I made 23kyu!

In a lengthy battle last night, I defeated a 22kyu by 0.5 points to finally break into the rarified atmosphere of the 23kyu players. And of course, I promptly followed this by losing a 4-stone handicap game to a 19kyu player by OVER 20 POINTS! Good god!

That's what happens when it gets real late, and you stop thinking. Note to self: stop playing rated games when you are tired. Goofball!

I also had a great lesson from a 7kyu player. At times we had up to seven people in the game room watching and learning along with me. The main lesson I brought back from that one was the use of sente in the endgame. Of course, sente is important throughout the game, but it's harder for me to see where it is in the opening or even the middle game. But in the endgame, how much better it is to be able to make four territory-expanding moves as opposed to only one...

I'm also reading a tesuji book. What's really amazing is that I tried to read it a few weeks ago, and thought it would be easy going. But now, as I lower myself into the game, what seemed simple become deep and mysterious, like murky river water. The half-hidden currents that push and pull on the stones are becoming clearer, but with that, the motivations for any play become more complex.

I love this game. So far, it's like peeling a never-ending onion.