Unfortunately, I have missed two congresses in a row. I've attended a total of twelve congresses since my first tournament in 1997.
That, and the fact that it is sudden death, so you have to watch your time, and you have little time to read because you can't depend on byo yomi at the end. I think that is the most important thing to know about pair go. I think we will try to play some rengo games on KGS so he gets an idea of what it feels like to lose control of the game. When he said that he might not be good at pair go, having never played it before, I assured him that the important thing is to have fun. Even before he knew I was coming to the congress he had asked if I was interested in some slow games for analysis with his teacher as he prepares for the congress. Last night we talked online and I asked him if he would be my pair go partner and he agreed. Yang thought it was great that we would have a common foundation. I assured Yang that my potential partner had read "The Fundamental Principles of Go", so he "knows something" as I put it. I suggested this to Yang and he said that a couple stones higher will be good, and that I may even play better than him sometimes. That puts him at just the right level for me. Recently he rose to 7k and hopes to feel strong enough to promote to 6k for the tournament. I know someone from the DC area who I have played a few times at tournaments because we have been progressing/stagnating at the same pace for a little while. His advice was to seek someone a little stronger than myself. During our lesson on Thursday I asked him if he thought it would be better for me to seek a partner of my own strength or if I should seek a stronger partner. However, I wanted to make a good choice in advance, so I asked the advice of my long time teacher Yilun Yang. I could go without a plan and easily find a partner and have a good time. Women are at a premium at the congress and never have a problem finding a partner. It is all good practice for the Go Congress.
Near the end I counted the board a number of times. It was a fun game and I am glad I took my time to think and to read. I did manage to win even though white tried to cause trouble with an eleventh hour invasion in the lower right. We were playing it for review purposes anyway, so we took it to the end.
After I was fairly certain that I would be able to continuously atari and capture with a shortage of liberties I played m12.Īlthough the damage was great, it was still a game. It seemed to me as if something might happen. Rather than responding instantly to his move I took the time to look and to read. My opponent responded with L13, which actually turned out to be a mistake. Later I felt the need to try to get into the center and so I played a move that felt to me as if it were an overplay. The game was fairly even up until I made a mistake playing at g12. It was a little bigger, however, and my good go buddy KGS ID ChasLayton referred to it as a Condor's Nest when he observed it. It involves a shortage of liberties and inevitable capture.Ī similar situation arose in a game I played a few days ago on KGS. I guess once the players know how it works they generally can see it coming. The Crane's Nest is a common go position that I don't see much in my games.