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Resources
Okay, so you've decided to try some of the study suggestions
mentioned in this section of the site, but you don't know where to find good
Go problems, or where to play online, or how to review your games. The
following information is intended to help you overcome these hurdles:
- The Go Teaching Ladder (GTL): A group of Go players that have decided
to give something back to the Go community by volunteering to review other
player's games free of charge. The idea behind the "ladder" is that when a
player submits a game for review, a play at least 10 stones (playing levels)
higher will be asked to review the game. If you are about 15 kyu or stronger
you can volunteer to be a reviewer. The GTL is a great way to get another
opinion on your games or be able to ask stronger players specific questions
about your games. To learn more about the GTL, visit: http://gtl.xmp.net
- The Many Faces of Go (MFGO): A computer software package designed
and programmed by a Go player over a more than 15-year period. This package
has much to offer players, especially newer players. First it offers a Go
playing program with 10 different levels of play, the strongest level being
about 6-8 kyu. While playing a computer too much can lead to bad habits on the
board with human opponents, there are times that a computer opponent is just
perfect. But MFGO is more than just a convenient opponent. The package also
offers a game editor, for adding and reviewing comments that have been added
to your game files, such as through the GTL mentioned above. Add this to an
interactive problem set that is perfect for warm up and cool down tsumego. The
problems set includes easy, medium, and harder problems and allows you to play
all the way through the problem, allowing you to see why a move is right
or wrong. Finally, MFGO also includes an internet Go client for playing on IGS,
a joseki (corner pattern) dictionary and a fuseki (opening pattern) dictionary.
MFGO runs $89.95. This may seem steep, but given the price of a new computer
game of any sort, it is not bad at all for what is offered. For more
information, visit: http://www.smart-games.com/manyfaces.html
- GoBase.org: An internet site created by Jan van der Steen from the
Netherlands. This site offers news of all the latest professional Go
tournaments, and quite a bit of information on the internet Go community. But
I mention this site here because it also offers Go problem sets that can be
used for warm ups and cool downs. You must register to use some of the
features of the site, but registration is free. For mor information, visit:
http://gobase.org/studying/problems/
- Goproblems.com: A site created for people to work Go problems. You
can even upload your own problems. For more information, visit:
http://www.goproblems.com
- Online Go servers: If you want to play online to get some of your
games in, there are a number of servers that are free of charge and provide
excellent playing environments and choice of opponents. Two are real-time
servers. These are the Kiseido Go Server (KGS) and the Internet Go Server
(IGS). If you want a slower paced game that extends over a period of weeks,
try the Dragon Go Server (DGS). DGS is great for playing 10-20 games at a time
where you only make one or two moves per game per day. It's great if you are
short of time. It also helps you to slow down your game and learn to look for
the best move. For links to these servers visit our "Play Online" section at:
http://csgo.org/play_online.php
- Game editors: Besides Many Faces of Go (MFGO) mentioned above, there
are other programs that allow you to make and view comments about games. One
of the best free programs is Cgoban, offered by Kiseido. You must download
Cgoban to play on the Kiseido Go Server (KGS). However, once you have
installed Cgoban, the game editor included is also available for your use.
For more information on Cgoban, visit:
http://kgs.kiseido.com/en_US/download.html
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