Free Board
Hi hajin,
I was wondering if I coulg get your advice on this. I seem to do ok when I have time to think, but a friend told me to play alot of blitz games in order to have a good number of positions in my head. (like 20 sec per move.) Well I tried it, and I got a better winning streak then I had been. It turns out I'm really good at blitz.
So I started thinking about why that was, and I relized I over think "alot." I try to hard and then I end up messing up a position by thinking too much, when I should just be playing basics.
So how do I manage myself when I get thinking time? When we get stronger we need to think in order to see the deeper game, but I tend to mess that up.
Any advice?
Thanks =),
Shawn
I was wondering if I coulg get your advice on this. I seem to do ok when I have time to think, but a friend told me to play alot of blitz games in order to have a good number of positions in my head. (like 20 sec per move.) Well I tried it, and I got a better winning streak then I had been. It turns out I'm really good at blitz.
So I started thinking about why that was, and I relized I over think "alot." I try to hard and then I end up messing up a position by thinking too much, when I should just be playing basics.
So how do I manage myself when I get thinking time? When we get stronger we need to think in order to see the deeper game, but I tend to mess that up.
Any advice?
Thanks =),
Shawn
2010.04.23 07:42:47
Hi Shawn! You gave me such a Good question! :)
First of all, there is nothing wrong with thinking too much as long as you stay on the right track. (you don't want to think about the group homework during playing baduk) On the contrary, I often say to the players, who ask me about the way to improve their baduk skill, that the longer the better you think. Why? Does it guarantee better moves? NO. As you told me, many players are likely to end up imagining some strange variations that would never show up in the actual game. However, you can improve your thinking only by thinking. Just like you can learn love only by loving. :) Playing baduk is like logic, as your reasoning gets longer the more chances you have flaws in it. You shouldn't be afraid of it though. Don't avoid thinking a lot just because you are not confident with that. It would make it harder to improve your overall skill. After all, the ultimate objective of playing baduk is to get to higher level, right? :)
To sum up, I suggest you to play long-term games, try to read the right variations, and never be afraid of messing up! No one's reading is perfect. You just get to practice and improve it. (OH I didn't mean that blitz games are not helpful. They are good, too! Especially for developing the sense of the flow of a game)
Hajin
2010.04.24 00:09:31
Thanks! I didn't think of it that way. =D
Well I guess I've started doing both blitz and thinking games now in order to get a good balance. I've been doing better ^.^! I'm stronger then I was last year at congress too =D! (Although my rank doesn't show it =/.) I know because I was looking at life and death problems that I struggled with at congress, and solving them with ease ^^.
I hope to change my american rating to 3d at the next tournament ^.^. Are you going to be at congress this year? I'm planning on it so I'm hoping to be there, it would be great to see you again =D.
Well back to the point ^^; thanks for the great advice =).
Maybe you could help me with another problem that showed up in my game. When I'm facing lower kyus I tend to kill thier groups "alot" but sometimes thier groups are dying and I think thier dead, then the lower kyu that I'm facing finds a way to live that I didn't see. >< I'm starting to lose confidence in my ability to do life and death in my games =(. (Naturally I picked up a life and death book and started solving some problems. lol) Is this another part of getting better? I thought I would atleast be able to do life and death better then a kyu =/
Thanks a bunch Hajin ^.^!
Shawn
Well I guess I've started doing both blitz and thinking games now in order to get a good balance. I've been doing better ^.^! I'm stronger then I was last year at congress too =D! (Although my rank doesn't show it =/.) I know because I was looking at life and death problems that I struggled with at congress, and solving them with ease ^^.
I hope to change my american rating to 3d at the next tournament ^.^. Are you going to be at congress this year? I'm planning on it so I'm hoping to be there, it would be great to see you again =D.
Well back to the point ^^; thanks for the great advice =).
Maybe you could help me with another problem that showed up in my game. When I'm facing lower kyus I tend to kill thier groups "alot" but sometimes thier groups are dying and I think thier dead, then the lower kyu that I'm facing finds a way to live that I didn't see. >< I'm starting to lose confidence in my ability to do life and death in my games =(. (Naturally I picked up a life and death book and started solving some problems. lol) Is this another part of getting better? I thought I would atleast be able to do life and death better then a kyu =/
Thanks a bunch Hajin ^.^!
Shawn
