Among other things, progress in the New Year, and some sad news.

Well, I've been busy. Over the last few days, I've been playing and reading a lot. I've also met a very nice woman by the name of Terri on Go Discussions. She is a retired teacher that devotes most of her time to learning Go. She has a Pro-level teacher, and has been kind enough to spend time with me reviewing some of my games on KGS over the last couple of days. Everything together has helped quite a bit.

One important thing Terri (Buzzsaw on KGS) has taught me is how to count which side is the largest. The largest side must be played on first. Why play for the smaller area before the largest? Simply by counting the points between the single corner stones (once played) and taking the lines to the edge into consideration, it is easy to tell which side is the largest.

My KGS rating has climbed up all the way to 17 Kyu already. It was 18 Kyu when I went to sleep last night, but apparently the people I had defeated before gained a large enough amount of strength to affect my rating as well! It was a nice New Year's treat to wake up to.

Some sad news for the Go world arrived today. In Korea, the world's Go capital, there is apparently a decrease in popularity going on. This post by a Korean Pro gives a lot more details. Up until the 1990s, I hear that Japan was the capital of the Go world. Japan experienced a similar decrease in Go popularity in the 1990s, and Korea took Japan's place. If this happens to Korea, what country will become the world's center for Go, or Baduk, as it is called in Korea.

Hopefully, in this New Year, I can reach the single-digits in the Kyu ratings. Happy New Year!