Believing is winning

What are the ingredients one needs to win a game,not just go but any game? Of course experience, knowledge and technique are indispensable, just as is the will to win. However it is a rare case that the score for all these elements is not similar among the top contenders. There is a Kasparov in chess and in go there are Cho Chikun in Japan and Lee Chang Ho in South Korea, who have dominated their opponents for an extended period. I believe that what sets these giants apart is their ability to stay objective under high pressure and in the face of the fear of losing. The pressure to succeed, or fail for that matter, their combativeness, and their ability to see the same situation with new eyes are all key elements. In other words, to stay conscious of a decision-making process that is usually automatized or unconscious. For example, it is an unusual athlete who does not need to relearn the basics of running, jumping, or kicking in order to take his or her place among the world top competitors. That is the reason why top coaches continuously keep reinforcing the basics.

Unlike top chess players and top athletes, go players and most common people including business executives, school teachers and students don't have coaches that stimulate them to ever higher achievements. So what to do? I started preparing for this tournament by doing tsume-go, or problems involving reading or calculating, every morning before breakfast for about six weeks, starting with easy ones to slowly work my way up. I also played through about 30 or 40 recent professional games. On the morning of the matches I also used visualization techniques-very simple ones. For example, I would imagine being congratulated by my friends upon winning the match. Psyching myself up was another important element of the morning routine. During the game itself I would often feel exhausted but I kept reminding myself that I would be just as tired losing, maybe more so. Therefore, I told myself, winning was the way of the least resistance.

Arguments, like this one, do not need to be logical-your unconsciousness will believe anything as long as you keep repeating it over and over to yourself. This seems to be most vital ingredient of the psychology of winning.

First we will have a look at last week's problems

Diagram 1 shows the solution to Problem 1 last week . White 2 looks like the logical move, but Black squeezes with the sequence to 7, then squeezes again from 9 to 14. After white 14, Black can play where the marked stone is, or he can play at A or B if he is in a combative mood, while C is also a good relaxed move, defending against the cut at D and preparing for an attack on the white center group later. Note that Black can always exchange E of F so he is quite strong here.
Diagram 2 is the answer to Problem 2. If white 2, black counters with 3 to 7 to start a ko. In the sequence to black 23 in Diagram 3, White has run out of ko threats and loses the capturing race.
Part II of my game with Catalin Taranu, 4-dan, on White
In Diagram 4, in light of Diagram 2 and 3, White has no choice but to play 86 allowing Black to live with 87. The skirmishes in the lower left corner have proven a great success for Black. White has to do something and 88 is a good start. Black 89 could have been at 90 as everybody was eager to point out to me after the game. But I believe 89 is better. However 93 and 95 are almost fatal due to White 96. To make the most of it, Black has to play at 97 and 99, but 98 and 100 almost kill the black group on the lower left. Instead of 93, Black should have played as in Variation 1. There are many possibilities, but the sequence to 19 seems likely. Black can also exchange A or B (for white C) to come back to D. This leaves Black's position thick while White stille has many problems. Note that after white C, a white move at E will be answered at F.

Note that after black 100 it is not easy for White to kill Black. Variation 2, if white 1 and 3, black 4 and 6 form a tesuji that threaten to connect underneath while taking away White's liberties. Instead of 12, Black can start a ko at 13 as well, but even the sequence to 18 should be good enough for Black.

Diagram 5, with 3, Black manages to capture the marked white stones. White 4 is a standard invasion, possible because of his thickness on the left. Playing in overtime with only 30 seconds a move by now, Black 5 was another mistake. Variation 3 offers an alternative. First Black forces with 2 and 4 and then calmly encloses the white stone at 1. In the sequence to 23, White lives but at the cost of strengthening Black's outside position. In the moves to 28, Black threatens to take a large territory in the center and is clearly leading. Although it looks really clever, Black 5 in Diagram 5 has no effect on the white stones on the left and misses the point of the fight. After White plays 6, Black manages to split himself into three weak groups. By the end of this diagram White has the initiative and threatens to kill the marked black stones in Diagram 6.

But when White plays 34 in that diagram he wants too much. The exchange 35/36 also attacks the white group on the left as it takes away his eye in ko. Therefore, White has to be careful. Black 37 is a good tesuji (locally the best move), and White, also in overtime with 30 seconds a move, blunders with 40, 42, and 44. Black 47 should have been at 50, and also white 48 should have been at 50, but when White finally plays 50, he was very shocked that black 51 captured the marked white stones.

Winning this game and the next one earned me the right to represent Europe as the only amateur to compete with professionals in the Fujitsu World Championship.