I play go on PandaNet, but when I finally get up to 5-dan, I immediately fall back to 4-dan. I would like to believe that I have improved a little, but I don’t feel convinced. When I replay my games, I find that I made some really stupid moves. If I could eliminate these blunders, my winning percentage would go up a little, but I don’t know how to do this. Incidentally, I am 65 years old and have been playing go for 30 years. Consultation One: Mr. Otagaki Thank you for your letter. I’m really impressed with the length of your go career. It’s marvelous. I hope you keep extending it. I understand your desire to eliminate your blunders so that you don’t keep getting demoted. However, you are already reviewing your games. I think that this is an excellent way to study. Going over a game is bound to be of use when you play your next game. This kind of review is very important. Still, the question is how to eliminate one’s blunders . . . This is an eternal theme for all go players. It’s extremely difficult. Rather than trying to eliminate all one’s blunders, as a first step, how about trying to identify an area of the game that you have trouble with and doing study to improve that area? For example, if you are bad at the opening, you can improve by studying the fuseki (for example, in professional games). If you are bad at fighting, you can improve your reading by studying life-and-death problems. There are also various other areas of the game you could study. However, with your earnest desire for improvement, I’m sure you’ll increase your winning percentage.