European Go Congress, last day.

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In the end I scored 10/13 in the Main Open and the Weekend, and I should really not complain. There were a few games that I won with small margins, and it was only in the last game that I messed up a position that was very good for me.

Before the tournament I did not have high expectations, since I had not played very well in the games just before. I felt I could get to a stable 2dan rank, but no more. In the end I won against all the 2- and 3dans I faced, and got an even score against 4- and 5dans. My highest ambition has been to get to 3dan, but now I aim higher.

The last game was hugely entertaining to play, but I messed up a good position, and at the end I ought to have resigned earlier:

Next post will be about chess.

European Go Congress, Open round 8.

Link

So, finally, I lost a game in the main open. Most of the early stages of the game went my way, but by the late middle game, I became increasingly unsure about the standing. Was I ahead by a few points, or was I behind? It really shold be my first priority to improve my counting. Not knowing if you are ahead or behind is a big handicap towards the end of a game.

I analyze all my games first on my own or with someone else, and then I use AI-sensei to get something to compare my opinions with. I believe this is the right order. A lot can be lost in the learning process if we just look for answers, without having a clear opinion ourselves first.

As the tournament has proceeded I have been able to look at my games together with other go players, and I came to realize that my games are overly dramatic. I tend to start complications even when they do not favour me. This loss was perhaps a move in the right direction. I did start complications that did not favour me, but it was not too early on, and with my understandning of the score it made some sense.

European Go Congress, free day no. 2

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Last wednesday (also a free day), I visited the music related attractions in central Leipzig, and on this day, the second free day, I did a café tour. I have walked more than 10km in sandals and deserve a break.

The view from inside Café Puschkin.

(I am using my I-pad to comment on the games, so there are quite a few misspellings that I miss. I hope they are not too bad.) My only loss, so far, came in the 5 round weekend tournament:

For chessplayers, my current score of 10/11, with 7/7 in the main tournament might seem weird. Why am I not leading the tournament? It is a bit comlex to explain, but if you want to know more about the Macmahon system, then you can read about it here.

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European Go Congress. Tricky tesuji at the end.

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In go it is very hard to appreciate what you need to know before you can get to the next level. There are aspects of your game that can be improved upon, but it helps if you can find something that really stands out, a key that can open the door to the next level in a second. After the game today, my opponent said ”I was leading with half a point” (at the end), and he was right. I tried to count the points again and gain, but I never arrived at a clear conclusion. My answer fluctuated with a point in one direction or the other. I will make a seriuos effort to count better in the coming year. Perhaps it will open the door?!

So, today, I got off to a good start, held on in the middlegame (better than ever before), but stumbled towards the end, but then I found a tesuji that turned the game around: