
- cGoban2
- KGS client, SGF editor - handy if you prefer to stick to just one piece of software.
- Jago
- I don't use it often any more, but it allows you to play with a buddy across the Internet without a need for a Go server! GnuGo cap.
- GlGo
- also nice to try variations against GnuGo.
Some more or less useless graphs...
invite me on DGS!, my user ID is
axd
The transition between aug 2003 and jun 2004 is what I more or less expected when I entered DGS as a 30k (I was not certain about my strength; until then, a player from Leuven had rated me around 15kyu after one game). In about a year I reached my actual strength, probably frustrating quite some players on DGS :-(
Possible correlations to make the DGS graph a bit more interesting...
2004 12 downward peak, still to investigate; the only thing I can see, is that I played a lot as White and often ended with resigns. 2005 08 joined club in Gent 2006 09 Stormy weather approaching - a low is wandering around... 2006 10 My life is in turmoil. This morning something in me said that my go player might die. God I wish I could forget. Soaring over the abyss... 2006 10 I think I successfully crossed the abyss. but it feels like I'm sliding back. 2006 10 Definitely. I don't know when I will start playing again. Go left the building, all that remains is in ruin. 2006 11 Thanks Frederik for pulling me back.
New to Go?
People sometimes ask for more information about Go, so I created a little standard e-mail (English, easier to maintain than Dutch/French) with interesting Go links:
http://playgo.to/interactive/
- Learn Go the interactive way
http://www.smart-games.com/igowin.html
- Igowin is a small application to play 9x9 games against the computer. (Beginners, don't stay too long with this program as Igowin is bad for your game, but proceed with GnuGo)
http://www.ruijiang.com/multigo/
- Recommended Windows SGF editor (freeware), you need an SGF editor read/review your games. Includes a version of Gnu Go.
http://www.gnu.org/software/gnugo/download.html
- GnuGo is a DOS-like computer Go program - use MultiGo or Jago for the graphical interface.
http://www.dragongoserver.net/
- Free web-based Go server: play a few moves a day, whenever you have a few minutes, from your browser, in as much simultaneous games as you want. Games usually last for weeks/months on this server. No firewall issues. My user ID='axd'; please invite me, I'm there all the time! (or use
this link once you are registered) I recommend KGS or some "live" Go playing session before starting on DGS, unless time is not the most pressing issue in your life.
http://www.gokgs.com/
- Online Go server: play against opponents from all over the world; has a great teaching mode. See elsewhere on this page for contating me on KGS.
http://senseis.xmp.net/
- Sensei's Library (this site): tons of Go knowledge, a bit of a jungle at first, links to other Go sites (see also
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?GameOfGo)
-
http://www.rene-grothmann.de/jago/
- Jago is a simple (although somewhat dated) Java client+server application that allows you to play with anyone over a network (or over the Internet) without any further server support. Is also SGF editor, and GnuGo client.
http://www.gofed.be/
- Belgian Go Federation (look for Gent for my Go club)
http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/achim/gogame.html
- animated GIF of a pro game, part of
http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/achim/go.html - more interesting pages around Go.
http://www.wingsgoclub.org/books.php
- some interesting electronic books available here.
More
http://www.misterx.cistron.nl/htmlgo/
- pure HTML goban, for quick demos with bystanders