Sunny morning and Go

This morning I woke up from a ray of sunshine falling in on my pillow. <3 After a long, dark winter that's got to be one of the best ways to wake up! Early morning sunshine through the window, it even got past the blinds just to wake me up. *giggles*

As it is a lovely day, I'm a bit sad to be working inside most of the day, but it can't be helped. At least I'll be able to wear my dresses. <3 I hope the weekend will be as lovely, if so we can play Go outside. :) Lately, my Go has been changing a lot... The games before my break was pretty haphazard, since I didn't know much about whole board strategy back then. Now, however... I don't know, but it feels like I've gotten several stones stronger by just taking a break and coming back. I'm reviewing pro games at a daily basis, and although I do confess that they're far beyond my level I do learn interesting things from them.
When I was younger, my only goal with a game was to win it, but right now I feel that I have a bigger goal - to be strong. First goal is 1 dan, I can't slack of if I want to reach that goal, and I can't back down because of losses. Also...trying new things, new strategies, new moves is part of growing stronger.

We've started recording games as the go club, which is a great opportunity for me to review my own games and learn from the mistakes I make. I've been playing my beloved, and by doing so I also realise I need to learn how to count points now... I've crushed her with more than double of her points even with her having four handicap stones. I don't think I'm strong enough to give her more than two more stones, but somehow I feel that what it's not so much that I need to add handicap stones, but learning to get a balance in power and territory - and count points. I'm terrible at judging how big the difference is.

Here is a game that I came across when I was reviewing, that really stumped me considering how it starts. I have never seen a first move at 6-4 before, it's a first for me. Of course, that move pretty much affected how the entire game went on... If you have a little Go-knowledge, feel free to have a look. :) It's an exciting game, even if you don't understand the motive behind every move.

Ko Reibun vs Ohashi Hirofumi