Today I did not play as much Go as I had hoped, but what games I did play were enlightening. (I got a little caught up in my Zombie game, trying to code in an ammo system by myself having just learned the basics of the coding language in RPG Maker.)
It's amazing how seemingly tiny bits of advice I've gotten from opponents the last two days has helped my game. I have started to branch away from my own style of playing and into a new one entirely, as a whole new concept of strategy has begun to form in my head. Perhaps it was a collective gathering of ideas over time, and it was just the few bits of advice that made it all click? Either way, I've become very much enamored with the concept of giving and taking. Giving your opponent what he wants while also taking from somewhere else. Instead of playing with my usual, highly defensive tactics I have been experimenting with new ideas.
Another bit of advice that has helped me immensely is a small word I received on the proper use of playing a stone on the 4-4 (hoshi, or star) point versus the 3-4 point (komoku). At first I just used them blindly. I had a highly vague idea of their differences but other than that I had no clue. The main things I learned were that the star point is for faster movement, and the kumoku is for a slower, more territorial movement. I learned that while the kumoku can enclose the corner in just one extra move, the star point take a little more. Since then I have been playing one type of corner placement in each of my corners, and then noting their overall effect on the game thereafter. After testing out the advice just once it's effects were immediately obvious. It was like an great void opened in my mind and I saw the opening in a whole new way. More on this tomorrow.
With this and my new style of give and take, I have been a force to be reckoned with. My losses began turning into wins. I couldn't help but take a glance at my rank chart.
Small note: The reason I have progressed so quickly during the first half of November is because that was my first time playing Go after a 3 month hiatus. That quick burst in rank was me getting back up to speed. Before I took my break I was about 15kyu, so it would seem that I gained a rank during my time not playing! Not entirely sure how that happened. Maybe the 3 months of not playing broke some of my nasty habits, and in recovering I took more careful, thoughtful steps in what I learned?
Anyways, the main thing I am trying to point out is.. I am almost 11 kyu! This is the first time I think I've been excited about a rank change. I guess that makes me kind of a nerd huh. (Haha of course I am a nerd.) The next few days will be a fun and exciting challenge as I try my best to improve my game and keep my wins flowing steadily. Perhaps I can reach my month wide goal of reaching 10 kyu after all? Only time shall tell.
The Survivor
I sketched out the second main character of my game today. She has no name as of yet, so I will just call her "The Survivor" for now. She is the lone survivor after a horrible plague destroys her secluded farm town. Having a curious immunity to the virus, she alone takes care of the last dying villagers, including her own mother. It is a dark and especially chilly night when her bed stricken mother finally gives in to disease, then, as if in some horrible twist of fate, her dead mother becomes the first of the village to rise again. As her dead mother lashes out at her, jaws gnashing, The Survivor escapes to the nearby church, a fearsomely large scythe taken from the tool shed as her weapon.
Until tomorrow,
-BuddytheRat
-BuddytheRat
