First Dan Level Class

Walther, one of the 5 dans in our club, is very generously organizing classes for us not-yet-5-dan players.  He first started a Single Digit Kyu (SDK) class in January.  We have a really great bunch of SDKs in our club, who are quickly rising through the ranks.  (I'm planning to hop on that wave as it comes by and surf it to 5 dan.)  As an alleged dan-level player myself, I was not allowed to participate.  I belated decided to try to follow along with their curriculum, but I'm behind schedule.  They'll have their second class tomorrow, in which they'll talk about their second set of 3 memorized games involving the micro Chinese opening.  (They memorized their first set of 3 games for the first class back in January.)  Looking for micro Chinese games was how I ran across Xie Erhao (see earlier post), but so far I have only memorized 2 games, and even those might be shaky since I have not reviewed them in about a week (I got swamped with exams at work).

Anyway, Walther is now organizing a dan level class.  We'll have our first meeting at the end of March.  For our class, we're going back to the classics -- Meijin games.  The meijins go way back, starting with Honinbo Sansa in the early 1600's:

We'll be studying a game from much more recent history, namely the first match of the 6th edition of the Meijin tournament in 1981 between Kato Masao:

and Cho Chikun:

  

The game (http://ps.waltheri.net/642067) has a lot of really complicated fighting and sacrificing.  I'm finding it more challenging to memorize (so far) than the micro Chinese games.  There are definitely a lot of moves I don't understand yet.

City League Round 4 (results)

I won my City League game on Sunday!

It was originally scheduled for 3 pm, but my opponent moved it to 6 pm, which worked well for me, since I was returning from the Catskills that day.

My opponent was Topgun, a 5d on IGS. Under City League rules, for the C league (the league in which I am playing) we play handicap-2. Since I'm officially registered with them as a 1 dan (as you'll see below, my IGS account is currently at 1 kyu), he gave me 2 stones in this game.

He did not play any double approaches against my star point stones, but he did open with a 5-4, and pincered when I played inside. White definitely controlled most of the game, but I was able to eke out a win by 1.5 points. I'm looking forward to having Guo Juan review the game.

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]HA[2]KM[0.50]TM[3600] GN[Topgun-miso(B) IGS]PW[Topgun]PB[miso]WR[5d]BR[1k]DT[2016-02-22]CP[ Copyright (c) PANDANET Inc. 2016 Permission to reproduce this game is given, provided proper credit is given. No warrantee, implied or explicit, is understood. Use of this game is an understanding and agreement of this notice. ]EV[Internet Go Server game: Topgun vs miso]PC[IGS: igs.joyjoy.net 6969]US[Brought to you by IGS PANDANET]AB[pd][dp]RE[B+1.50]LT[]NB[28]NW[33]RR[Normal] ;W[qo]WL[3580] ;B[dd]BL[3594] ;W[qf]WL[3573] ;B[nd]BL[3586] ;W[pj]WL[3562] ;B[jc]BL[3575] ;W[fq]WL[3555] ;B[cn]BL[3545] ;W[dr]WL[3548] ;B[cq]BL[3524] ;W[ip]WL[3545] ;B[pq]BL[3439] ;W[mq]WL[3538]C[I didn't know how to handle this pincer. I tried to make sure I could get out to the center, so White wouldn't be all connected.] ;B[po]BL[3360] ;W[pn]WL[3532] ;B[oo]BL[3359] ;W[qp]WL[3527] ;B[qq]BL[3348] ;W[rq]WL[3519] ;B[pp]BL[3266] ;W[qm]WL[3494] ;B[rr]BL[3264] ;W[rp]WL[3488] ;B[mo]BL[3161] ;W[cf]WL[3476] ;B[fd]BL[3133] ;W[lp]WL[3473] ;B[ch]BL[3118] ;W[cl]WL[3468] ;B[fp]BL[3055]C[I also thought a lot about different options for this move. I've been studying this move in Guo Juan's training system but, in those lessons, White J4 is at J3, so the result is different.] ;W[gp]WL[3461] ;B[eq]BL[3052] ;W[er]WL[3459] ;B[fo]BL[3010] ;W[go]WL[3456] ;B[ce]BL[2991] ;W[df]WL[3450] ;B[cj]BL[2990] ;W[di]WL[3444] ;B[ci]BL[2981] ;W[el]WL[3442] ;B[dh]BL[2955] ;W[cc]WL[3436] ;B[dc]BL[2835] ;W[ge]WL[3427] ;B[gd]BL[2812] ;W[be]WL[3421] ;B[cd]BL[2810] ;W[bd]WL[3419] ;B[bc]BL[2805] ;W[eg]WL[3412] ;B[eh]BL[2791] ;W[gg]WL[3409] ;B[bg]BL[2767] ;W[bf]WL[3398] (;B[ej]BL[2746] ;W[fn]WL[3391] ;B[cr]BL[2717] ;W[bn]WL[3383] ;B[bo]BL[2668] ;W[dn]WL[3351] ;B[do]BL[2657] ;W[cm]WL[3349] ;B[co]BL[2649] ;W[je]WL[3338] ;B[rd]BL[2610]C[My opponent thought this was a bad move. Later, White took away all this territory, so it certainly didn't work out very well for Black.] ;W[ic]WL[3321] ;B[id]BL[2576] ;W[jd]WL[3317] ;B[hc]BL[2541] ;W[kc]WL[3311] ;B[ib]BL[2537] ;W[fi]WL[3307] ;B[ei]BL[2535] ;W[gk]WL[3303] ;B[nm]BL[2442] ;W[oc]WL[3300] ;B[od]BL[2427] ;W[nc]WL[3296] ;B[pc]BL[2406] ;W[mc]WL[3282] ;B[ie]BL[2395] ;W[le]WL[3276] ;B[if]BL[2381] ;W[re]WL[3273] ;B[pb]BL[2351] ;W[nf]WL[3266] ;B[pf]BL[2286] ;W[pg]WL[3264] ;B[of]BL[2284] ;W[og]WL[3260] ;B[ih]BL[2244] ;W[hi]WL[3249] ;B[pk]BL[2158] ;W[ok]WL[3243] ;B[oj]BL[2113] ;W[qd]WL[3230] ;B[qc]BL[2102] ;W[qe]WL[3228] ;B[rc]BL[2088] ;W[ol]WL[3209] ;B[om]BL[2057] ;W[pl]WL[3205] ;B[kb]BL[1904] ;W[jg]WL[3188] ;B[ig]BL[1880] ;W[ob]WL[3183] ;B[lc]BL[1810]C[My opponent praised this move -- Black finally fights back!] ;W[md]WL[3171] ;B[ng]BL[1781] ;W[mf]WL[3157] ;B[nh]BL[1774] ;W[pi]WL[3150] ;B[lh]BL[1652]C[In the analysis afterward, he said he played too conservatively. Particularly in this area, he felt he should fight back. ] (;W[lg]WL[3147] ;B[kh]BL[1626] ;W[kg]WL[3106] ;B[jh]BL[1599]C[Now Black is very strong in the center. ] ;W[kd]WL[3098] ;B[mb]BL[1583] ;W[ne]WL[3080] ;B[pa]BL[1551] ;W[sr]WL[3077] ;B[nr]BL[1511] ;W[nq]WL[3059] ;B[mr]BL[1448] ;W[lr]WL[3056] ;B[oq]BL[1442] ;W[ms]WL[3048] ;B[os]BL[1387] ;W[qr]WL[3045] ;B[pr]BL[1385] ;W[rs]WL[3044] ;B[np]BL[1373] (;W[kn]WL[3025]C[He also thought this was the wrong direction, since Black now has that thick wall. ] ;B[fk]BL[1352] ;W[fl]WL[3020] ;B[gj]BL[1347] ;W[hj]WL[2999] ;B[fj]BL[1316] ;W[gi]WL[2967] ;B[hk]BL[1300] ;W[ik]WL[2915] ;B[gl]BL[1295] ;W[jj]WL[2911] ;B[il]BL[1215] ;W[jl]WL[2909] ;B[im]BL[1209] ;W[gm]WL[2903] ;B[jm]BL[1204] ;W[kl]WL[2889] ;B[fh]BL[1201] ;W[gh]WL[2866] ;B[oi]BL[1194] ;W[qh]WL[2857] ;B[km]BL[1191] ;W[ll]WL[2816] ;B[lm]BL[1011] ;W[ml]WL[2805] ;B[io]BL[982] ;W[jp]WL[2794] ;B[dq]BL[944] ;W[fr]WL[2783] ;B[ac]BL[931] ;W[mm]WL[2780] ;B[ln]BL[910] ;W[jn]WL[2772] ;B[in]BL[885] (;W[bl]WL[2761] ;B[kq]BL[787]C[Black took the last chance to take these points.] ;W[lq]WL[2731] ;B[kp]BL[769] ;W[kr]WL[2716] ;B[lo]BL[714] ;W[jq]WL[2699] ;B[ko]BL[712] ;W[ao]WL[2695] ;B[ap]BL[708] ;W[an]WL[2694] ;B[bq]BL[699] ;W[jo]WL[2693] ;B[mj]BL[685] ;W[lj]WL[2648] ;B[nl]BL[660] ;W[mk]WL[2644] ;B[nk]BL[659] ;W[kk]WL[2629] ;B[bk]BL[629] ;W[ak]WL[2623] ;B[aj]BL[625] ;W[al]WL[2621] ;B[en]BL[623] ;W[dm]WL[2614] ;B[pm]BL[609] ;W[qk]WL[2608] ;B[ag]BL[575] ;W[ck]WL[2604] ;B[bj]BL[574] ;W[dk]WL[2600] ;B[oa]BL[563] ;W[nb]WL[2581] ;B[na]BL[561] ;W[fg]WL[2550] ;B[mp]BL[556] ;W[ho]WL[2534] ;B[fe]BL[550] ;W[mi]WL[2504] ;B[nj]BL[543] ;W[mh]WL[2469] ;B[mg]BL[534] ;W[oh]WL[2465] ;B[ni]BL[527] ;W[li]WL[2464] ;B[on]BL[525]C[I knew the game was close, but didn't know quite how close it was. I was still intimidated, and tried to play safe.] ;W[hm]WL[2452] ;B[hl]BL[522] ;W[sd]WL[2412] ;B[sc]BL[517] ;W[se]WL[2411] ;B[jf]BL[511] ;W[kf]WL[2409] ;B[ns]BL[498] ;W[jr]WL[2399] ;B[ii]BL[490] ;W[ij]WL[2397] ;B[ki]BL[485] ;W[kj]WL[2395] ;B[gf]BL[475] ;W[ff]WL[2393] ;B[hf]BL[470] ;W[ee]WL[2373] ;B[ed]BL[467] ;W[ds]WL[2371] ;B[dj]BL[426] ;W[eo]WL[2367] ;B[ep]BL[412] ;W[cs]WL[2292] ;B[bs]BL[409] ;W[qn]WL[2279] ;B[ps]BL[407] ;W[hn]WL[2267] ;B[qs]BL[398] ;W[rr]WL[2266] ;B[mn]BL[375] ;W[ad]WL[2258] ;B[cb]BL[373] ;W[cg]WL[2253] ;B[af]BL[350] ;W[ls]WL[2243] ;B[em]BL[336] ;W[ld]WL[2217] ;B[lb]BL[332] ;W[fm]WL[2215] ;B[eo]BL[325] ;W[dg]WL[2214] ;B[de]BL[315] ;W[ef]WL[2213] ;B[pe]BL[285] ;W[ae]WL[2206] ;B[bh]BL[283] ;W[oe]WL[2203] ;B[]BL[250] ;W[]WL[2202] ;B[]BL[250] ;TW[ke][me][lf][rf][sf][qg][rg][sg][ph][rh][sh][qi][ri][si][qj][rj][sj][jk][lk][pk][rk][sk][dl][ql][rl][sl][am][bm][rm][sm][gn][rn][sn][ro][so][hp][sp][gq][hq][iq][sq][gr][hr][ir][es][fs][gs][hs][is][js][ks][ss]TB[aa][ba][ca][da][ea][fa][ga][ha][ia][ja][ka][la][ma][qa][ra][sa][ab][bb][db][eb][fb][gb][hb][jb][qb][rb][sb][cc][ec][fc][gc][ic][hd][ge][he][ah][ai][bi][di][gk][nn][no][bp][cp][op][aq][ar][br][or][as]C[B+1.5]OS[CRLxslpq][CRmAasJW][MohsenCh11][fnupall][malesch][seektruth][shauke][vash3g]) (;W[lo]C[In the review, my opponent pointed out that if he had made this exchange, White would win.] ;B[mn] ;W[bl])) (;W[jj]C[Maybe this is better for White.])) (;W[ki]C[Maybe here?])) (;B[gi]C[In our review after the game, my opponent suggested Black should play here instead. I considered this move, but wimped out and played E10 for safety. But I think he's right that keeping the pressure up on White allows Black to control the game and makes it much harder for White.]))

City League Round 4 (preparation)

I'm participating in the current season of the Pandanet City League. I'm Player 3 on Boston 5. (We have a very active and strong club!)

One of the really nice things about City League (apart from the opportunity to get crushed by stronger players) is the chance to prepare for your games, since you know in advance who you'll be playing against. (Of course, this is Round 4, and this is the first time I've gotten my act together enough to actually do this, but it's pretty awesome.)

We're playing Atlanta 1 on Sunday. My opponent goes by "Topgun" on IGS (usernames are case sensitive! huh?!). So I downloaded a bunch of his recent games to check out his playing style. Unfortunately for me, it looks like he has a very aggressive style and it seems he likes to make things complicated. I tend to fare much better against a more classical style.

I did learn that he seems to be fond of a double approach (one low, one high) against the star point. It looks like his opponents either don't know or choose not to play the standard continuations. (I just looked them up; otherwise I wouldn't know either.)

Here's one of his games:

(; GM[1]EV[Internet Go Server game: Topgun vs nk10] US[Brought to you by IGS PANDANET] CoPyright[ Copyright (c) PANDANET Inc. 2016 Permission to reproduce this game is given, provided proper credit is given. No warrantee, implied or explicit, is understood. Use of this game is an understanding and agreement of this notice. ] GN[Topgun-nk10(B) IGS]RE[W+Resign] PW[Topgun]WR[5d?]NW[33] PB[nk10]BR[4d+]NB[32] PC[IGS: igs.joyjoy.net 6969]DT[2016-01-15] SZ[19]TM[60]KM[0.500000]LT[] RR[Normal] C[ nk10 4d+: Hi! ] ;B[pd]BL[60]C[ Topgun 5d?: 361 hi ] ;W[dp]WL[56] ;B[qp]BL[57] ;W[dc]WL[53] ;B[oq]BL[50] ;W[qf]WL[50] ;B[qi]BL[46] ;W[nd]WL[47] ;B[ne]BL[43] ;W[me]WL[24] ;B[oe]BL[28] ;W[qc]WL[20] ;B[md]BL[27] ;W[qd]WL[11] ;B[ld]BL[25] ;W[ob]WL[594] ;B[ip]BL[20] ;W[mf]WL[588] ;B[nc]BL[17] ;W[oo]WL[582] ;B[pn]BL[14] ;W[nq]WL[579] ;B[op]BL[9] ;W[np]WL[578] ;B[no]BL[9] ;W[mo]WL[577] ;B[nn]BL[8] ;W[or]WL[565] ;B[mp]BL[6] ;W[mr]WL[557] ;B[lp]BL[2] ;W[qq]WL[554] ;B[pp]BL[600] ;W[rq]WL[550] ;B[mh]BL[595] ;W[pi]WL[532] ;B[ph]BL[585] ;W[oh]WL[528] ;B[oi]BL[582] ;W[pj]WL[526] ;B[pg]BL[577] ;W[nm]WL[504] ;B[mn]BL[517] ;W[mm]WL[502] ;B[om]BL[506] ;W[ni]WL[496] ;B[lm]BL[489] ;W[og]WL[485] ;B[pf]BL[484] ;W[nk]WL[479] ;B[mk]BL[481] ;W[ll]WL[466] ;B[km]BL[473] ;W[mj]WL[433] ;B[lk]BL[467] ;W[ol]WL[429] ;B[ml]BL[433] ;W[nl]WL[427] ;B[lj]BL[433] ;W[pm]WL[425] ;B[on]BL[431] ;W[qj]WL[418] ;B[ri]BL[425] ;W[rg]WL[415] ;B[qg]BL[422] ;W[qe]WL[593] ;B[mi]BL[411] ;W[nj]WL[588] ;B[ng]BL[407] ;W[nh]WL[584] ;B[nf]BL[400] ;W[qm]WL[581] ;B[rn]BL[396] ;W[rm]WL[567] ;B[de]BL[393] ;W[ee]WL[560] ;B[ef]BL[390] ;W[ed]WL[559] ;B[df]BL[389] ;W[cd]WL[558] ;B[cn]BL[387] ;W[dn]WL[547] ;B[dm]BL[598] ;W[en]WL[546] ;B[co]BL[596] ;W[cp]WL[545] ;B[em]BL[594] ;W[fp]WL[535] ;B[cj]BL[591] ;W[fm]WL[533] ;B[fl]BL[590] ;W[gl]WL[531] ;B[gm]BL[588] ;W[fn]WL[530] ;B[fk]BL[588] ;W[gk]WL[527] ;B[gj]BL[583] ;W[hm]WL[525] ;B[hk]BL[580] ;W[hl]WL[523] ;B[be]BL[578] ;W[fj]WL[519] ;B[dk]BL[571] ;W[hj]WL[517] ;B[gi]BL[569] ;W[ik]WL[515] ;B[ge]BL[564] ;W[cm]WL[493] ;B[dl]BL[544] ;W[gg]WL[484] ;B[fc]BL[529] ;W[gd]WL[476] ;B[hd]BL[526] ;W[fd]WL[473] ;B[hc]BL[523] ;W[gc]WL[598] ;B[bm]BL[521] ;W[he]WL[593] ;B[ie]BL[505] ;W[hf]WL[588] ;B[if]BL[505] ;W[ig]WL[584] ;B[jg]BL[503] ;W[id]WL[573] ;B[ic]BL[498] ;W[jd]WL[571] ;B[ke]BL[497] ;W[jc]WL[568] ;B[jb]BL[490] ;W[kb]WL[565] ;B[ib]BL[487] ;W[kc]WL[559] ;B[gb]BL[598] ;W[ha]WL[554] ;B[eb]BL[556] ;W[ec]WL[549] ;B[fb]BL[553] ;W[ja]WL[546] ;B[hb]BL[553] ;W[db]WL[533] ;B[lb]BL[547] ;W[ia]WL[526] ;B[ih]BL[545] ;W[hg]WL[523] ;B[bc]BL[544] ;W[bd]WL[512] ;B[ad]BL[541] ;W[ce]WL[508] ;B[bf]BL[537] ;W[cf]WL[503] ;B[cg]BL[537] ;W[bg]WL[502] ;B[bh]BL[536] ;W[dg]WL[501] ;B[ag]BL[536] ;W[eg]WL[500] ;B[cc]BL[536] ;W[dd]WL[496] ;B[cb]BL[536] ;W[da]WL[486] ;B[gq]BL[525] ;W[fq]WL[481] ;B[gr]BL[522] ;W[fr]WL[479] ;B[bp]BL[521] ;W[bq]WL[599] ;B[bo]BL[521] ;W[kq]WL[592] ;B[do]BL[508] ;W[ep]WL[563] ;B[in]BL[496] ;W[ho]WL[553] ;B[gp]BL[493] ;W[go]WL[551] ;B[aq]BL[490] ;W[br]WL[547] ;B[rj]BL[487] ;W[rk]WL[543] ;B[rh]BL[485] ;W[rf]WL[541] ;B[fh]BL[479] ;W[dh]WL[512] ;B[di]BL[595] ;W[ch]WL[507] ;B[ci]BL[591] ;W[bg]WL[504] ;B[bj]BL[573] ;W[kp]WL[502] ;B[ko]BL[560] ;W[io]WL[499] ;B[lq]BL[557] ;W[kr]WL[485] ;B[lr]BL[554] ;W[ls]WL[484] ;B[jp]BL[547] ;W[jo]WL[482] ;B[pr]BL[539] ;W[pq]WL[480] ;B[os]BL[536] ;W[nr]WL[478] ;B[jr]BL[532] ;W[ks]WL[473] ;B[qs]BL[522] ;W[qr]WL[469] ;B[jq]BL[517] ;W[ms]WL[454] ;B[hr]BL[488] ;W[hp]WL[448] ;B[js]BL[483] ;W[rs]WL[424]; OS[MauShi][tshigeo] )

Vote of confidence + advice

Chun Sun (one of our local 5 dans) offered the following when asked to comment on whether my time frame was feasible:

I think now all the resource is here. It should be relatively easy to come up to 5d comparing to 10 years ago. Here's what I'd do:

1. Fast game game training. Tygem: 10min/30x3 game (or less), 3 games a day, 3 days per week.
2. Slow game training. at clubs, 40min/30x3, 1 game + review per week. Tygem: 30min/30x3 2 games per week.
3. Life/death: 5 problems a day (d level or sdk), download an app, each problem think at least 5 minutes before trying the first click. everyday (in principle)
4. Lectures, Inseong's reviews, weiqitvenglish (http://en.weiqitv.com/video) etc. Do it when you have 15-20 minutes free time.
5. Watch games, just watch, download wbaduk app or daily professional games app, Do it when you have 5 minutes free time, on the bus, waiting for coffee etc.
6. meditation. whenever you get stuck or depressed or frustrated, stop playing (but don't stop watching) and spend time think over, going back. Talk to 5d.

For all 3,4,5 items, if yon run out of problems/videos/games, just pickup the old and do it again.
I think with 100 weeks of this training, you sure will reach 5d.

I really like that Chun included the step of meditation (including taking a break when needed). If you think you're not going to get stuck/frustrated/depressed along the way, then you have no idea what you're in for.

He added later:

A bit more to add: I've seen two types of 5ds:

The first type of 5d is through rigid training, memorize and practice, without much understanding of the game and touch the emotional part of the game. A lot of Asian kids can reach to a very high level by doing this. They reach 5d within a few years then can stay there forever.

The second type of 5ds are though self-training. Although they didn't receive rigid training in the beginning, they still move up slowly. What they are good at is that they are always "empty" and ready to refute/negate themselves. As they move up, they rethink what they've learned, and are always ready to throw that away. They became sensitive to their internal emotions and sub-conscious thoughts, and ready to adjust these whenever they are aware of. For the second type, the channel of going up is always open. And I think this is our advantage (as grown-ups), because we have better reasoning, emotion control, and self-consciousness.

Of course, there are people who live in both world, and they became pros.

I write this down because I believe I'm the second type. I came out of go school as a 4k. What I'm missing is the rigid training. (I still make simple mistakes during the game). I think part of it is that I need to do more problems. Another part of it is I need to control my emotion better such that when the reading is needed, I will still have the serenity to read it through.

I'm also planning to train myself to tygem 9d after congress. I think to write these down helps me too.

Guo Juan talks often about how our strong players in the West make very basic mistakes all the time due to a lack of training. I hope the combination of her training system (http://internetgoschool.com/) and actual lessons online with her will help with this aspect.

Where are they now?

Two of the kids we studied with in China (back in 2006) are now pros!

When looking for micro Chinese games to study, I ran across this one:

(;EV[15th Chinese City League A, round 9] DT[2013-06-22] PB[Byun Sangil]BR[2p] PW[Xie Erhao]WR[1p] KM[7.5]RE[B+R] SO[Go4Go.net] ;B[pd];W[dd];B[qp];W[dp];B[fq];W[cn];B[lq];W[qj];B[qf];W[qm];B[pn];W[qn];B[qo];W[oo];B[pm];W[pl];B[ol];W[pk];B[mo];W[mn];B[po];W[mp];B[lo];W[lp];B[kp];W[kq];B[kr];W[jq];B[ko];W[nq];B[mq];W[np];B[jr];W[on];B[om];W[iq];B[nr];W[or];B[mr];W[nn];B[pq];W[oq];B[ip];W[ir];B[jp];W[hr];B[ls];W[ml];B[gq];W[mj];B[pr];W[dr];B[er];W[jc];B[cf];W[be];B[fd];W[ef];B[dc];W[cc];B[ec];W[cb];B[hc];W[mc];B[di];W[cg];B[oc];W[je];B[hf];W[eq];B[ep];W[dq];B[qh];W[ri];B[me];W[jg];B[hh];W[ji];B[cm];W[dn];B[dm];W[bh];B[bi];W[hj];B[lb];W[lc];B[kb];W[mb];B[kc];W[kd];B[jb];W[nd];B[ne];W[od];B[oe];W[pc];B[pb];W[qc];B[ob];W[pe];B[qd];W[qe];B[rd];W[re];B[rc];W[pf];B[ld];W[og];B[mg];W[le];B[md];W[ps];B[qs];W[os];B[rr];W[bm];B[bl];W[bn];B[bf];W[df];B[ce];W[cd];B[ah];W[ci];B[bg];W[ch];B[bj];W[ae];B[bd];W[bc];B[cj];W[eh];B[ei];W[dk];B[fh];W[dh];B[el];W[es];B[gs];W[hp];B[hq];W[ek];B[fk];W[fj];B[gk];W[gj];B[ej];W[gp];B[gr];W[hk];B[fl];W[fi];B[dj];W[de];B[fg];W[ro];B[kl];W[rp];B[rq];W[nk];B[lm];W[mm];B[nh];W[oh];B[ni];W[lf];B[ng];W[ok];B[if];W[jm];B[jf];W[lg];B[lh];W[kg];B[jk];W[hm];B[kj];W[gn];B[en];W[eo];B[fn];W[ki];B[li];W[lj];B[km];W[jj];B[kk];W[hl];B[oi];W[pi];B[se];W[sf];B[sd];W[rf];B[ag];W[fa];B[fb];W[gb];B[ea];W[hd];B[gd])

Xie Er Hao!  I know that name...  Here he is back in 2006, hiding under the table:

So, maybe Zhang Pei Pei (pictured below, on the left) is also pro now?

Yes!  Here's a recent professional game of hers:

(;EV[3rd Chinese Women's League A, round 17] DT[2015-12-02] PB[Fan Weijing]BR[2p] PW[Zhang Peipei]WR[2p] KM[7.5]RE[W+R] SO[Go4Go.net] ;B[pd];W[dp];B[qp];W[dc];B[oq];W[qf];B[qh];W[qc];B[qd];W[pc];B[od];W[rd];B[re];W[rc];B[qe];W[nc];B[de];W[dh];B[cj];W[cg];B[cn];W[fq];B[bp];W[cl];B[en];W[dj];B[hq];W[cq];B[ho];W[pi];B[qi];W[pj];B[ph];W[ni];B[oh];W[nl];B[bq];W[hr];B[ir];W[gr];B[jq];W[br];B[nn];W[qo];B[po];W[qn];B[pn];W[rp];B[qm];W[qq];B[pp];W[rm];B[rl];W[ql];B[pm];W[rn];B[rk];W[li];B[rr];W[qr];B[cc];W[cb];B[cd];W[eb];B[fe];W[gd];B[ge];W[he];B[hf];W[if];B[fc];W[gc];B[hg];W[ie];B[ig];W[jg];B[jh];W[kg];B[ck];W[dk];B[bl];W[ci];B[ei];W[fg];B[fh];W[eh];B[gh];W[bk];B[kh];W[lh];B[lg];W[ke];B[lf];W[ki];B[ii];W[ij];B[gk];W[ji];B[ih];W[gj];B[fj];W[hk];B[fl];W[bm];B[jk];W[kk];B[kl];W[lk];B[jl];W[jj];B[ok];W[gl];B[fk];W[nk];B[mh];W[ll];B[mm];W[lm];B[ln];W[fm];B[dl];W[cm];B[em];W[jn];B[im];W[hm];B[in];W[gn];B[fp];W[gp];B[go];W[fn];B[ep];W[hn];B[dr];W[cr];B[eq];W[co];B[do];W[bn];B[le];W[fo];B[eo];W[io];B[hp];W[ko];B[lo];W[kp];B[ic];W[hc];B[lc];W[mc];B[ec];W[fb];B[jb];W[lb];B[hb];W[gb];B[kc];W[bb];B[lq];W[dq];B[er];W[be];B[kn];W[km];B[jo];W[jp];B[jm];W[jo];B[rq];W[rs];B[sp];W[ro];B[kq];W[il];B[qs];W[ps];B[sr];W[so];B[sm];W[sq];B[oc];W[ob];B[sp];W[gi];B[fi];W[sq];B[bj];W[al];B[sp];W[gf];B[ff];W[sq];B[bo];W[cp];B[sp];W[eg];B[gg];W[sq];B[dn];W[ss];B[ar];W[ao];B[cs];W[me];B[kf];W[ne];B[bc];W[ab];B[lp];W[ik];B[or];W[je];B[jf];W[rf];B[sf];W[pf];B[rg];W[sd];B[se];W[ng];B[kb];W[la];B[qk];W[ha];B[ia];W[ib];B[ka];W[mb];B[hb];W[fd];B[ed];W[ib];B[pb];W[qb];B[hb];W[os];B[ga];W[ac];B[ns];W[di];B[bd];W[ad];B[nh];W[pk];B[ol];W[pl];B[om];W[nj];B[of];W[oe];B[nf];W[mf];B[og];W[pe];B[mg];W[ef];B[ee];W[qj];B[rj];W[df];B[ce];W[cf];B[hi];W[hj];B[pr];W[qs];B[jd];W[fa];B[ha];W[sl];B[sk];W[ap];B[bs];W[mi];B[ml];W[mk];B[nm];W[sn];B[ri];W[sl];B[oj];W[oi];B[sm];W[ip];B[iq];W[sl];B[kd];W[hd];B[sm];W[md];B[pq];W[ek];B[el];W[an];B[aq];W[dm];B[ej];W[db];B[gf];W[dd];B[qg];W[ld];B[sg];W[nd];B[pg];W[id];B[sl])

The Plan

Goal: My goal is to play as an AGA 5 dan in the US Go Congress in 2020. My plan includes some big events (e.g., studying in Japan and/or China) but the real struggle is in the quotidian: carving out time from day-to-day life for a project of this magnitude.

Wait a minute... 5 years? But it's 2016 now! Ok, ok, so my blog is limping off to a late start. My official start date for this project was September 15, 2015.

Current status: When I started in September, my AGA ranking was 1 dan (1.69745 with a sigma of 0.31864).  The last tournament in which I played before that was the Canadian Open in 2013, and my last AGA rated tournament before that was on March 6, 2011.  But since then I played in an MGA tournament (in January), losing all three of the games I played (I am definitely not in tournament shape yet), and plunging in rank to 1 kyu (-1.39122, with a sigma of 0.68260).  So now I have to claw my way back up to 1 dan.