I understand that playing with a teacher or mentor with handicap is great for both to enjoy an exciting game. But if I challenge somebody within one or two points of my current ranking to a ranked game is using auto handicap a good idea? I have a game now where there was no extra Stone given but the comey was reduced to 2.5 and we’re both around 25k..
1 Like
This is just my theory. Even amongst 25kyu, there could be a difference in rating. Two players could be that the two different ends of the 25kyu. Thus the komi is low.
2 Likes
To add a fact about OGS: kyu is capped at 25k. You can check the game history for the uncapped rank to verify whether the two players are actually the close.
This is relatively standard way to add handicap for nearly-matched players. Assuming the rank cap isn’t adversely influencing the auto-handicap, I think it’s okay to trust it.
What do you notice when you play this person? Are you winning about half the games? If not, add some stones on your next match.
2 Likes
This is my 2 cents on the matter - please be aware that this opinion is highly subjective, and it may not reflect everyone’s experience.
As I understand it - the purpose of handicap stones is to offer both players a similar level of CHALLENGE if they are looking for a challenging game. In other words, if a 15 kyu player is playing a game against a 20 kyu, chances are - in an even game - that 20 kyu player will not be much of a challenge, and it will be fairly easy for the 15 kyu to grab an early lead, which may cause them to lose interest by midgame.
However, give that 20 kyu a 4 or 5 stone handicap, and now the 15 kyu is facing a much bigger challenge, so the game will (hopefully) be entertaining enough for them to engage and put them back into fighting mode, rather than just kicking back and taking an easy lead.
That’s how it’s supposed to work on paper - the problem is - any time you have more than 1 or 2 stones handicap, you introduce asymmetrical game dynamics. What do I mean by this?
- the higher ranked player will start off having to play more aggressively to invade because the lower ranked player already has most of the corners, etc
- the lower ranked player will have to focus on repelling these aggressive attacks
- both players will have to pay less attention to the usual priorities of the game (i.e. corner > sides > middle as a way of thinking of Opening > Midgame etc) and focus more on contact fighting right off the bat
So, the way I think about this information would be
IF you’re playing an UNRANKED TEACHING GAME where the focus is on having the higher ranked player help the lower ranked one to learn something, I strongly encourage both to agree to an even game, because going through the stages of the game, and correctly focusing on those priorities might help the lower-ranked player learn more than just focusing on the kind of contact fighting that a handicapped game is more likely to feature
IF you’re playing a RANKED GAME where both want the excitement and challenge of skill vs skill - even at different rank levels - then a handicapped game makes more sense, as long as you’re ready for the fact that the more handicapped stones you have, the more of an aggressive response you’re likely to encounter from your higher-ranked opponent
My 2 cents - your mileage may vary - some cars not for use with some sets - void where prohibited
6 Likes
TBH, i think that while handicap might make the game more exciting for black by giving them a fighting chance, it is there mainly to entertain white… If the skill difference of players is large, without any handicaps the stronger player doesn’t have much challenge, and game might quickly become bit boring for the stronger player. But with adequate handicap, the stronger player still faces a good challenge.
I personally prefer to play without handicaps as long as the players are somewhat close to eachothers. But if the rank difference is like 5 stones or more, handicap usually helps on keeping the game more entertaining for longer ^^
2 Likes
Uhm, no, it is also there to prevent B from being beaten to pulp mercilessly.
3 Likes
IMHO the challenge is on both sides with fair amount of pleasure. I particularly enjoy to watch handicap games between Dan players.
3 Likes
Heh i might be built differently ^^
If i’m the weaker player, i really enjoy a game against someone considerably stronger. Like sure, i know that i’ll get crushed, but i still enjoy the difficult game till the bitter end (because i know that the end will come whenever i eventually resign). So the game will still give me a great amount of pleasure, even if i have no realistic chance of winning XD
But if i’m the stronger player, the games will often become bit boring if i’m able to gain-30 point lead in the opening, and then just play safe moves till the scoring. So if there’s no handicap, i usually treat it as a teaching game of some sort and play it out as such.
So if my opponent is roughly the same level as i am, or if they are much stronger than me, i prefer playing without handicaps. But if my opponent is lot weaker than me, i usually prefer a handicap game so it will provide me good challenge ^^
4 Likes
I don’t think so. This might be a viable strategy. But the handicap is to compensate the fact, that the weaker player is going to make more mistakes. So it is also possible to play “normal” moves and just wait for the mistakes.
2 Likes
I had students who took the climbing way. It’s a great pleasure to win against a stronger with an handicap, following maybe some guidance from him. Seeing your progression and having to beat him with one stone less now.
But I can understand your own opinion.
1 Like