Rank Update

Joe of the Go cookies asked at Audrey's birthday party of many surprises about my progress toward my 5 dan goal.  I think he was making fun of me when I said I was at 2 dan now and he pointedly asked what my rank was at the beginning of my 5Yto5D plan (1 dan).  But I still have 3.5 years to go, so I'm right on track (because we all know progress is linear, right?).

Thanks to Andrew's hard work on setting up Ronin League, I'm getting an occasional rated game in between tournaments.  My current rank is at an all-time high for me of 2.85:

(We use the floor function to decide rank, so I don't get to round up to 3 dan.)

My latest bump in rank came from my Season 1, Episode 3 game against Andrew:

I'll have another bump from my Season 1, Episode 4 game against Andrew played at our most recent Gojo.  I wonder if I can get to 3 dan just by beating Andrew...  ;)

Guo Juan's Training System -- now mobile!

I've been super busy with work and with trying to be a better citizen:

So I haven't had as much time as I'd like for my 5 Years to 5 Dan plan.  But, fortunately, I can at least avoid losing ground by doing my problems on Guo Juan's Training System every day.  It really makes a huge difference.  In the past, when I haven't played much and then returned I felt like I forgot everything I know.  I no longer feel that way.  The SRS is *so* helpful.  And they've just upgraded the system so it now works on mobile devices!  This is huge for me, since I usually do my problems on the train to and from work.

I'm also still working on Japanese, using Mango (which is free through the library) and making SRS flashcards on Anki.  (Again, without SRS, this whole thing would be hopeless, especially during the academic year.)  I recently talked to Shawn (fellow MGA member who is also going to Osaka this summer).  He's using some other system for learning Japanese and has been learning how to say things like, "I like apples."  I've been learning how to ask how much it costs to take the airport shuttle from Narito to Hanedo airport, and how to say my head and throat hurt.  We'll find out which system is better in June...

Boston Spring Open!

We have a date and location! The Boston Spring Open will be on Saturday, March 25 at MIT.

One month to get ready!

When: Saturday, March 25. Registration from 9 - 9:45 AM. First round starts at 10 AM. Last round expected to end before 6 PM

What: A 4 round tournament with Open and Handicap divisions.
 • Open Division Must be AGA 1d+ to play in the Open Division. You may opt in day of tournament. Cash prizes for top 3 players.
 • Handicap Division Anyone can play in the Handicap Division. Games are Handicap - 2 with prizes for players with 4-0 and 3-1 records.

Where: MIT Stratton Student Center, 3rd Floor. Closest T stop is Kendall Square on the Red Line. Parking on Vassar Street, or refer to MIT’s parking guide.

How: Make sure your AGA membership is current and RSVP here on Meetup! Entry fee is $20 on arrival at the tournament.

Additional Details 
- AGA membership must be current!
- AGA rules
- Time Settings: 30 minute main time with 5 byo-yomi periods of 30 sec each
- Organized by: MIT Go Club and the Massachusetts Go Association.

MGA Handicap Tournament -- In Memoriam, Roland Crowl

I played in a tournament today for the first time since the Canadian Open this summer!  It was our Winter MGA Handicap tournament.  (We have 4 each year.)  This one was in memory of Roland Crowl, a long time MGA member who passed away recently.

I only played the first 3 rounds (out of 4), since I find 4 games to be a bit too much for me.  Instead, I went for a walk in the park on this beautiful, sunny, post-snowstorm day -- definitely better for my mental and physical health than sitting hunched over a Go board for a fourth game.

My overall result was 2-1, playing at 2 dan.  I lost my first game against Mr. Cho.  This was the only one I managed to record:

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]HA[2]KM[0.50] GN[2017-01-08a]PW[Mr. Cho]PB[Becci]WR[4d]DT[2017-01-08]EV[MGA Handicap Tournament]PC[Cambridge]AB[pd][dp]C[White+Res.]PL[W] ;W[pp] ;B[dd] ;W[qf] ;B[nc] ;W[fq] ;B[cn] ;W[qn] ;B[dj] ;W[jp] ;B[qh] ;W[qj] ;B[pg] ;W[fc] ;B[hc] ;W[cc] ;B[cd] ;W[dc] ;B[ed] ;W[fb] ;B[ge] ;W[fj] ;B[hj] ;W[fo] ;B[or] ;W[pq] ;B[pr] ;W[qr] ;B[lq] ;W[kr] ;B[lr] ;W[kq] ;B[lp] ;W[ln] ;B[no] ;W[np]C[This was not a good situation for me...] ;B[nq] ;W[op] ;B[mo] ;W[mr] ;B[mq] ;W[ls] ;B[kp] ;W[iq] ;B[nm] ;W[nk] ;B[lm] ;W[kn] ;B[mm] ;W[jl] ;B[lk] ;W[jj] ;B[em] ;W[li] ;B[mj] ;W[oi] ;B[mi] ;W[mh] ;B[nh] ;W[ni] ;B[lh] ;W[mg] ;B[ki] ;W[lg] ;B[kh] ;W[kj] ;B[lj] ;W[og] ;B[pf] ;W[ph] ;B[qg] ;W[jf] ;B[ih] ;W[lc] ;B[dr] ;W[gd] ;B[he] ;W[hd] ;B[ie] ;W[id] ;B[je] ;W[dk] (;B[ck] ;W[cj] ;B[cl] ;W[di] ;B[ej] ;W[ei] ;B[ek] ;W[fk] ;B[el] ;W[gi]C[Game over.] ;B[fh] ;W[fi] ;B[jc] ;W[jd] ;B[kc] ;W[kd] ;B[lb] ;W[fe] ;B[fd] ;W[ff] ;B[ch] ;W[ci] ;B[bc] ;W[bb] ;B[bd] ;W[gf] ;B[bh] ;W[bk] ;B[df] ;W[jg] ;B[ii] ;W[kl] ;B[nj] ;W[oj] ;B[pm] ;W[ol] ;B[pn] ;W[qo] ;B[qm] ;W[ll]C[Oops...] ;B[rm] ;W[rq] ;B[mk] ;W[ml] ;B[nl] ;W[ok] ;B[pi] ;W[oh] ;B[rj] ;W[rk]) (;B[cj]C[I think I need to simply descend here. Should be an ok game.]))

We used Fischer time for the first time. I had been practicing this past week or so to get used to it, but Mr. Cho played much faster than me, so basically the whole game was on my clock. I got pretty flustered and made a huge mistake. But it's always fun to play Mr. Cho. He was 3-0 when I left. I hope he won his last game.

In my second game, I gave four stones to John Aspinall. He played well, cutting off some stones of mine to take back some territory I thought I had reduced. But I managed to get enough to win the game. My third game was an even game against Ed Gillis, which I also won. He played so fast that he had more time on his clock at the end of the game than when he started!

It's good to be back. I've got to get in shape (Go-wise) for Japan!

Japan!

It's official!  I registered for the 2017 Osaka Go Camp!

I'm only on Unit 1, Chapter 5 of my Japanese lessons on Mango.  And I've had a very slack fall Go-wise.  Time for some New Year's resolutions...

Chun's Recommendation #6 or, Hawk Hike

I skipped the MGA Handicap Tournament this past Sunday in favor of Chun's Recommendation #6 (meditation), in the form of a Hawk Hike.  Mt Tom in western Massachusetts is supposed to be one of the best places to see the hawk migration.  Unfortunately, on Sunday we were also getting the fringes of Hurricane Matthew, so it was rainy and cloudy and windy and the hawks chose to stay put for the day.

I waited out most of the rain, and then hiked out to Mt Tom in the eerie fog.  It was beautiful.  

At one point, I heard music nearby and some sort of cabin loomed up out of the fog, just off the trail.  I heard voices but never encountered the people.  It felt straight out of Heart of Darkness.  

By the time I got back to the lookout tower at Goat Peak, the fog had cleared, so I had some hope of seeing hawks.  They did not seem to be migrating, but they were definitely hanging out.  I'd look north through my binoculars, wait a beat or two, and see a hawk circling above the trees.

When that hawk landed or flew too far away, I'd turn and look south.

Pause...  then, yep!  Another hawk.  Wait until they fly behind the hill and turn north...  and another!  Often a second would fly into view as I watched.

I don't know hawks well enough to identify them specifically, but I know enough to tell that they were definitely hawks of some sort and (having watched more hours of the Cornell hawk cam than I care to admit) almost definitely not red-tailed hawks.

Yunguseng fan!

I got my official Yunguseng fan in the mail!