No, I mean when someone resigns against you on move 5 on goquest, you haven’t really deserved a win in that game, hence the rank points you get are meaningless. You will soon come back down to your actual rating when people indulge your mirror games instead of resigning them, so you haven’t really gained much. I will come back up to my own actual rating soon when I meet people whom I don’t mind playing, so, I haven’t really lost much. Hence, it is very similar to being able to annul the game in early game (which isn’t escaping, even though you described it as such). The only difference is a slight disturbance of ranks.
Sure 
Sorry but that long description to say that losing points is not a big deal makes me laugh. What will you do in a face to face tournament? Call the referee?
Playing mirror moves probably cost you (much) less time than your opponent’s playing moves.
So as long as you play them you win time that you can use when you stop mirroring.
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That’s true if you disturb opponent mind but time has to be taken soon for how breaking the mirror and subsequent moves.
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It felt like you made me spell it out so I’m surprised it amuses you.
I have attended two tournaments and refrain from attending more because some of the opponents in those tournaments felt rude, mumbling during the game, slapping stones to try to be intimidating, coming very late to the game and not even making a remark about it - same with the arbiter, starting the clock while im waiting for my opponent despite my objection and not even clarifying it was him that did it when my opponent arrived. It was just not the most enjoyable environment, too serious and win-oriented. I’d rather play casually at home or at the cafe or online.
If I happen to attend a tourney again, I might accept suffering through mirror go if I am competing for a top place or a prize but I would very likely resign and leave the tourney if I am there to just have fun.
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I feel sorry that you met that kind of players, tournaments have to be an enjoyable time in respect of the good spirit of the game.
Once i met a one kyu in a NL tournament who won by playing tengen all the way. He told me it was cool, all ladders didn’t work and such things. I was happy for him.
I talk about 13x13 as a way to make you feel better with mirror. You could even start on 9x9. Who complains on 9x9? Even starting at tengen is the most chosen opening there.
Coming back to the OP as a learning strategy, i agree on this especially for middle kyu. I advise them to practice a straight and simple opening (can be sanrensei, chinese too) so they can evaluate the results of their choices in middle game and build a consistent game.
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I would strongly suggest trying this strategy out in unranked over ranked, to not end up with undeserved rating points or salty opponents who didn’t sign up for such a specific form of go. Unranked games are also a better tool for study with the possibility of both players previously agreeing on reviewing and playing learning moves.
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The longer you mirror (for example 60 instead of 20 moves) the more time you may win.
I like the separation we have in face to face between serious tournament games and friends/club games (which can occur between rounds in a tournament too). It’s good to have a time for fixing your level through competition against unknown and wild players, and a time to practice, try, apply new ideas and such.
If i may give a last one, be serious but relax in tournaments, i hope you can enjoy these too.
That works only in the confusion. I mean if i am elaborating a plan to break, that’s not lost time.
They cannot mirror each other.
Sorry, i don’t get the point.
In a mirror game there will be as much to learn from both sides.
What you describe seems to me like a missed opportunity for that tournament. Most players go to a tournament to play and have fun, meeting other players. If the tournament organisation has an attitude like this (permitting rude behaviour, etc.) they do themselves a bad service. And if they do this too often they will give their tournament a bad reputation and players will start avoiding their tournament.
But there are also tournaments who realise that in order to attract players they will have to offer something that will make them come back. They will be hospitable and warm.
My advice: try some more real life tournaments and talk to people what their experiences are (get tips about good places to play go). And the more tournaments you play the more people you get to know.
Don’t be afraid to give a tournament’s organisation feedback (negative as well as positive).
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I am pretty sure that using external help to 100% dictate your next move is considered cheating, so, that could potentially be deemed to be against the ToS.
Using AI is cheating for dictating your next move.
Your opponent is dictating all your next moves.
Soooo…
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What? How mirroring would be an external help? Is invading at sansan an external help too? Seriously i miss the point here.
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When your opponent makes a mistake, that is obviously help, which can’t be allowed. Since it is pratically impossible to win a game without your opponent having made a mistake, anyone winning a game should be banned. No wait, I’m for second chances. Give a warning first and only ban offenders who do it again.
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There should be a will to let the opponent win in the mistake. That is banned i think.
Coming back to external help, there is no external help in reproducing in symetry your opponent moves. That sounds internal to me.
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No external help, 100% of your decision making is dictated by the board state.
Tournament organization can have some requirement, like starting the clocks even in the absence of a player. Or everyone will be late in the next round…
I enjoyed many tournaments, some less some more. I learned that most of misconducts, if any, came from myself first.
It’s not an easy task to organize one. First coming is the choice of prizes. High prizes will bring strong players but put a bit of the ambiance down as always with money. Families want cozy, arm players want to spend as less as possible. And so on.
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Mirror-go is indeed fun to experiment with, i have used that strategy many times on ogs and egf tournaments ^___^
I think the main idea, at least as white, is to only mirror the moves you consider being the very best moves on the board. If/when black plays something you think is sub-optimal, you should be willing to immediately stop mirroring and instead play the move you think is best. Then you should be ahead by the difference of those previous 2 moves + komi.
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