Can i play somewhere and get a win now and then?

Hello, I come from the world of chess (15 years) and find Go interesting. But it seems to be so extremely difficult that really chess seems like a piece of cake compared to Go. When i started learning chess i was mostly losing but occasionally did some wins. Of course i don’t mind losing especially when i learn a new game but this thing becomes really annoying with Go. Is there some software where i can choose the difficulty to 0 in order to start playing and learning? Although in the past i was playing on the phone with the difficulty at 0 and didn’t manage to do a win. Or some really noobies like me we who i can play? Thanks.

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Create a custom game and select the “Restrict Rank” option. Set the maximum rank to something like 22 Kyu and you should start winning some games.

On a PC I know of none. And I think it is kind of lacking to be honest :smiley: I have been playing for almost 2 years and Leela just crushes me almost every time on even the lowest settings. Understandably they are all striving for the best performance, not the friendliest.

On an android there are several apps that I feel are beginner friendly. “CS lite” (crazy stone lite) and “Go Free” both seem to have lowest settings quite close to 25 kyu, which should be at least playable for you.

Other than that, my only recommendation is try not to get discuraged. There seem to be a sort of a “bump” for many players, where you just can’t win in the beginning (which actually makes sense given how long the learning curve is), but suddenly after some times, you should get over it, and get to the 50-50 ratio, that you will get for the rest of your life :smiley: :stuck_out_tongue:

And yes, as Opuss mentioned, choosing the right opponent is also a big part.
Good luck :slight_smile:

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Thanks, i did as you suggest and got some good result :slight_smile: I had already set at “automatch settings” the “opponent rank range: -9 0”.
But don’t know what it means. I reset it until i read the help page.

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- means X stones weaker + means X stones stronger.

so if you want to play someone of similar rank just set both to ±2 or something… :slight_smile:

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Thanks for your suggestions. I’ll try them. As i use Linux i don’t have many options on the PC. I knew that Go is extremely deep game but didn’t know how deep. It seems my mind has to be somehow “unlocked” in a “Go” way :):smile:

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Well if you really want to do yourself a disfavor you can play Idiotbot or BasicsBot on KGS. They basically play random moves.

Mantis isn’t too far off, though.

If you are feeling completely lost, I would not recommend playing against an extremely bad bot (or very weak players) just for the sake of winning a few games. It might give you the false impression that you are learning and progressing, when in fact you may just be reinforcing bad habits and building up bad intuition.

If you want to improve, I would suggest arranging a teaching game. I am willing to offer you a correspondence teaching game.

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I installed the Leela and at 0 strength still seems difficult for me. But i have some good times against beginner opponents like me. On KGS i coudn’t find out how to play with idiotbot but never mind as this won’t maybe help. I’m watching some helpful videos online.
Thanks everyone for the help. The Go community seems surprisingly very friendly (and beginner friendly)!

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The handicap-stone system in Go works infinitely better than any chess handicap system. Don’t be afraid to use it to get an even game.

I was recently reminded of Igowin: Igowin Free Go Software Download
It’s a free 9x9 package that automatically adjusts handicap stones as you win or lose.

Can i play somewhere and get a win now and then?

Yes. Unlike OGS which starts you at 13kyu, Igowin starts you at the bottom (25kyu) with five handicap stones on 9x9. Win your first game to move up to 24kyu or wipe it off the board for an accelerated jump to 20kyu(and four stones). The constant adjustment of rank and handicap should see you winning half your games once your rank settles.

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Leela without readouts is about 3d so yea, you’d have some trouble beating it. :slight_smile: