In Chinese class tonight, we learned how to say the Chinese equivalents of "Bush" and "Blair". Both names start with the same character, which is pronounced "bù", so the Chinese call them "liang ge Bù"--"the two Bù's".
We were practicing introduction dialogues and someone was having trouble properly pronouncing the character which, in this context, is translated as "honorable". It's used to formally ask someone their family name and is pronounced "guì", but this person kept saying "guǐ", so our teacher pointed out that "guǐ" means ghost, which we thought was perfect, since it's Halloween. So she told us that one way to say "Halloween" is "Guǐ Jiě" which literally means "Ghost Festival".
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Homepage
By adding a search tool in the upper right corner of browsers, Google made it totally ridiculous to continue using their site as a homepage. This opened worlds of possibility. At home, I've been using Go Base for a while, merely to do their problem of the day when I first get up in the morning. These problems are generally easy and don't take much time. Also, I have many of them memorized by now. Still, it's good to wake up to a Go problem.
Now I have my computer in the office--a whole new homepage to contemplate. I tried Igo-Kisen for a bit, but their games are organised by country, so I don't get the most recent games at the top of the screen. I'm exceedingly lazy, so this just wasn't going to work. Today I switched to Go4Go, which lists new pro games by date. So now, before I start working in the morning, I can check out the latest pro games.
Now I have my computer in the office--a whole new homepage to contemplate. I tried Igo-Kisen for a bit, but their games are organised by country, so I don't get the most recent games at the top of the screen. I'm exceedingly lazy, so this just wasn't going to work. Today I switched to Go4Go, which lists new pro games by date. So now, before I start working in the morning, I can check out the latest pro games.
4 a.m. in the courtyard during a week off from classes
Yesterday when Brenda mentioned that we don't have to do tutorials this week as the students have a mid-term study break, I groaned. Sure enough, I was woken in the dead of night last night from a dream in which there was a TV in the background playing a Saturday Night Live skit mocking a Jerry Springer show.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Weiqi Update
I should be playing at the Central London Go Club today, but due to utter exhaustion, I'm staying home. In an attempt to get some work (i.e., math) done, I've put less time this week into Go and Chinese than usual. I am doing some Go studying today though, as I have a lesson on Tuesday and a lot of homework to do for it.
While playing Guo Juan in my last lesson, I played A in the following diagram.
I didn't really understand the move though, so my follow up was not very severe and she was able to settle easily. My homework is to read out the situation, i.e., why White can't respond at N3 and why, after White plays O4, Black can play N3, which is severe. This is only part of the homework I have for Tuesday.
I don't think the Chinese kids we played this summer cared at all that we posted our games with them online, but I'm afraid that my opponents here might stop playing with me (and rightly so) if I posted their games without permission. So I'm not posting my actual games, but I will continue to post interesting positions, problems and new joseki.
Today I'm looking at the first round game of the 61st Honinbo title match between Takao Shinji and Yamada Kimio. Takao Shinji (playing White) wins by resignation. After memorizing the game, I watched Guo Juan's audio lesson review of it. I like to memorize the games first, because it helps me to realize what it is that I don't understand about the game before I watch the review. It's generally the moves that I have a hard time remembering that I really don't understand. If I don't memorize it, I often just overlook those moves without trying to figure them out.
In this review, Guo Juan shows a few joseki. From the position shown on the left, Black has the attachment at C3 as a follow up. I know this joseki; I've seen it many times. Yet whenever I'm faced with it in a game, I always panic a bit because I have a hard time remembering what the final result looks like (and, therefore, whether I want to play it). The basic joseki is shown below.
Another joseki that Guo Juan shows in this review starts from White's pincer at 2 (shown on the left). I've seen this joseki before as well, but, as she notes in the lesson, it's a modern joseki, so it's not in the books and is worth noting. This is a simple joseki and worth having in your pocket. The joseki is shown below.
While playing Guo Juan in my last lesson, I played A in the following diagram.
I didn't really understand the move though, so my follow up was not very severe and she was able to settle easily. My homework is to read out the situation, i.e., why White can't respond at N3 and why, after White plays O4, Black can play N3, which is severe. This is only part of the homework I have for Tuesday.
I don't think the Chinese kids we played this summer cared at all that we posted our games with them online, but I'm afraid that my opponents here might stop playing with me (and rightly so) if I posted their games without permission. So I'm not posting my actual games, but I will continue to post interesting positions, problems and new joseki.
Today I'm looking at the first round game of the 61st Honinbo title match between Takao Shinji and Yamada Kimio. Takao Shinji (playing White) wins by resignation. After memorizing the game, I watched Guo Juan's audio lesson review of it. I like to memorize the games first, because it helps me to realize what it is that I don't understand about the game before I watch the review. It's generally the moves that I have a hard time remembering that I really don't understand. If I don't memorize it, I often just overlook those moves without trying to figure them out.
In this review, Guo Juan shows a few joseki. From the position shown on the left, Black has the attachment at C3 as a follow up. I know this joseki; I've seen it many times. Yet whenever I'm faced with it in a game, I always panic a bit because I have a hard time remembering what the final result looks like (and, therefore, whether I want to play it). The basic joseki is shown below.
Another joseki that Guo Juan shows in this review starts from White's pincer at 2 (shown on the left). I've seen this joseki before as well, but, as she notes in the lesson, it's a modern joseki, so it's not in the books and is worth noting. This is a simple joseki and worth having in your pocket. The joseki is shown below.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
