Break

It's been more than a year since the last time I grabbed a book not related to Go. I'm currently facing many challenges both work and family related, that leave me with "fewer than before" spare time, and I realize I must let my mind wander too, so I decided to grab a literature book that I also enjoy so much, and I'll be giving myself a break with Go. I hope it doesn't take long though.

Game review

In the following 3 stone handicap game I was playing white, and had a clear lead (about 100 points) when starting the endgame ("starting the end", sounds weird huh). Everything was going fine and easy, so I started playing fast and light headed. Suddenly, I saw a whole group of white stones disappear! What happened!? I asked myself. My beautiful stones, vanished into thin air! I bet that playing on a computer has a much higher risk of heart attack, compared to a real board... Vanishing stones are a real health threat, really.

Why did this happen? How could this happen? Can it be possible that you can lose a game like that. Fortunately it is, and for me this is one of the beauties of Go, and what makes it really interesting. A group is not dead till it's dead. Groups are never captured unless necessary, and while the game progresses, pressure gets higher and higher. Not to mention if a Ko takes place. Buying oneself tranquility may have too high a cost.

Besides lack of attention, I made the mistake because instead of doing things the easy way, I preferred a "smarter but riskier" way, maybe appropriate for another circumstance. I hope this gives me a lesson.

This is the game, move 223 is my fatal mistake.

Single digit kyu

Today I hit a milestone in DGS, I reached a 9kyu rank! Fortunately I'm not at the point in which I lose more games than I win, so I suppose there is still room for lowering it even more. I'm still ranked 13k+ at IGS but in that server it takes quite some time to reach a stable level.
Time to go for a beer and prepare for next stop - 5kyu :)