Go Update

I haven't posted about go in a while, and for good reason; I haven't been playing. I've had the odd pickup game here and there, but that is all. All my books are gathering dust, my set remains firmly on the top of the bookshelf, and I haven't been around to the club in a while. Oddly enough, given the amount of go I have played over the years, I'm okay with that.

Why? Well, changing life circumstances have meant that I often can't make tournaments and Tuesday night go anymore. While that is certainly true, I also don't have the same drive I used to. I've gotten tired and sick to my bones of playing this game competitively, searching for wins and points to get a promotion or go to the WAGC. I just couldn't care anymore. As for studying, I'd rather curl up with something peaceful like a Jim Thompson novel or Herodotus. The decline of the Johannesburg Go Club may also have something to do with it.

Maybe I'll get back into go in a more active way in a couple of months, maybe I won't. We'll see.

Nanny Ogg 1-Dan

Nanny Ogg has just become a shodan. Congrats to her, she worked hard for it.

Experiment in Go

Go Shodan Challenge is beating herself up because of an experiment in not connecting when peeped. Wrong attitude. I believe that go is about experimentation, trying out new things, new strategies (hence my currently addiction to quasi cosmic go), new tactics. Harder to win, but worth it. So, Go Shodan Challenge, play some more games where you ignore a few peeps. Who knows, a longer stretch of sente may be more valuable than losses incurred.

Something is seriously wrong with my go

To be blunt, I'm playing utter crap each time I play. Go has become a serious of losses, with very little hope in sight. All of a sudden, I can't "see" the board anymore. It has become a mosaic of random shapes, and my next move is often a complete mystery, both before and after the event. Give me a won position and I will contrive to screw it up. And, I'm not even talking about strong opponents. These days, anyone can beat me.

In compensation, I've become aggressive on the board, cutting for the sake of cutting without any other regard. Give me a live group and I will attack it. Strange and not very successful.

Dan is not what I thought it would be.

Baduk update

I haven't blogged about go for a while, primarily because it no longer has the high priority it used to have when I was gunning for 1-dan. I haven't cracked a book or done some problems in months. I still play regularly (mostly on scratch), and have taken to playing a lot of games on KGS. Since getting dan, I've tended to be far more relaxed about winning and losing (more of the latter, I'm afraid) and have been experimenting with a Takamiya-style strategy. All that said, I'm spending more time on politics, the thesis, mechanics and other related pursuits, with go being an amusement.

After years of playing, my main conclusion about go is that my life has been much the richer for knowing the game.

When Go Meets Anarchism

The following is a kgs conversation between some SA go players. I'm overdone.

thekro [1k?]: pity - since they' should be reminded (like us)
chiron74 [13k?]: oh ok, thanks ;-)
thekro [1k?]: they can see our comments now
thekro [1k?]: once the game is over
thekro [1k?]: and if they review the game they'll see your old comments
chiron74 [13k?]: better that way I think
*****
chiron74 [13k?]: LOL! ....
thekro [1k?]: they just don't show up for them while they're playing
thekro [1k?]: see what i mean ;)
overdone [4k]: important stuff this, fate of the free world stuff
thekro [1k?]: well done dale
DaelM [7k]: it's only you guys who need to pay full attention to this trifling game
thekro [1k?]: damn - the kgs upgrade means you lose your buddy list
chiron74 [13k?]: I didn't
DaelM [7k]: yep
overdone [4k]: Aww, no friends steve, I'll be your friend
DaelM [7k]: what do you think of the new client?
thekro [1k?]: lol
thekro [1k?]: just added you
DaelM [7k]: now you
DaelM [7k]: 're stuc
chiron74 [13k?]: Quite nice - like the fact that it automatically updates
thekro [1k?]: yeah
overdone [4k]: with steve
DaelM [7k]: lol
DaelM [7k]: i like it
DaelM [7k]: but the new game dialogue is less than inutuitive
DaelM [7k]: and also 'intuitive'
chiron74 [13k?]: Graphically it is streets ahead of the others, these stones are beautiful
thekro [1k?]: we're gonna have to warn everyone to get the thing working before the next internet tournament, or we're gonna have some chaos then
overdone [4k]: but there is order in chaos
chiron74 [13k?]: fractal boy :)
DaelM [7k]: i tried igs the other night, when kgs was down
thekro [1k?]: not the sort of order that gets a tournament finished on time ;)
DaelM [7k]: the interface was terrible
thekro [1k?]: igs is horrible in terms of interface
thekro [1k?]: perhaps the windws equiv is better
overdone [4k]: time is relative
DaelM [7k]: steve, nope
DaelM [7k]: i used both
thekro [1k?]: ok
DaelM [7k]: they're both crap
thekro [1k?]: i wonder if the japs also have such a horrible interface?
thekro [1k?]: cos there are a lot of them on igs
chiron74 [13k?]: panda egg is the worst
thekro [1k?]: not like the handful of orientals on kgs
thekro [1k?]: yeah - i use an old version of glGo
DaelM [7k]: weird
DaelM [7k]: it's based on an old bbs style interface apparently
thekro [1k?]: the big attraction of igs for westerners is the high quality of opponents on igs
thekro [1k?]: but i think if cyberoro advertises, they'll lose that race
chiron74 [13k?]: and it is much easier to get a game due to the number of players
overdone [4k]: high quality? I can'tr even hadle low quality
DaelM [7k]: i'd love to get a game, but i couldn't figure out how
overdone [4k]: handle
chiron74 [13k?]: I don't like the cyberoro client
thekro [1k?]: overdone: the key to improving is palying opponents you can't handle ;)
chiron74 [13k?]: massive install and buggy
thekro [1k?]: so maybe KGS is the place for you ;)
DaelM [7k]: could you guys stop handling each other?
overdone [4k]: Right, I'm taking the baord to the zoo
chiron74 [13k?]: LOL
chiron74 [13k?]: chimps give you a run for your money
chiron74 [13k?]: :-)
DaelM [7k]: anyway
DaelM [7k]: back to trolling
overdone [4k]: But I'm his buddy, I'm allowed to hancle
overdone [4k]: nandle
overdone [4k]: handle
DaelM [7k]: fandle
thekro [1k?]: overdone: you are pro-anarchism - do you propose a lawless society?
DaelM [7k]: that's not what it means
chiron74 [13k?]: nope only a self regulating plateau that chaos brings eventually
thekro [1k?]: i read a bit the other day, and i was wondering how you thinmk society should be structured (or if)
thekro [1k?]: if you're anti-government on principle
thekro [1k?]: i know that's not what it means
DaelM [7k]: it means *imposed* law by unaccountable authority is out
thekro [1k?]: i mean - how does he see things going forward after removing govt
DaelM [7k]: eat them
overdone [4k]: Strictly defined anarchy is a society without a state. Alternative definition include contrary to authority (greek translation, and socialism without the state (Kropotkin)
overdone [4k]: well cook them first
chiron74 [13k?]: with fava beans
thekro [1k?]: so this is why definition of a state is so important
DaelM [7k]: you can't juts remove - must transition
overdone [4k]: Exactly
thekro [1k?]: for the right definition of state, anyone and everyone can be an anarchist
overdone [4k]: A blog reader
DaelM [7k]: very inclusive, it is
DaelM [7k]: that's not a bug it's a feature
overdone [4k]: yes, that is how revolution happens. everyone is invited
thekro [1k?]: i am a blog reader, but i skip most of your anarchy posts
DaelM [7k]: lol
DaelM [7k]: that's why you have the wrong idea
thekro [1k?]: yeah
overdone [4k]: then you read about dead fish
DaelM [7k]: LOL
thekro [1k?]: sometimes
chiron74 [13k?]: hey Iliked the dead fish articles
thekro [1k?]: that's sometimes inspiring
DaelM [7k]: it's either anarchy or fish
thekro [1k?]: intersting to hear a go-player with anti-jap views
DaelM [7k]: nothing else on that blog
overdone [4k]: sick bastard, amusing yourself with xenocide
DaelM [7k]: pro-whale
chiron74 [13k?]: I'm sure douglas adams could make the connection between anarchy and fish
DaelM [7k]: not anti-jap
thekro [1k?]: i thought your last conspiracy theory on global warming was perhaps a little farfetched though
overdone [4k]: Well a lot of chinese in WWII has a few anti-jap views
thekro [1k?]: hehe
thekro [1k?]: so you do support a form of governing - it just has to be accountable in some way?
overdone [4k]: Russian, Icelandic, Swedish, Canadian US companies are investing heavily in the Arctic, according to the revolutionary New York Times
DaelM [7k]: anarchists can elect governments (if they all consent). they juts can't give away their responisibilities or accountabilities
thekro [1k?]: why can only the anarchists elecT?
thekro [1k?]: dale: are you also an anarchist?.
chiron74 [13k?]: they are the guys with the cookbook - people are scared of them
DaelM [7k]: assuming your anarchist country, steve. they'll be anarchists. or claim to hide behind fictitious legal entities
overdone [4k]: Put it this way, when you take go lessons for a master, you sumbit temporarily to his authority, but which you can withdraw from at you will
DaelM [7k]: third sentence related to something else
DaelM [7k]: yes, loosely. closer to a luddite
DaelM [7k]: but that's another over mis-represented category
overdone [4k]: You have a greater chance, if you live in the US, of being killed by a US police officer than a terrorist.
DaelM [7k]: that's authority at work
DaelM [7k]: bow, bitch
DaelM [7k]: :)
thekro [1k?]: be with you in a moment
overdone [4k]: So, I'm scared of the guys in blue, not the guys with dodgy chemistry instructions
thekro [1k?]: tristen: i agree america has got it wrong
DaelM [7k]: steve, have you read tolstoy?
overdone [4k]: The Kingdom of God is Within You
thekro [1k?]: no i haven't, but i'm considering adding him to my to-read list
DaelM [7k]: highly religious basis for passive resistance and for refusing allegiance to imposed authority
DaelM [7k]: tremendously influential
thekro [1k?]: yeah - i've heard about it
DaelM [7k]: gandhi, thoreau and many others
overdone [4k]: Inspired Gandhi, with whom he traded letters
DaelM [7k]: well worth looking into all of them
overdone [4k]: Available for download from project gutenberg
thekro [1k?]: the problem with this, as i see it, is not everyone will agree on any govt
DaelM [7k]: read thoreau on Civil Disobedience
DaelM [7k]: thyat's exactly right
thekro [1k?]: so you'll never get ANY govt
DaelM [7k]: steve, that's why they fail
overdone [4k]: So we must beat them into submission?
thekro [1k?]: hence never any law
thekro [1k?]: so ppl end up doing whatever they want
thekro [1k?]: which isn't a problem for some people
thekro [1k?]: but that's why i started with the question i did
DaelM [7k]: so you cheat when no-one's looking?
chiron74 [13k?]: I am not sure I would like to live in a society where people run amuck and impose on the rights of others
thekro [1k?]: no - "cheat" when everyone's looking
DaelM [7k]: in all facets?
thekro [1k?]: chiron: but who's going to make a system against imposing other's rights in an anarchist state?
overdone [4k]: No. Societies subscribe to various norms and conventions. Is the only reason you don't kill us all is because you'll go to jail?
chiron74 [13k?]: people can't be relied on to apeal to their own sense of conscience
DaelM [7k]: why not?
thekro [1k?]: nope tristen, but i fully believe there are people who are restrained by exactly that
thekro [1k?]: and you've got to cater for them as well
chiron74 [13k?]: there are to many social outliers who would infringe on what others believe and try to achieve - you are talking about returning to a kind of wild west
overdone [4k]: Who? Most of the ciminals I know seem to view jail as a education, not as a punsihment
DaelM [7k]: peopel can be educated to defer gratification, to discipline, to derive benefit from cooperation. all these things happen naturally in every small group
overdone [4k]: Look, historical presecendent. When the anarchists took over Barcelona in 1936, they made an entire city work. Everybody got bread, the phones worked, water worked, but with no government. Then the communists crushed them
thekro [1k?]: an atheist (for example) who is seriously pissed ooff by someone (slept with his wife, for example) may stay his hand by the threat of jail/death sentence
DaelM [7k]: thekro [1k?]: what's your thesis topic, tristen?

After which, kgs disappeared the rest. Go figure, but you get the drift.

Status of go habit

I've been avoiding blogging about go for the last couple of months, mostly because the mission of achieving 1-Dan has been accomplished. Since getting the sacred 1-Dan rank, my play has devolved to the point where I can only win because my opponent happens to commit suicide. I can only surmise that in those rare occasions, my moves must have sent my opponent spiralling into a state of utter horror and total loss of faith in human logic after witnessing a succession of blunders, bad shape, and opening sequences that mock joseki.

Not going to Japan

I bombed out of the qualifier for the SA Closed (see last Sunday's post for more info), and that means I'm most likely never going to the WAGC. I find it strangely liberating; I've made dan, am out of the running for the WAGC, and now there's nothing left for me regarding go except to enjoy the game for the sake of the game alone. That's kind of cool (not as cool as going to the WAGC, but, hey, fuck it, right?).

Go Tournament Today

I've just finished playing the second game in the South African Candidates, which is the qualifier for the SA Closed, which, in turn, goes a long way to deciding who goes to the WAGC. Lost my first game (thrashed myself, if you care to know), won the second, and need to win the last in order to qualify. Cross fingers and sacrifice a libertarian.

African Oza 2006

For the official report, go here.

DAN!!!!!!!!!!!

ONE DAN!!!!!!

Let's get wasted...

African Oza 2006

Last weekend was the African Oza (qualifying round for the Toyota & Denso tournament), held in Stellenbosch (Western Cape, South Africa). I had a ball of a time, and even managed to play some decent go. The tournament started on Friday and ended on Sunday, you can read the official report here.

Friday night and Staurday night were spent drinking in various bars and clubs (on Saturday night, we were out until 3:30am).

Picture 1: My opponent in Round 7



Picture 2: My mate 40 minutes before the Round 5 (Sunday morning at the backpackers, we were too late and drunk to find our room and, hence, slept in the lounge)



Picture 3: Evening Recreation



My results:

Game One: win vs. 1-kyu
Game Two: lose vs. 7-dan
Game Three: win vs. 1-dan
Game Four: lose vs. 3-kyu
Game Five: lose vs. 3-kyu
Game Six: win vs. 3-kyu
Game Seven: win vs. 2-kyu

New Go Blog

Just found Later On, check it some time.

Baduk and Community

Go is a competitive game, a zero-sum game; if one player wins, her opponent must lose. Total war exists on the goban, and only the best survive. Those with the highest ability, the deeper concentration, and the strongest will to power win. Essentially, as Nietzsche puts it:

“My idea is that every specific body strives to become master over all space and to extend its force (--its will to power:) and to thrust back all that resists its extension.”

--The Will to Power, s.636, Walter Kaufmann translation.

What utter fucking rubbish, and yet held so true and high in the go world.

Time and time again, in tournament after tournament, go is treated simply as a game between two players, one winner, and nothing else. Probably been this way since the days of the Sun Emperor. Go players across the globe revel in total victory, and this is reflected in both go's internal hierarchy (the ranking system) and in tournaments. In the struggle to be the best, to win, the best of go is overlooked or never even considered.

Go is a social act in a community setting, and, so, is laced with all the ethics and morality that goes with any act in a community. When a player sits down, he sits not alone but with many others. He is a part of his community (local club, for example), he comes with knowledge, grace (hopefully), and the investment of every player he has encountered before, and he participates in social interaction with another human being. Why? To win at all costs? Surely not, but, if so, then he or she has become atomised, divorced from greater considerations and any thought of community.

And that misses the point. Playing go is fun, especially if it is with friends. For the vast majority of go players, the end of playing is to have fun. This also implies an obligation to one's community to work towards that end. Unless you subscribe to an egotist approach to fun and pleasure, the fun of others will have to be addressed and by each individual. Essentially, if you play go for fun, either be a free-rider or an active member.

Treat go as not an intellectual pastime but as social interaction and all will be well.

Johannesburg Baduk Open 2006

The JHB Open for 2006 was last Sunday, and, like Dick's friend, I decided to have some fun with my pals. Now, I play go with my heart, and not with my head, which is slightly unfortunate because it often leads to me shooting my load without looking.

I blew away my first opponent (1-Dan) with a lucky, what-the-hell strike that left him mortally wounded.

In the next round, the eventual winner of the tournament (2-Dan) and I went mano a mano through the fuskei until I made a ill-conceived invasion (based on a long, hard 30 seconds bout of analysis) and was then the victim of exact and ruthless sniper fire.

I shrugged off that loss and went into the last round and played with gay abandon. For most of the game, it was the road to Baghdad for my opponent (2-kyu), until I played a connection that actually was a self-inflicted cut, worth the life of a 78-point group.

I should really think before making a move. This hair-trigger stuff just doesn't work.

Tuesday Night Go

The Club was packed on Tuesday night, with several strong players, which was ever so cool. I lost to a 10-kyu (9 stones), beat a 1-Dan (1 stone), and then went 1-1 with another Dan player. An okay result, I guess.

African Oza On

It looks like a budget has been approved (see here for more), so the African Oza is on. Hi-ho, hi-ho, off to the SA Open I go with razor blades and hand grenades, hi-ho, hi-ho.

African-Oza in Trouble?

The Toyota-Denso is coming to South Africa (Feb. 24-26), and I'm going down to the Cape to play go with players from other African countries! Yeah! Paid for my ticket and all. Can't wait.

There seems to be some hiccups, however, regarding budget approval from the Nihon Ki-in. If the Nihon Ki-in doesn't fund, then there will be no tournament. Very sad. Go here for more on that.

Silly Go

Once again, I had a bad run at the Club. Went down 3-1, with the three losses due to silly mistakes. I should stop making those, my opponents deserve better.

Hammered on First Go Night of the Year

I went down 0-4 on the first club evening of 2006. True to form.