Thad, you said,

*******" Here’s something else. I really dislike DSG’s database. I wish Dweebo would take it down. I can compete with even the top players using it. Does that make me a great player? No, it makes me a great looker-upper. Does it improve my pente skills? No. In fact, it probably makes them worse. Now, I need a crutch to win. Thanks to the DSG database, I have learned some good moves, but I have no idea WHY they are good moves. I will never learn to extend that move to another similar situation. My game will not get better than looking up moves allows it to be. There is no fun-pente database. Playing fun-pente forces me to think up winning lines on my own. That alone makes it worth playing over ‘official’ pente for me. " *********

I am sorry you feel that way. This has not been the case with me, I improved greatly by studying the database. For one thing, I have access to any of the 2000 games I have played on the various sites, so I can go over my games and find where I wnet wrong and improve on them. You say you learn good moves from the databse but not WHY thye are good moves. Why is that? When I study, I will fully explore an intersting looking move so that I DO discover why it is a good move. Sometimes the exact oppositte happens-- I'll realize, "hey, that move isnlt a good one at all, and now I am going to explore options AGAINST this move because I think it is flawed and that I can come up with a new defense for it"

I always tell people that when they review the database, they need to really examine moves, not just say, "Oh, Dmitri King or Gary Barnes won with this move, so I'll make it." That won't improve play, but fully exploring the possiblee follow-up moves WILL.

The database is a great tool for many reasons. I like ti for statistics purposes, I can see how I have fared against certain players. ALso, the database is useful in catching cheats, and we all know who I am referring to (at least anyone who has read the forums at Dweebo's knows).