Sunday, June 24, 2012

Sunday Go Puzzles!

A week flies right by doesn't it?  I've had a crazy busy week trying to make sure the website is going to be all set when it finally does come up, so the only post I was able to eke out was this one.  Anyways, enjoy this week's Go puzzle.  I'll go easy on you...for this week.

Solution to last week's problem

You really can never go wrong with the kosumi, can you?  The idea of this problem is to save your stone and make sure White's eye stays false.  And using White's shortage of liberties can't hurt either. comments

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Sunday Go Puzzles!

Wow, I almost forgot to put up today's puzzle.  It's not midnight in my time zone, so I can still make it!  Here's today's problem.  It's a doozy:


Well, maybe it's not that bad.  Let's just say the obvious move may not be the best move.

Solution to Last Week's Problem


This problem was tricky because it involves sacrificing so many stones, and visualizing the shape after each sacrifice.  The idea is simple: The lower right corner is a an eye in gote.  That means we have to get rid of one of White's eyes on the left.  In this case, we can create a two way street.  Black 7 threatens White's eye, now if White wants to make a gote eye in the corner, he can't save his other eye.  This one was tricky! comments

Friday, June 15, 2012

Go Videos - A Sample

So I've got some great news: I finally have enough money to get the Go website going and get some of my first videos online.  I have a brand spanking new HD camera I got super cheap on E-bay (Can we say $150?) and the library down the street will allow me to rent out their presentation room for as long as I'd like for only $25.  You've got to love public libraries.  The only thing I have left to do now is continue filming as best I can and come out with maybe 30 videos to start.  I wanted 10 for beginners, 10 for intermediate level kyu players, and 10 for single digit kyu players so there would be enough for everyone.  As time goes on I'd look at my audience and see what types of videos people would like to see.

Now I bet you're wondering what the videos are going to look like.  Well, let's satisfy that curiosity. This one is a small part of a larger video where I go over a professional game between Masaki Takemiya and Chikun Cho.  Let me know what you think!


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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

The Surrounding Game Movie

There is a great new kickstarter project I wanted to talk about for a bit, and it's called the Surrounding Game Movie.  It's going to be a documentary about the birth of the U.S. Professional Go system.  It's really exciting that someone is going to record this historic event, and I'm also all in for anything that will help spread awareness of the game in the West.  There will be interviews with Go professionals, and you'll probably learn a thing or two about Go in the West that you may not have known.  There are all sorts of great prizes for those who decide to donate, including free DVDs and tickets to go to the screening of the movie.  Take a few minutes, and definitely check it out!
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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Go Puzzle Sundays!

Today's problem will give you plenty to chew on.  It's all about the eyes!  There are two tesujis you'll need to employ to solve this problem.  See if you can find them!

Solution to last week's problem
This problem was a lesson in mutual life.  Black has to find the right point with 1.  The key to this problem is Black can defend at 5, because White cannot atari Black without making a living shape.  Four spaces on the inside in this case lives.

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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Neat New Shape!

So I was perusing through some professional games and took a look at the Chinese City League and saw one of my old standby's, Cho Chikun, playing in the league.  I took a look at his game, and found this really neat shape.  It's not new.  I found three games with this shape that were played back in 2009, the first game being Shikun Ryu vs. Rin Kono in one of the preliminary rounds for the Ouza.  It goes like this:


 I love attachment plays and this one is a doozy.  Normally when your opponent attaches to y our stone...you react.  In this case though, Black extends to 5 so that he can cede the corner to White and make groups on both sides.  White 6...is new to me.  I have never seen it before, but it ends up being a trade.
White clamps at 8, which doesn't capture the inner stones per se.  Black plays up to 13, and White 14 is a tesuji.  Can you read the rest out?

This is a common tesuji where we throw in and then connect at 24.  Black can escape with A or play at B to take the outside.  In the game, Black took B because it's pretty important, and White plays at one spot below A.  I guess there is some aji of Black escaping, but he won't be able to save those three stones, so White's group isn't split.  Black gets a strong outside, but the White stone isn't captured, and if it comes out strongly, then Black starts getting shredded.  

Any thoughts on this new shape?  How might you respond?
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Friday, June 1, 2012

Chip In and Help Launch Sunday Go Lessons


So my Go videos website is almost done, but I need some help getting across the finish line.  I need funds to get the videos professionally edited and to make a snappy introduction to each video, as well as some funds to finish up the website.  I'm using ChipIn.com to try and get the funds up, and this is where YOU come in.  Once it's all packaged, you'll be seeing a lot of videos like this:



Except even higher quality!  My aim is to create a video series for Go players of all levels.  Beginners, single digit kyus, dan level players, you'll find something that fits your needs.  It can also be a great promotional tool for clubs and a nice way to get new people interested in the game.  I'm using If you chip in, I'll throw in some free lectures!
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