Posted by Nate on Wed Aug 16 10:18:26 EDT 2006

I'm on a winning streak! I've won 9 out of my last 10 IGS matches, and 13 out of my last 15.  I'm one win a way from making 16kyu. 

Last night I won a 1.5 game against liaooskl, which was a quite a nail biter.  I'm starting to come to the conclusion that I really need to work on my jose.  Going over the game, I was solidly ahead (12 or so points) but  lost a lot of points in endgame.  Ultimately this will be a challenge for me, because it is one of the least interesting aspects of the game.

I'm looking forward to making next rank, though I'm getting a bit concerned, because I've been having trouble getting people to accept my challenges.  Either I'm unlucky (challenging), or I'm getting the reputation as a sandbagger.  My current record is 95-62, but I've literally worked my way up from the dredges of 22kyu. 

I was going to go to bed after my first match last night, but I got a challenge from NR2002.  I've played him before, and he is much stronger then me.  I couldn't resist the opportunity to play someone that much stronger than me.  I lost with a 4 stone handicap, and lost badly due to some very careless mistakes.  That being said, he commented that I'd improved despite my loss.  I'm also glad I got those mistakes out of my system in an unranked match. 

Now I'm paying for staying up late, as I'm rather lethargic at work.