As I'm writing this, I'm ranked 7th kyu on KGS. However, I don't think it represents the true level of my go.

But because of experiments (that often turn out to be wrong) and some dumb mistakes (not seeing an atari on my 20 stone group), I'm at 7k. These 7k show my instinct level. I'm not reading too much, I don't have a plan or anything like that either.

I was wondering if some of you guys out there (that already reached 2d) would have some tips for me. I'm trying to play often and I read some go books. However, since I don't have the level to review pro games, I can't do it. If you could help me in my 2d quest, it would be very nice.

Welcome!



Maybe you're right... However, I don't think that someone who's competitive with 5k and plays 2d players at 3 stones is worth 7k. I've recently had 2 very good games. 1 against a 7k. I won by 25 points after losing stupidly a 40-50 point group stupidly. I also almost got a 3k. Again, stupid mistake made me lose this game (however, it was 3AM, so I blame the fact that I was still tired )



Perhaps I don't realize it due to my lack of experience. It will catch me some day, though. That I'm sure of it.

I think there's basically two things you need: experience (play lots of games) and reading (do go problems).

Do not play "casual" games. Win every game you play ("Do, or do not. There is no try."). Start being very careful one move before you think you need to be careful.

Good luck!

PS If you played a bajillion games on KGS, it's possible for your rank to get "stuck". But if you make a new account on KGS and it still awards you 7k, it's probably better to accept what KGS tells you than what it feels like you ought to be at.

Good luck to you. I envy your enthusiasm.

Show us your true strength! If you're taking 3 stones from the 2D players, you're around my strength (though I freely admit I'm the weakest 2K on KGS ... ever). I think I'll peruse some of your games, see what kind of style you play.

I don't win my games often, but when I do, I win by 70 points.

On the other hand, it is true that some people fetishize their KGS accounts and only play to win, while other people experiment, goof around, and play when they're tired, drunk, depressed, distracted, whatever. I think Daniel's advice is probably good, but also that you should prioritize playing a lot over winning a lot. (That is - if you're totally exhausted after a long day, losing three games before going to bed is probably better for your go than going to bed and keeping your rank unsullied.)

Hello everyone!

I've learned about go 5 months ago, by reading the Hikaru no Go mangas (like many people here, probably). They got me really interested in the game. 3 months ago, I've started playing. In my first games, my rank was about 10 kyu. In these 3 months, I started to climb up, rarely going down. I got stuck at 9k for a little while (1 month) but I kept on progressing.

As I'm writing this, I'm ranked 7th kyu on KGS. However, I don't think it represents the true level of my go.

At the go club, I play 2d players with 3 handicap stones. On KGS, I literally cream 7 and 6 kyu (winning by 70 points).

It will probably sound stupid because of my incredibly low level, but I want to become pro. I want to test myself before starting studying go intensively. If I can't become pro, I want at least to have a strong education to find a decent job. If I could make it to 2d in 1 year, I would start investing all my efforts in improving my go.

For ordinary players, I agree with jts at least a little bit. But I think if you want to be really strong, you have to have the attitude that there is no acceptable reason for losing. Exhaustion, distraction-- those are things that affect mere mortals, and you no longer compete with mortals, you crush them-- every single time. If you want to be a pro--actually, set your goal higher: the best player in the world isn't that much better than an average pro in absolute terms--if you want to be the best, you will have to shut up and do the impossible.

Is that an extremely difficult endeavor? Yes. Will it take an amazing amount of willpower? Yes. There is just not that much room on the right-hand side of the bell curve. But that is not an acceptable excuse.

And if you feel motivated after reading this, then I think there is a chance you will succeed.

It will probably sound stupid because of my incredibly low level, but I want to become pro. I want to test myself before starting studying go intensively. If I can't become pro, I want at least to have a strong education to find a decent job. If I could make it to 2d in 1 year, I would start investing all my efforts in improving my go.

Bearing in mind the above comments, I now feel obliged to make a realist's observation as someone who has played several games at the top level. Your early progression seems well short of what it would take to turn pro. One player that I know who has enough natural talent to turn pro. Progressed to 1 kyu in 5 months without a plateau and from a lot of evidence (although I haven't had time to try for myself) the KGS ranks seem a lot weaker than the live ranks at the time I am talking about.

Therefore, when you are talking about compromising your education for the sake of Go alarm bells are going off in my head (you are clearly still young). 2D is a rank that is achieved by some 6 year olds.

I would recommend that you choose a set of studies that allow you to pursue your interest and Go and let you decide at an older age whether you are good enough when you will have sufficient resources to fall back on if things go wrong. A good job will let you travel to Asia for competitions and even pay for Pros to coach you.

An example of studies might be: oriental studies: Japanese, Chinese and Korean are obvious advantages for studying Go.

Mathematics and Computer studies allow people to build computer playing programs for Go.
All of these skills could still leave you highly employable. The other thing perhaps to try is writing articles about Go when learning to play.

There is more to life than Go or any game. So make sure you don't over invest at too young an age.

Having said all this, if you truly have the attitude to make it you will dismiss all of the above advice because it doesn't take you where you want to go. So good luck.