This is a recent game I played against CrazyStone (see attachment), and I would greatly appreciate any feedback. I played the game on my Android phone and manually transfered the game to my Desktop computer using Drago. I have posted some various comments throughout the game where I had some particular questions. Any other comments or critiques to any other parts of the game are welcome. I've been playing for a little over a month now, so I don't have a ranking I can provide. Thanks a bunch!! Oh, and I'm playing as black.

You'll have a much better change of getting advice if you make it easy for the reviewers to look at your game. Note the use of 'sgf' tags below.

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Thanks, Joaz, for the suggestion and for putting the file into that format! I read the forum explaining that--so I understand how to do it now.

On 97: Black can definitely win if he plays f15. Note that in the variation you show, B can capture four different white stones - c10, d11, f13, e15 - rather than playing self-atari with a10. Or, B can simply extend solidly to F13 instead of playing the G13 hane.

On 143: The simplest move would be B139 at S18. When you make completely unnecessary defensive moves, you throw the initiative to your opponent. --- Also, W's group is completely alive at 147. He doesn't need to capture with P19 or block at T18 to save it. Of these two moves, however, T18 at least makes some additional territory.

On 191: It would be even better to play nothing at all here and have B17 as your first ko threat! And C15 would have been a fine threat regardless.

On 281: I think black is safe regardless. However, you will eventually have to play a move defending the cut at S4. For now there are still meaningful moves you can make, like E11 or J11.

By the way, it seems like you have CrazyStone set on too low a level of difficulty. One way to avoid the "Why on earth did White play there!" problem is to play humans, who will be asking that question about you as often as you ask it about them. But if you really love playing your phone, you want to set it on a higher level of difficulty so that it gives you a challenge in all aspects of the game.

Not bad for only having played for a month.


Up through move 12: he getsinfluence, you get territory. I'm not sure which is better here, but note that his influence dominates 2/3 of the board.

13: So it is probably unwise to play in that corner right now. K4 or D5 might be safer.

16: He goes the wrong way

21: If R2 was not important enough to you to protect it last move, it isn't important enough this move.

29: R7

31: What is he threatening? A ko for a couple of points? Play D5

33: Again, this is small stuff. You are alive in the corner, so it does almost nothing for you.

34: ...but he doesn't realize that...

35: Much better! Grab the big points early. ( D5 might be even better, but yours is good. )

41: You are reverting to small moves. Note that the lower middle of the board is almost surrounded. Something like K5 would be useful now, or maybe G9.

45: Not a good habit on the fourth rank. It works on the second ( known as a 'watari' BTW ) and sometimes on the 3rd rank. But you are too easily split here.

57: He should play H16 here

61: Too thin. It sets you up for a double attack. You do not have to kill him. Just play F17 here, which threatens to kill him. He lives small, with maybe four points, while you build a wall to help secure 20+ points on the left side in conjunction with your D10/D9 stones.

73: Right idea, just a tad slow.

74: He misses it???

85: Finally, you saw it before he did.

89: Good style, but small. It kills two stones.

91: What does this do? You are alive with G1 any time that you want to be. The stones that need help are C16/D16. Try D14 or B16.

93: Good shape

97: The problem with F15 is not the ladder ( look closely again and you will see that you have a ladder-breaker ) but the possible death of C16/D16/E16.

105: E11 works better.

123: What is he threatening?

138: Those three stones are not going anyplace. You can kill them later. S18 is big. It steals eye space that he may need

143: Your best chance is probably T18. It goes for eye space. But it is probably not possible to kill because M19 or M18 is a free move for him.

148: He doesn't need to capture them now. Where would they go? He goes for the corner - the easiest place to make eyes.

151: This works only because your opponent is a moron.

155: Good

158: This threatens to turn a 1 eye group int a 1.5 eye group.

159: You can ignore it. If he takes, then next move you play T15 and he is still dead - and you got a free move somewhere else.

161: Small. You're saving 2 points here. In gote. But much of the lower half of the board is still undecided.

163: That was another 2 points in gote.

167: YES!!! Go for the big points!

225: Play A17 first. Then you get 2 ko threats out of it.

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Wow, thanks so much for all of the useful comments!! You all pointed out many things that I wouldn't have even been aware of otherwise--it's very useful.



I see what you mean. I'm familiar with the difference between influence and territory, but I guess as a beginner, my instinct is to go for more territory, even though I try to keep center influence in mind. I think it's just that the concept of influence is a bit more abstract than territory, while territory is more immediate; i.e., it is easier to see its immediate benefits. It seems like building for influence is more of a long-term strategic plan, often hard to see its overall value in the beginning phases of the game. I think I read in "Opening Theory Made Easy" that territory is more like immediate profit, while influence is more like a long-term investment. Therefore, when I play, the opponent usually ends up with more territory in the center than I do, while the majority of my territory is on the sides and corners.

I did increase the difficulty level of the AI to level 3 in my subsequent game (from level 2), and was defeated by about 30 points in my first game. Once again, the opponent grabbed pretty large territories in the center. I guess this is something I really need to work on, among other things. Again, thank for taking the time for some constructive criticism.

As you progress (at least, in my limited experience), you start to see less and less of the board as "territory". As human beings we can see ten or twenty stones scattered over the board as say "oh, that's black's territory, that's white's territory..." because we love patterns, but it turns out most of those "territories" are easy for the other player to take away. If they don't, that's only because the influence they would give away in return is worth more than the territory they would be taking.

For now a good rule to remember is that the fourth line is the line of victory. If you are making territory on the fourth line while your opponent takes influence on the fifth line, be happy. But if your opponent makes third line territory while you take influence on the fourth line, you can be happy with that too. It will turn into territory somehow or another.