Devildope Go Blog, A.K.A. : Hikaru "So So"

Getting back to buisness!

2009-01-17T15:14:00.002-06:00

Its been a long time since i posted anything on this blog, and i'm deeply ashamed. Alas, real life has gotten in the middle of my Go escapades. However, i just had some interest in my former Go Club, of which i had been the founder. Unfortunately, due to the fact that i had run out of money for school, i was no longer able to attend, and therefore unable to continue the Go Club. A while back i got a comment saying that i should register my club with the AGA. I would like to do so in the future. Once i gather up enough money to re-establish my attendance at CLC i will be starting up the Go Club again. Hopefully this will attract more memberships this time around. I will probably do some good advertising to help promote the club. Anyone with suggestions on how to facilitate this, please feel free to comment. I would like to keep this blog up and running in the future.

please feel free to look me up on KGS: Devildope. I'm on periodically.

oh and if your not a member already, you should sign at www.godiscussions.com

its a website wholely devoted to go and its discussions.

and also please check out my other website: www.blademaid.wordpress.com I would really apreciate anyone who subscribes to the site. i need the traffic...it is currently under construction but i'm going to really be spending a lot of time on it. if you're interested please check it out.

thank you.

David Ploss

Looking up for Lake County

2008-02-20T22:16:00.003-06:00

Things are looking up for the Lake County Illinois Go scene. Functions at the College of Lake County in Grayslake have been going on weekly for the past couple of months. We have a 10 kyu member who hails from Libertyville Illinois; myself, a 14 kyu from Antioch Illinois; and a new member as of tuesday who comes from Grayslake. Along with the occasional visitor and a couple of beginners who are learning, we number about 10 now.

In the most recent AGA E-Journal, there was an ad from the Lake County Baduk Club in Vernon Hills...

"GO PLAYERS WANTED: Vernon Hills, IL: The new Lake County Baduk Club in Vernon Hills, IL is looking for new members and possibly teachers. Email xflamarialx@gmail.com (2/18)"

...This is not the Club that i founded however, it is a brand new club that meets on Friday from 6pm-10pm. I have yet to contact them to see if we can combine our two clubs into one club but the outlook for more players is increasing more and more! WooHoo!

Any interested players in the area can contact me at epiman89@sbcglobal.net.

keep on playin'!

Integration...

2007-10-11T14:23:00.000-05:00

sorry everyone! its been a long time since I've posted last!

Here are the recent happenings!

At the College of Lake County in Illinois, i have been trying for some time to start up a functioning Go club. Things seemed to be going well. By playing Go out in a public area we were able to gain some interest with the general public. We had some people join us for a couple of teaching games however, they never returned :-(. So in recognition of the fact that we just didn't have enough people to constitute a "club" of sorts, I sought refuge in other clubs. The first club that came to mind was a board games club of some sorts...however, there is no board games club at CLC and we lacked the communal interest to start one. So, with a new club out of the picture, i went with my number two choice: the math club.

As all reasonable Go players know, our game consists mainly of counting (however simple), and lots of thinking. So this week i went to a math club meeting and game my schtik on how math and Go are related. a debate ensued! "Well what about, blah,blah,blah..." and "Well, Go demonstrates...blah,blah,blah..." and so on. Finally, it was voted upon by the current members of teh math club that Go would be integrated into the functions and events of the math club!

As of now, however, the Go playing has been put on hold, due to midterms. And as a result, more attention has been payed to the math aspects of teh club and its aide to the student body, which i don't mind (i need all the help i can get!). But rest asured that as soon as midterms are done and gone, Go will reign supreme once again! Huzzah!

back down...

2007-09-26T15:06:00.000-05:00

I swear, as soon as i jump a rank, i fall! I know i'm tall and that my center of gravity is way up there, but am i really that clumsy? I think i'll be stuck at 17 kyu for a while...*sigh*

2007-09-24T13:32:00.000-05:00

I was stuck in a 17k lull for quite a while, but the last two games i played have gotten me out of that slump! Yipee! here is the link for the .SGF file, please leave me some comments on how i did...^_^

Nails vs. epiman89 (KGS)

My Best game ever!

2007-09-20T14:39:00.000-05:00

I just had the best game ever this past weekend! Here are some simple pictures of the game, but if you'd like to see the entire .SGF file, and hear the entire story, follow this link: http://www.godiscussions.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4257

above is the point in which he resigned. Below, we finished the game just for kicks.

new poll!

2007-09-12T14:23:00.000-05:00

there is a new poll for everyone to vote on their favorite online store for Go equipment and other misc. items ( i cant spell misc.). ^_^

the modern "ear-reddening" move!

2007-09-12T13:17:00.000-05:00

I just had the most wonderfully fulfilling game of Go since i started playing more than a year ago! I was at my college meeting a friend of mine to play go. Most of the time, i usually lose, but this time was different, i wish that we had made a game record so that i could show you all, but alas, we did not...Anyways, the first two games i had played with seven and eight stone handicaps respectively. My rank being 17k and his 11k, we decided that would be appropriate. As all of our previous games had gone, so did these...i lost. boohoo...but the last game was better. just for the heck of it he suggested that i take nine stones...so i did. the game went like i thought it would. I was behind towards the endgame but had stayed ahead for most of the game up until then. we came to the end game and he made his first mistake. he passed when there was clearly a three stone group in jeopardy in one of the corners. so i played the vital point, he cursed and we went on our way. moving forward, we filled dame points and i was still behind...then, the sweet part kicks in...as all serious go players know, it's kosher to leave dead stones where they are if they will not negatively effect you in the future. That is where he made his second mistake! there was a lone stone that i had played early in the game that was in atari throughout the game, and it looked to both of us as a dead stone...which it was. game goes on, and we come to the end of the game an he has a group that, if i was to threaten with another cut on the opposite side he could capture the original stone and then be safe. Wrong-o! Turns out that this games "ear-reddening" move was that second cutting stone. He captured the original stone and then we stopped, i smiled, and his face went white! i said, "You sure you want to do that?" He said, "well sure why not? If i capture your original cutting stone then i'll have made two ey(cut short)...oh...WOW!" It turns out that even if he captured that stone he would have just fed the flames, so to speek, and lost more stones in the end. So long story short, i had played the vital point for that entire group and he had to resign! Yeah Me! I was so excited. Maybe i'll try nine stones again! ^_^

New Go Poll!

2007-08-07T13:36:00.001-05:00

You can vote on your favorite Go Server Here! i tried to put down the major ones! so vote away.

Rating system of the KGS Go Server...

2007-08-07T13:36:00.000-05:00

It has been my observation that the rating system on the KGS Go Server gives people a good step forward when it comes to progressing in rank. I haven't been able to play in quite a while...from about july 28th thru the beginning of August. I have noticed however that my rating has jumped considerably since i have stopped playing...it can be seen from about the beginning of july to about mid july there has been a steady increase in my rank and then after a couple of game i have had to take another break and from about july 28 through the present there has been anothe steady increase. i wonder if that is natural through the thought that a player doesn't just play online but also plays with a real set against people face to face, and therefore are raising their rank all of the time...oh well that is just my thought on the issue, maybe i'll ask the admins at KGS.

2007-07-27T21:08:00.002-05:00

Black: epiman89 (me) 19k

White: Mamont

komi: 6.5

result: Black + Resign

good game for me, i had a clever move at the end that would have reduced whites territory very much! it was really good on my part. so he resigned!

2007-07-27T21:08:00.001-05:00

This is a recent win that i had on KGS.

Black: epiman89 (me)

White: bobman

komi: 6.5

handicap: 0

result: B+Resign

time: 7/20/2007

place: The KGS Go Server!

My opponent seemed to be newer to the game that i am, so i don't think that him taking white was such a good idea, but that is what he wanted...

Yo!

2007-07-27T21:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not picking up on the latest events in my Go life, but there hasn't been much action lately. just lots of work around the house and at the Library! Wow! what a steller life i have! whatever, i hope everyone is doing good, and i'll have some games on the site soon!

PGA Video! Not golf but Go!

2007-07-22T14:04:00.000-05:00

this is a video that i found on ChiyoDad's Blog on Go!

2007-07-22T11:27:00.001-05:00

Here is the game that brought me down that level!

Black: Zappy850

White: epiman89 (me)

komi: 0.5

Handicap: 3

Result: B+Resign

Time: 7-20-2007

Place: The KGS Go Server at http://www.gokgs.com/

Back down again!

2007-07-21T13:57:00.001-05:00

I just broke 18 kyu and now i'm back down to 19 kyu! SUPER!

Up a rank!

2007-07-18T21:51:00.001-05:00

Just broke 18 kyu on KGS! Yay me!

I met new players in my area!

2007-07-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

I just met up with two people, from around the area where i live, at a local restaurant and we sat for at least two hours playing and talking about Go. It was cool...i didn't think that i would ever find people around my area that play Go. Anyone outside Chicago that is...

anyways! One of the guys is a retired computer tech. who is about 11 kyu, and the other is a man who works for Hospira (once an offspring company of Abbott labs) who is about a 2k!

so the retired guy and myself were pretty weak compared to this other guy...but whatever. Mr. Retired knew more about the game than i did!

Long story short, it was a lot of fun. Now we're meeting at the restaurant every sunday to play go!

sweet huh!

Here is a picture of me!

2007-07-13T22:06:00.002-05:00

its me!

My new Go Set!

2007-07-13T22:06:00.001-05:00

Here are some photos of my new Go set that i just bought! aint it a beaut!

Welcome everyone!

2007-07-13T22:06:00.000-05:00

this is my first time posting on my own blog! Yay ^_^! Well, i will be posting often and will keep this site updated as frequently as i possibly can!

A little about myself...

I love to play Go! I'm a 19 kyu player who has been playing for about a year, and have played many games, most of which i have lost...but who's counting! It's like they say, "lose your first 100 games as quickly as possible."

I've been playing on the KGS Go Server since i was introduced to the game, and it has yielded a lot of aquaintences! many of which i still play against today. i am a card carrying member of Go Discussions Online Forums and i'm proud of it!

Well thats about it! if you would like to check out the go discussions web site for yourself, the site address is www.godiscussions.com. check it out!

any ways, thaks for visiting!

sayonara!