Re: [computer-go] Pattern matching - example play

[Don Dailey <drd@xxxxxxx>]

Vincent,

In the USA you must achieve a  2200 USCF rating to be a master.  Where
do you  get the 2000  figure?  I don't  know how this relates  to FIDE
ratings,  but when I  was playing  chess the  weakest US  master (2200
USCF) was  about 2100  FIDE.  It's quite  possible that the  scale has
inflated even more since then.   USA doesn't care about chess and very
few people even know how to play.   Most of the people who know how to
play  are well  into their  40's and  beyond and  got  interested when
Fischer  was  making  a fool  out  of  himself.   Now ches  is  mostly
forgotten.  In  fact most people call  it "chest" and  don't even know
it's called "chess."

If  your  rating is  between  2000-2199  you  are sometimes  called  a
"candidate master"  or "expert" which means  you are NOT  a master.  A
2000 player is still pretty far  from being a USCF master according to
the odds predicted by ELO based rating systems but will still win once
in a while.

What does  it take to  be a master?   I think the  average intelligent
person, if highly  motivated and willing to actually  WORK hard at it,
meaning devoting 2-3 hours per  day at SERIOUS study, not casual study
and playing in tournments frequently can get over 2200 in a few years.
I'm basing  this on my own  experience and lots  of anecdotal evidence
from others.   I got to  over 1900 without  very much study,  but with
about 1 tournament per month and  going over my wins and losses with a
2350 USCF master.  I started out at about 1300-1400 and skyrocketed to
over 1700 just  by learning not to make  blunders.  I watched everyone
of  my level  making  constant blunders  (the  dumb ones  that are  so
obvious)  and I  realized that  if I  didn't make  the  stupid obvious
blunders, I would probably go up 200-300 points without doing anything
else!  So  I taught myself a  simple 10 second procedure  to check for
blunders before making  my move and that eliminated  almost all of the
"head-slappers."  It took a whole lot more to get the next 200 points,
I had to actually make some good moves too.

A lot  of people told  me that positional  play in chess  doesn't mean
much  until you get  beyond 2000  USCF.  Almost  all games  under this
level are decided by tactical shots, stupid moves, etc.  You are right
about tactics, you  have to get that right before  you have any chance
of progressing.


- Don

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