BenGoZen

Off In Development World…

As some of you are aware, I’ve gone off the deep end into the software development world. I’ll be taking a longer sabbatical than anticipated; but you’ll still be able to catch me for a game of go or discussion on things you can do to progress! So feel free to email me whenever and draw me out to a game on KGS whenever, because I could sure use the distraction. Meanwhile, best of luck to everyone…

Encountering My First Chess Advocate

Today at work I was talking to my co-worker and was scoffed at when he found out I played go.

“Who plays go?!” he exclaimed.

I tried to then jump into a mini-speech on its complexity; but he shut me down pretty quickly by dismissing me and saying that chess was much more complex and the only reason why go is as “mysterious” as it seems to be is because it essentially hasn’t had the same exposure…

Monday Go Meditation: Game 71

Introduction

For this week’s meditation, we are going to start off nice and easy with a 9×9 game I played on GoQuest a week or so ago. It’s not too crazy in regards to fighting, but is a great example of how powerful influence can be on such a small board. Hope that you enjoy the game and the commentary!

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Hello Again with GoKibitz

Hey everyone. Just wanted to let you know I’m still alive and well. Been getting into some really interesting projects these past few weeks and have been really pondering what I can do with blogging again since I miss doing it. And as someone who hates it when a regular blogger just drops out of the blogosphere, you can rest assured that I won’t ever just leave the blog hanging in the event I…

Happy Chinese New Year 2015!

First and foremost, my apologies for disappearing out of the blue like that. Though it would not have been my preference, a number of things came up that forced me to put go on the back burner for a little bit. On the upside though, I will be starting a new job in a couple of weeks and plan to start getting back to go.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Giving DGS Another Shot

I’ve decided to give Dragon Go Server another shot. While I had some issues with it in the past, I’m ready to approach it again from a more calm approach. In other words, I won’t be in a rush to make my move or finish games. Instead, I’ll view each move as a problem for me to solve. No more, no less. So go ahead and send your challenges. I await them in anticipation!

Weekly Status Report: #12

Overview

With 2015 upon us, I wanted to start off right by kicking off the status reports again since they are a great way for me to keep myself accountable to what’s been happening. As you’ll notice, the training regimen has returned to its simplest form. This is primarily due to the desire to stay the course without any wavering. So while this report is a little bare, I’m certainly hoping to…

A Retrospective on 2014

Hey everyone. Sorry that I’ve been MIA for a while. As you might have guessed, I’ve been caught up with work along with the many obligations that come with the holiday season. Lots of late nights, running errands, cooking, cleaning, etc.

While I haven’t been able to blog as much as I would like, I couldn’t bear the thought of ending 2014 without some sort of retrospective.

In terms of how the…

Weekly Progress Report: #11

Overview

Hey everyone. Sorry for not updating the weekly status report for the last two weeks. I’ve been doing a bit of introspection and came to the realization that everything had started to become a bit too mundane for my liking. I know that this runs slightly counter to my whole notion of “consistency,” but I feel like there comes a point when it becomes robotic (which is the last thing I…

Stirring the Embers Once Again…

As many of you are aware, the legendary Go Seigen passed away on November 30th. I’ve been wracking my brain for a way to properly honor him, but it is still eluding me. To help the process out, I decided that it would be a good start working through my collection of his games again. As I played through his game (above), I started to feel the embers begin to catch flame again.

I also had the…

Good at the Opening? Blasphemy!

I’ve had the good fortune of playing with two 5+ dans recently. Though my game crumbled very quickly in the middle game, I received interesting feedback from both players (who don’t know one another as far as I’m aware): I have a good sense of the opening.

To say I was surprised was a bit of an understatement. One of the things I always prided myself in was the willingness to fight and dive into…

As I’ve been starting to unravel the tightly wound knot that has been at the core of my fear to play games the way I used to, one of the things I noticed is that there is one joseki in particular that has played a major role in my discomfort at playing full games.

Yup. The one-space low pincer to the high-one space approach to the 3-4. Words cannot express how much I hated seeing that move…

Weekly Progress Report: #10

Overview

Looks like Monday Go Meditation will continue to be on break for a little bit; but on the upside, that comes with the contingency that it seems like I am working my way back into playing games again (which will inadvertently make the MGM’s that much more meaningful as time goes on).

Life and work continues to try to drown me in all of its priorities as I shift gears and prepare to ramp…

Over the last few days, part of my subconscious was nagging me for spending so much time not playing a single game. And while I did play at least one 9×9 game a day, it has been ages since I last played a full 19×19 game in real time. And for those who want to count the one at the Pumpkin Classic, that doesn’t really count since I wasn’t planning to play. So in another sense, I have been avoiding…

Weekly Progress Report: #09

Overview

As the weeks have piled on, it’s only to be expected that I would eventually hit a burnout period of some sort. This week seemed to show signs of it, but I’ve managed to weather the storm for the most part. My training regimen hasn’t been impacted at all, but I’m afraid that Monday Go Meditation will have to be on break next week.

Due to copious amounts of work, I did not manage to meet…

Although progress seems to have been a bit slow, I’m happy to report that I actually finished Jump Level Up 2 recently. When I first started the book, I have to admit that I was concerned it would take too long; but before I knew it, it’s finished and I’m onto the next volume! Hoorah for steady progress.

Even though I have some concern regarding my lack of playing, I’m still happy that I’m able…

Monday Go Meditation: Game 70

Introduction

For this week’s go meditation, I am featuring my game from the Pumpkin Classic that I had the pleasure of visiting for a round. This game was an interesting challenge for me since it had been a while since I had played a game in person, let alone play a handicap game. As this is a handicap game where I play White, I hope that my thoughts throughout the game will help you understand…