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12k: 2015.08.11; 11k: 2015.09.13; 10k: 2015.09.27; 9k: 2015.10.10; 8k: 2015.11.08; 7k: 2016.07.10 6k: 2016.07.24 5k: 2018.05.14 4k: 2018.09.03 3k: who knows?

Solve lots and lots of problems to improve your reading. You will soon be doing a lot better in those invasion fights.

Problems are the obvious thing. Depending on your level, james davies' attack and defense is a good book for the type of thing you're asking about.

As for out of print go books, there are surely some that would do well in a reprint, but I think that often, the likely buyers have been saturated.

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Occupy Babel!

Regarding out of print go books - print runs for books like this are small, and the potential pool of buyers is limited, so most don't get reprinted. There are some exceptions - the old Ishi Press series, for example, and Invincible, but most books don't last more than a few years. Some of us book obsessives buy most of the books that are published just because; some day I'll sell some of mine...

_________________
My blog about Macs and more: Kirkville

From what you say, you should make rapid progress.

My advice: Play against stronger players (taking at least 5 stones) and attack like hell. Go over your games afterward, preferably on the spot with your opponent.

Welcome to the world of go!

Good luck!

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Regarding why so many books are out of print, the unfortunate truth seems to be that the market is small to begin with and there is a lot of free material available on the internet. Publishers are loath to put out books when they aren't likely to sell more than 1000 copies, and the availability of much free material on the web means that the already small market is even smaller. Almost all the out-of-print books listed on that SL page were originally published before the internet became so popular. Still, new books are coming out and some of the best from the 80's and 90's are still available. There are some fine new books for beginners such as Go: More than a Game, and one of the best go books in English, Invincible is still in print.

Thanks, everyone

I don't know why I have problems with the middle game. When you started learning, did anyone else find that the opening was kind of OK but the middle game was a bit like being lost at sea? I've heard that there should be a lot less plays possible in the middle game than there are in the opening, but I just can't see them at the moment.

I'm going to get a few books for Xmas like I said, and Attack & Defence, and Tesuji, and In The Beginning from Elementary Go Series are some of them, along with Kageyama's Fundamentals possibly...

Out of interest, has anyone looked at Eio's Middle Game of Go? It seems exactly the book that I'm looking for but I've read that it's a bit advanced and rather a chore to get through.

Completely agree with gowan's point about the internet killing the need of the book... I mean, if they're so expensive to buy second hand these days, but they're all on something like scribd, what's the point? But I find it so much more fun reading a chess book with a real board, for example. The information seems to sink in better if you're doing it in real life instead of just pushing buttons.

Also, it gives me an excuse to buy a board! Since, I don't know anyone who has even heard of the game, never mind play it... Well, there is this one guy, but he moved to New Zealand. So, I'd need some very long fingers.

_________________
12k: 2015.08.11; 11k: 2015.09.13; 10k: 2015.09.27; 9k: 2015.10.10; 8k: 2015.11.08; 7k: 2016.07.10 6k: 2016.07.24 5k: 2018.05.14 4k: 2018.09.03 3k: who knows?

I'm not sure, seems to me that recently something like 10 new books gets published a year and maybe 1-5 goes OOP.
I could be wrong, I have no statistics to rely on.

I have always liked the opening part of the game, up til I was about 5 kyu it was my strength too, I could be waaay ahead after the opening and then just fall apart in the middle game.
In particular I remember reading about a game I played against a Finnish player, he wrote something like "After the opening I realized my opponent had four courners and the center. There was only one thing to do, INVAAADE!", I lost that game.
Then I turned to endgame as my main interest, and has managed to get back from the middle game disasters in quite some games.
I am now working on my middle game, but I dislike doing problems so it's a bit slow.

/Mats

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mohsart - games & books
http://spel.mohsart.se/

I remember early on, upto around 2kyu the constant feeling of the opening being over, what now? *confused* just playing some random moves waiting for my opponent to do something major.
It was at that point I started playing some HC games.. attacking a lot, then suddenly I started to get an idea of what to do in middle game.

So I will just strongly agree with.

Where abouts in the Uk are you then?

Hi, Jujube, welcome to the forum.

The following game is one that I recently reviewed for another beginner who appears to be in a situation similar to yours. The first 10-15 moves look dan level, but then they engage in a series of invasions with varied results. I recommend going through it if you want to learn about invasions.

There are four distinct invasions: one at C4, one at D12, one at M17, and one at O3. Two seem to be good, the other two IMHO, are dubious. There in also one good reduction.

( BTW, if any dan players care to second guess me on my advice, I'd be happy to hear corrections - particularly those on my opinion of the M17 invasion. )

[sgf-full](;FF[4]GM[1]SZ[19]ST[2]CA[UTF-8]AP[SGFC:1.17]PB[soutkin]BR[5k]PW[jokkebk]WR[4k]KM[0.5]DT[2010-10-24]PC[The KGS Go Server at http://www.gokgs.com/]RE[B+4.5]TM[600]OT[3x20 byo-yomi]RU[Japanese]C[jokkebk [4k\]: hi

soutkin [5k\]: j

jokkebk [4k\]: have a good game

soutkin [5k\]: hi

soutkin [5k\]: hf];B[qd];W[dp];B[pp];W[dd];B[oc];W[qj];B[qh];W[qm];B[mq];W[rp];B[qq];W[dj];B[jq];W[gq]C[JB: K16 was probably bigger.];B[cp];W[co]C[JB: Good choice. You have high stones up north, so make the outside wall.];B[do];W[dq];B[bo];W[cn];B[cq];W[cr];B[br];W[dr];B[bn];W[cm];B[bs];W[bm];B[jd];W[ap]C[JB: As you have probably realized, this just wastes your time and burns ko threats.];B[aq];W[an];B[bp];W[am];B[ao];W[eo]C[JB: Good move.
You asked for advice about handling the C4 invasion. You handled it just fine. You may not be happy with the result, but you came out of it at least as well as he did. He got small territory, and you got outside influence. Perhaps you came out of it better, for your influence may be worth more than his territory.
Remember that a hoshi stone is not a territorial stone. It leaves the corner open. Did you feel that you 'lost' the corner? The corner was never yours to lose.];B[fc](;W[hc]C[JB: Your first real error in judgement ( I assume that the attack on the corner was merely a slip in reading ). This joseki would be reasonable if K16 were not there; maybe reasonable if you had a stone at D14. But you have too many gaps to start this fight.
Your best play is probably the obscure joseki F15, which works because of your massive lower right strength. See variation.];B[fe]C[JB: Now he has the fundamental go attack: splitting two weak groups.];W[df];B[db];W[cc]C[JB: F13 may be bigger.];B[hd]C[JB: Ok, let's take stock of the battlefield.
1) The lower half of the board is mostly resolved: You two have split the lower right 50/50, some territory and some influence for each of you; you two have split the lower left, territory for him, influence for you. There is a little central territory around O6 to quibble over, but it is difficult to secure. There is also a big yose point at S3, but it is gote for you, and it is way out in the boondocks.
2) The upper and left sides of the board are where the game will be won or lost. You have the beginnings of a moyo growing up from the left; he has one emerging from the top. There is a proverb that says 'playing at the border of two territories is worth double'.
The point marked with a triangle is that border. A stone there serves to expand one territory and invade the other. ( It does two things, thus it is said to be worth double )
There are several good invasion points for both sides, here marked with circles. If you play at the triangled point, not only do you get a big play, but you effectively prevent the invasion at D12.]TR[fg]CR[qf][lc][dh](;W[lc];B[ic];W[le](;B[oh]C[JB: Fortunately for you he does not cap. See variations.](;W[lg]C[JB: You might do slightly better to aim for your friends to the west. See variation.](;B[rq];W[ro];B[kd](;W[ld];B[jg];W[li]C[JB: Again the kosumi at L12 may be better.];B[oj];W[ri];B[rh];W[ji]C[JB: Good! You are finally running in the right direction. But notice that the M11 stone is misplaced. Your connections would be stronger if it were at L12 instead.
Note a similar pattern: double tobis - this time at right angles - have weaknesses. Two moves ago, a tobi to M13 folowed by kosumi at L12 would have been stronger.]CR[kh][li];B[kh]C[JB: The weakness is being exploited.];W[lh];B[ki];W[kj];B[lj]C[JB: The double tobi has been cut.];W[mj];B[lk];W[ni];B[oi];W[mk];B[kk];W[ml];B[jj];W[ol]C[JB: This position is an important one. Step back from the board, forget about the recent chase, and look at the whole board. Black has that monsterously strong fist in the middle, which will dominate any play on the bottom or left. Your big white wall in the lower left, which used to be the 800-pound goriilla in that quarter of the board, now faces an opponent just as strong, but better positioned.
When contesting an invasion, one of the things that a defender can do, is, of course, try to kill it. One of the other things that he can do is chase it, let it escape. and make strength while chasing.
You played 10 stones while running. What did you get? You got an invasion worth maybe 30 points. In return, he got a strong center position which may be worth more. He also prevented any future invasion at R14, which is worth a few points. IN THE NET, YOU LOST POINTS ON THIS INVASION.
Remeber: as the defender, you don't have to always kill the invader. Sometimes there are other ways to profit from attcking the invasion.];B[mf]C[JB: A nice interlude, further securing his points to the left. Note that this is just another variation on the idea of making strenth while attacking.];W[lf];B[dh]C[JB: Now the chickens come home to roost. There is no room for black eyes here, so he will have to run. But running is no problem because of thos powerful stones in the middle.];W[ch];B[cg];W[dg];B[ci]C[JB: If those were white stones in the middle, you could laugh at this, extend to B12 to keep C12 alive, and slowly crush him.];W[eh];B[bh];W[di];B[cj];W[ch];B[cf];W[ce];B[dh];W[ck];B[eg]C[JB: Again, if those were white stones in the middle, this would mean nothing. But he is actually threatening to capture E12.];W[ch];B[bk];W[dh];B[bf];W[be];B[ag];W[bl];B[bj];W[mb];B[ob];W[sh];B[sg];W[si];B[rg];W[sq];B[sr];W[sp];B[qr];W[nq];B[np];W[mp];B[oq];W[lq];B[mr]C[JB: He should just capture.];W[lr];B[lp];W[mo];B[nr];W[kp];B[lo];W[ln]C[JB: A nice invasion by you. Note that it is easily successful because of your influence: you have stones to run to, and you have the ladder breaker. Just as his influence helped his invasion over on the left, now your influence is helping your invasion.]TR[ml][dj][ck];B[dk]C[JB: Hehehe..];W[cl]C[JB: Ooops! A good rule of thumb is that ladder breakers must have three or more liberties.];B[no];W[ko];B[qi];W[rk];B[im];W[io];B[gm]C[JB: He reduces your territory, pushing in with no risk because he is backed up by the powerful center group. All of your stone marked with triangles are being neutralized.]TR[di][dj][ck][cl][cm][cn][co][eo];W[ek];B[em];W[dm];B[en];W[fo];B[el];W[fk];B[fn]C[JB: He should play bamboo joint at G8, BTW.];W[fg]C[JB: My closing comments are here.

Among beginners, a common misunderstanding is that invasions are failures if the are killed, and successes if they live. This is only superficially true. Invasions are much more complicated than that.
The defender can often get more profit out of letting an invasion live, and building strenth while chasing it. The resultant strength may be used to take territory or to attack something.

Your game has several examples of this. The C4 invasion by black was a mistake, and you should thank him for invading ( it was premature ). You can threaten to kill him, he will live small, and you get outside influence. This outside influence works well with your star point stones on the left side. The result - in the long run - should be better for you than for him.
Unfortunately, you did not capitalize on your influence with extensions like F13. You let it sit there undeveloped while the rest of the game slowly crawled closer to it and rendered it ineffective. If you learn how to use influence you will welcome foolish invasions like C4.
Influence is worth a lot on an open board, and worth very little on a crowded board. In other words, it is worth more early in the game. That is why I said that the invasion was premature. He gets his meagre five or six points regardless of when he does it. But doing it early gives you a wall that dominates the lower left quarter of the board.
Actually, you did use it a tiny bit. Your stones at M2/M3/L4/L5 are working very well with your strength at D2/D3/D4. The stone at K3 never had a chance.

A second example of handling an invasion was when you invaded at M17. It worked for him in two ways. He chased you and got territory around R14, and he got influence in the middle of the board. He then used that influenceto back up an invasion at D12 and a reduction with D7/F7/H7.
Before he started chasing you, his loosely outlined territory around R14 was invadable, and he had no significant power in the center. After he chased you, he had solid territory and central influence.

Once you learn how to exploit an invasion and get the better of it despite not killing it, you will begin to realize how ineffective many invasions are, and you will look toward reducing from the outside.

In summary:
1) There is more to invading than just living or dying.
2) Influence only is good for you if you actively use it.
3) Most kyu players choose invasions too much and reductions too little.
4) When running, try to avoid double tobis; use tobi and kosumi combos.

Hope this helps.
JB
];B[ee];W[de];B[ef];W[hh];B[ii];W[ih];B[jh];W[hf];B[if];W[he];B[gd];W[ie];B[je];W[ib];B[jb];W[kb];B[hb];W[cb];B[eb];W[ae];B[af];W[ne];B[oe];W[nf];B[of];W[hk];B[go];W[gp];B[ho];W[hp];B[il];W[ik];B[km];W[jk];B[jl];W[in];B[hn];W[hl];B[hm];W[ll];B[kl];W[na];B[dl];W[dn];B[oa];W[da];B[ea];W[ca];B[ed];W[hi];B[ij];W[ig];B[jf];W[ja];B[ia];W[ka];B[hj];W[gj];B[fl];W[gk];B[gf];W[gg];B[pj];W[pk];B[pn];W[nn];B[on];W[om];B[qn];W[rn];B[pm];W[pl];B[qo];W[jn];B[ls];W[ks];B[ms];W[kr];B[ak];W[kc];B[jc];W[nd];B[od];W[ng];B[og];W[nk];B[nh];W[mh];B[nb];W[ma];B[nj];W[mi];B[lm];W[mm];B[ge];W[nc];B[cs];W[ds];B[dc];W[kn];B[al];W[do];B[id];W[hg];B[gl];W[gi];B[qp];W[rm];B[tt];W[tt]TW[aa][ba][la][ab][bb][lb][ac][bc][mc][ad][bd][cd][md][me][mf][mg][fh][gh][ei][fi][ej][fj][rj][sj][qk][sk][nl][ql][rl][sl][nm][sm][mn][sn][jo][lo][so][ep][fp][ip][jp][lp][eq][fq][hq][iq][jq][kq][er][fr][gr][hr][ir][jr][es][fs][gs][hs][is][js]TB[fa][ga][ha][pa][qa][ra][sa][fb][gb][ib][pb][qb][rb][sb][ec][gc][hc][pc][qc][rc][sc][fd][pd][rd][sd][pe][qe][re][se][pf][qf][rf][sf][bg][pg][qg][ah][ph][ai][bi][ji][pi][aj][kj][fm][gn][oo][po][ap][op][bq][nq][pq][ar][or][pr][rr][as][ns][os][ps][qs][rs][ss]C[soutkin [5k\]: thx

jokkebk [4k\]: thanks

jokkebk [4k\]: nice game

soutkin [5k\]: was fun

jokkebk [4k\]: yeah

jokkebk [4k\]: wanna play another?

soutkin [5k\]: hove me 3m

soutkin [5k\]: give

jokkebk [4k\]: ok

jokkebk [4k\]: I'll put one up

jokkebk [4k\]: -->

soutkin [5k\]: ok])(;W[ne]C[IGNORE THIS LINE. It almost works. ];B[ld]))(;B[ld]C[JB: The problem with the double tobi - as opposed to the tobi-then-kosumi - is that sometimes the push-through works...](;W[kd]C[...if white ataries from this side...];B[md]LB[kc:A][ke:B]C[... 'a' and 'b' are miai, and white is screwed.])(;W[md]C[...this atari is better..];B[kd]C[...but, nonetheless again 'a' and 'b' are miai...]LB[mc:A][me:B];W[me]C[...and...];B[mc]C[...black can cut off the original invader, if he really wants to. In this particular instance...];W[nc]C[...white...];B[mb]C[...probably...];W[nb]C[...gets...];B[lb]C[...more compensation than the captured stone is worth...];W[od]C[...but the whole point of this digression is to illustrate that a double tobi can often be cut if the opponent is strong nearby, whereas tobi-kosumi cannot.
So, when running out with invading stones, ask yourself how important it is to maintain the connection against any possible attack, and think of kosumis.]TR[lc][le][lg])))(;W[kf]C[JB: Not only is this a better direction, but it prevents any possible push-through attacks...];B[ld]C[...like this...];W[kd]C[...which...];B[md]C[...of course...];W[kc]C[...fails.]))(;B[lg]C[JB: The conventional cap, preventing your natural running tobi.])(;B[kg]C[A cap that is biased to one side, preventing you from running toward your strength on the left, and nudging you toward his stregnth on the right. Probably best IMHO.]))(;W[fg]C[JB: If you play like this, you not only protect your side against invasion, but make it easier for your future invaders to run to a friend.];B[md]C[JB: If he tries to secure against invasion...];W[hg]C[...and you continue like this, making your territory bigger and flattening his. Now the R14 invasion can easily be assured of running out...];B[oh]C[...so he protects it...];W[ip]C[...and you take anothe big point, this one at the border of your big territory and his possible secondary moyo ( which is rather low, but still a possibility later. )]))(;W[fe]C[JB: With this you would be threatening to grab huge territory to the south, and pressuring his stone to the north.]))[/sgf-full]

_________________
Help make L19 more organized. Make an index: https://lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5207

If you like to look at a lot (and I do mean a lot) of variation diagrams it isn't a chore to get through. However it is definitely not a good book for beginners. I'm around 2 or 3 kyu and I recently went through it but there was plenty that I didn't understand. I worked through it quickly partly because I knew it was too advanced but also because I enjoyed looking at all the different variations.

The book is definitely for dan level players so for now it's probably best to stick with books like Attack and Defense.

Go might seem like a game where you just use stones to wall off sections of board. It's natural, because beginners don't yet have concepts for different plays. One thing to make the game a whole lot interesting is to notice that killing opponent's stones and later groups can have big difference in game results. No matter how efficiently one plays, it's hard to recover from having a dead group.

How to kill? Can't play two moves in row, so contact fights favor the defender. 1 stone vs. none. 1 vs 1. Then it's opponent's turn and he turns the situation to 2 vs 1. It's better to keep distance and limit your opponent. Kill only what is there for killing.

What is weak and what is strong? Possibilities of movement make for strength. Weakness is the opposite. Possibility to make eyes is another thing that makes strong groups strong. Play away from strong groups - if opponent invades between your own strong groups it's an uphill battle for him.

It might be better to start at smaller board size such as 13x13 in order to get into local fighting sooner. Openings are not as crucial in Go as they are in chess, so there's no real need to memorize.

Check out beginner pages on Sensei's Library:
http://senseis.xmp.net/?PagesForBeginners

Play on smaller boards!

As long as you do not know how to handle the stones on a small scale, your feeling for scattering the stones in the fuseki is meaningless.

_________________
A good system naturally covers all corner cases without further effort.

Some more comments on the SDK game. (OC, this is way above beginner level. ) My usual caveat about no guarantees goes double or triple. Maybe somebody who can actually play this game will comment.

(My comments are marked by asterisks. )
[sgf-full](;CA[UTF-8]GM[1]SZ[19]FF[4]AP[GOWrite:2.2.21]ST[2]C[jokkebk \[4k\]\: hi

soutkin \[5k\]\: j

jokkebk \[4k\]\: have a good game

soutkin \[5k\]\: hi

soutkin \[5k\]\: hf]PC[The KGS Go Server at http\://www.gokgs.com/]DT[2010-10-24]KM[0.5]FG[259:]RU[Japanese]BR[5k]PB[soutkin]PW[jokkebk]RE[B+4.5]GN[ ]TM[600.0]PM[0]OT[3x20 byo-yomi]WR[4k]
;B[qd]
;W[dp]
;B[pp]
;W[dd]
;B[oc]
;W[qj]
(
;C[*** Premature. White is secure, so why attack? White threatens nothing, so why defend? See variation.]B[qh]
;W[qm]
;B[mq]
;W[rp]
(
;C[*** See variation.]B[qq]
;W[dj]
(
;C[*** Black is secure, so this is small. See variation.]B[jq]
(
;C[JB\: K16 was probably bigger.

*** I agree with Joaz. See variation.]W[gq]
(
;C[*** Premature. See variation.]B[cp]
;C[JB\: Good choice. You have high stones up north, so make the outside wall.]W[co]
;B[do]
(
;W[dq]
(
;C[*** See variaton.]B[bo]
;W[cn]
;B[cq]
;C[*** Ouch!]W[cr]
;B[br]
;W[dr]
;B[bn]
;W[cm]
;B[bs]
(
;C[*** Terrible. Black is alive. See variation.]W[bm]
;C[*** Ouch!]B[jd]
;C[JB\: As you have probably realized, this just wastes your time and burns ko threats.

*** I agree.]W[ap]
;B[aq]
;W[an]
;B[bp]
;W[am]
;B[ao]
(
;C[JB\: Good move.
You asked for advice about handling the C4 invasion. You handled it just fine. You may not be happy with the result, but you came out of it at least as well as he did. He got small territory, and you got outside influence. Perhaps you came out of it better, for your influence may be worth more than his territory.
Remember that a hoshi stone is not a territorial stone. It leaves the corner open. Did you feel that you 'lost' the corner? The corner was never yours to lose.

*** White came out well when Black took territory instead of outside influence. But then White lost a move with B-07. White's current move does not work well with the White stone on G-03, which is now too close to White's strong wall.]W[eo]
;B[fc]
(
;C[JB\: Your first real error in judgement ( I assume that the attack on the corner was merely a slip in reading ). This joseki would be reasonable if K16 were not there\; maybe reasonable if you had a stone at D14. But you have too many gaps to start this fight.
Your best play is probably the obscure joseki F15, which works because of your massive lower right strength. See variation.

*** An overplay.]W[hc]
;C[JB\: Now he has the fundamental go attack\: splitting two weak groups.]B[fe]
(
;C[*** Oh, come on! Be consistent. You could have played this move last time. If so, and Black made the jump, would you now invade? Of course not, but that is just how you have played. See variation.]W[df]
;C[*** Takes his eye off the ball.]B[db]
(
;C[JB\: F13 may be bigger.

*** See variation.]W[cc]
;CR[lc][qf][dh]C[JB\: Ok, let's take stock of the battlefield.
1) The lower half of the board is mostly resolved\: You two have split the lower right 50/50, some territory and some influence for each of you\; you two have split the lower left, territory for him, influence for you. There is a little central territory around O6 to quibble over, but it is difficult to secure. There is also a big yose point at S3, but it is gote for you, and it is way out in the boondocks.
2) The upper and left sides of the board are where the game will be won or lost. You have the beginnings of a moyo growing up from the left\; he has one emerging from the top. There is a proverb that says 'playing at the border of two territories is worth double'.
The point marked with a triangle is that border. A stone there serves to expand one territory and invade the other. ( It does two things, thus it is said to be worth double )
There are several good invasion points for both sides, here marked with circles. If you play at the triangled point, not only do you get a big play, but you effectively prevent the invasion at D12.

*** Yes, this is a good place to take stock. Black played too slowly on the bottom side, and took too small a corner in the bottom left. White gave up a stone for nothing on the top and lost almost two moves in the bottom left. White needs to play catch-up.]B[hd]TR[fg]
(
;C[*** Too deep, but this may work out. See variations.]W[lc]
;C[*** Way too passive.]B[ic]
(
;C[*** Heavy. The rule of thumb is an eye plus access to the center. Where is the eye? You must think of sacrificing this stone, especially since Black made a passive reply. See variations.]W[le]
(
;C[JB\: Fortunately for you he does not cap. See variations.]B[oh]
(
;C[JB\: You might do slightly better to aim for your friends to the west. See variation.

*** See another variation.]W[lg]
(
;B[rq]
;W[ro]
;B[kd]
(
;W[ld]
;B[jg]
;C[JB\: Again the kosumi at L12 may be better.]W[li]
;B[oj]
;W[ri]
;B[rh]
;CR[kh][li]C[JB\: Good! You are finally running in the right direction. But notice that the M11 stone is misplaced. Your connections would be stronger if it were at L12 instead.
Note a similar pattern\: double tobis - this time at right angles - have weaknesses. Two moves ago, a tobi to M13 folowed by kosumi at L12 would have been stronger.]W[ji]
;C[JB\: The weakness is being exploited.]B[kh]
;W[lh]
;B[ki]
;W[kj]
;C[JB\: The double tobi has been cut.]B[lj]
;W[mj]
;B[lk]
;W[ni]
;B[oi]
;W[mk]
;B[kk]
;W[ml]
;B[jj]
;C[JB\: This position is an important one. Step back from the board, forget about the recent chase, and look at the whole board. Black has that monsterously strong fist in the middle, which will dominate any play on the bottom or left. Your big white wall in the lower left, which used to be the 800-pound goriilla in that quarter of the board, now faces an opponent just as strong, but better positioned.
When contesting an invasion, one of the things that a defender can do, is, of course, try to kill it. One of the other things that he can do is chase it, let it escape. and make strength while chasing.
You played 10 stones while running. What did you get? You got an invasion worth maybe 30 points. In return, he got a strong center position which may be worth more. He also prevented any future invasion at R14, which is worth a few points. IN THE NET, YOU LOST POINTS ON THIS INVASION.
Remeber\: as the defender, you don't have to always kill the invader. Sometimes there are other ways to profit from attcking the invasion.]W[ol]
;C[JB\: A nice interlude, further securing his points to the left. Note that this is just another variation on the idea of making strenth while attacking.]B[mf]
;W[lf]
;C[JB\: Now the chickens come home to roost. There is no room for black eyes here, so he will have to run. But running is no problem because of thos powerful stones in the middle.]B[dh]
(
;C[*** Bad shape. See variation.]W[ch]
;B[cg]
;W[dg]
;C[JB\: If those were white stones in the middle, you could laugh at this, extend to B12 to keep C12 alive, and slowly crush him.]B[ci]
;W[eh]
;B[bh]
;W[di]
;B[cj]
(
;C[*** Too soon. See variation.]W[ch]
;B[cf]
;W[ce]
;B[dh]
;W[ck]
;C[JB\: Again, if those were white stones in the middle, this would mean nothing. But he is actually threatening to capture E12.]B[eg]
;W[ch]
;B[bk]
;W[dh]
;B[bf]
;W[be]
;B[ag]
;C[*** Black is alive, even after this.]W[bl]
;B[bj]
;C[*** This says, I have a won game. Do you?]W[mb]
;B[ob]
;W[sh]
;B[sg]
;W[si]
;B[rg]
;W[sq]
;B[sr]
;W[sp]
;B[qr]
;C[*** If you are going to play here, it is better not to strengthen Black first, as your last two plays did.]W[nq]
;B[np]
;W[mp]
(
;C[*** White gets lucky.]B[oq]
;W[lq]
;C[JB\: He should just capture.

*** I agree. End of my comments.]B[mr]
;W[lr]
;B[lp]
;W[mo]
;B[nr]
;W[kp]
;B[lo]
;C[JB\: A nice invasion by you. Note that it is easily successful because of your influence\: you have stones to run to, and you have the ladder breaker. Just as his influence helped his invasion over on the left, now your influence is helping your invasion.]W[ln]TR[ck][ml][dj]
;C[JB\: Hehehe..]B[dk]
;C[JB\: Ooops! A good rule of thumb is that ladder breakers must have three or more liberties.]W[cl]
;B[no]
;W[ko]
;B[qi]
;W[rk]
;B[im]
;W[io]
;C[JB\: He reduces your territory, pushing in with no risk because he is backed up by the powerful center group. All of your stone marked with triangles are being neutralized.]B[gm]TR[cl][eo][co][cn][cm][ck][dj][di]
;W[ek]
;B[em]
;W[dm]
;B[en]
;W[fo]
;B[el]
;W[fk]
;C[JB\: He should play bamboo joint at G8, BTW.]B[fn]
;C[JB\: My closing comments are here.

Among beginners, a common misunderstanding is that invasions are failures if the are killed, and successes if they live. This is only superficially true. Invasions are much more complicated than that.
The defender can often get more profit out of letting an invasion live, and building strenth while chasing it. The resultant strength may be used to take territory or to attack something.

Your game has several examples of this. The C4 invasion by black was a mistake, and you should thank him for invading ( it was premature ). You can threaten to kill him, he will live small, and you get outside influence. This outside influence works well with your star point stones on the left side. The result - in the long run - should be better for you than for him.
Unfortunately, you did not capitalize on your influence with extensions like F13. You let it sit there undeveloped while the rest of the game slowly crawled closer to it and rendered it ineffective. If you learn how to use influence you will welcome foolish invasions like C4.
Influence is worth a lot on an open board, and worth very little on a crowded board. In other words, it is worth more early in the game. That is why I said that the invasion was premature. He gets his meagre five or six points regardless of when he does it. But doing it early gives you a wall that dominates the lower left quarter of the board.
Actually, you did use it a tiny bit. Your stones at M2/M3/L4/L5 are working very well with your strength at D2/D3/D4. The stone at K3 never had a chance.

A second example of handling an invasion was when you invaded at M17. It worked for him in two ways. He chased you and got territory around R14, and he got influence in the middle of the board. He then used that influenceto back up an invasion at D12 and a reduction with D7/F7/H7.
Before he started chasing you, his loosely outlined territory around R14 was invadable, and he had no significant power in the center. After he chased you, he had solid territory and central influence.

Once you learn how to exploit an invasion and get the better of it despite not killing it, you will begin to realize how ineffective many invasions are, and you will look toward reducing from the outside.

In summary\:
1) There is more to invading than just living or dying.
2) Influence only is good for you if you actively use it.
3) Most kyu players choose invasions too much and reductions too little.
4) When running, try to avoid double tobis\; use tobi and kosumi combos.

Hope this helps.
JB
]W[fg]
;B[ee]
;W[de]
;B[ef]
;W[hh]
;B[ii]
;W[ih]
;B[jh]
;W[hf]
;B[if]
;W[he]
;B[gd]
;W[ie]
;B[je]
;W[ib]
;B[jb]
;W[kb]
;B[hb]
;W[cb]
;B[eb]
;W[ae]
;B[af]
;W[ne]
;B[oe]
;W[nf]
;B[of]
;W[hk]
;B[go]
;W[gp]
;B[ho]
;W[hp]
;B[il]
;W[ik]
;B[km]
;W[jk]
;B[jl]
;W[in]
;B[hn]
;W[hl]
;B[hm]
;W[ll]
;B[kl]
;W[na]
;B[dl]
;W[dn]
;B[oa]
;W[da]
;B[ea]
;W[ca]
;B[ed]
;W[hi]
;B[ij]
;W[ig]
;B[jf]
;W[ja]
;B[ia]
;W[ka]
;B[hj]
;W[gj]
;B[fl]
;W[gk]
;B[gf]
;W[gg]
;B[pj]
;W[pk]
;B[pn]
;W[nn]
;B[on]
;W[om]
;B[qn]
;W[rn]
;B[pm]
;W[pl]
;B[qo]
;W[jn]
;B[ls]
;W[ks]
;B[ms]
;W[kr]
;B[ak]
;W[kc]
;B[jc]
;W[nd]
;B[od]
;W[ng]
;B[og]
;W[nk]
;B[nh]
;W[mh]
;B[nb]
;W[ma]
;B[nj]
;W[mi]
;B[lm]
;W[mm]
;B[ge]
;W[nc]
;B[cs]
;W[ds]
;B[dc]
;W[kn]
;B[al]
;W[do]
;B[id]
;W[hg]
;B[gl]
;W[gi]
;B[qp]
;W[rm]
;B[tt]
;TB[ah][ai:bi][aj][ap][ar:as][bg][bq][ec][fa:ha][fb:gb][fd][fm][gc:hc][gn][ib][ji][kj][nq][ns:ss][oo:po][op][or:pr][pa:sc][pd][pe:sf][pg:qg][ph:pi][pq][rd:sd][rr]C[soutkin \[5k\]\: thx

jokkebk \[4k\]\: thanks

jokkebk \[4k\]\: nice game

soutkin \[5k\]\: was fun

jokkebk \[4k\]\: yeah \:)

jokkebk \[4k\]\: wanna play another?

soutkin \[5k\]\: hove me 3m

soutkin \[5k\]\: give

jokkebk \[4k\]\: ok

jokkebk \[4k\]\: I'll put one up

jokkebk \[4k\]\: -->

soutkin \[5k\]\: ok]W[tt]TW[aa:bc][ad:cd][ei:fj][ep:fq][er:js][fh:gh][hq:kq][ip:jp][jo][la:lb][lo:lp][mc:mg][mn][nl:nm][qk][ql:sl][rj:sj][sk][sm:so]
)
(
;B[lq]
;W[op]
;B[no]
(
;W[oq]
;B[oo]
)
(
;W[oo]
;B[oq]
;W[nn]
;B[mo]
;W[mn]
;B[lo]
;W[po]
)

)

)
(
;W[cf]
;B[bf]
;W[ch]
;B[bg]
;W[ck]
)

)
(
;W[eh]
;B[ei]
;W[di]
;B[eg]
;W[ch]
;B[fh]
;C[*** Something like this, perhaps.]W[dg]
)

)
(
;C[IGNORE THIS LINE. It almost works. \:(]W[ne]
;B[ld]
)

)
(
;C[JB\: The problem with the double tobi - as opposed to the tobi-then-kosumi - is that sometimes the push-through works...]B[ld]
(
;C[...if white ataries from this side...]W[kd]
;C[... 'a' and 'b' are miai, and white is screwed.]LB[kc:A][ke:B]B[md]
)
(
;C[...this atari is better..]W[md]
;C[...but, nonetheless again 'a' and 'b' are miai...]LB[mc:A][me:B]B[kd]
;C[...and...]W[me]
;C[...black can cut off the original invader, if he really wants to. In this particular instance...]B[mc]
;C[...white...]W[nc]
;C[...probably...]B[mb]
;C[...gets...]W[nb]
;C[...more compensation than the captured stone is worth...]B[lb]
;C[...but the whole point of this digression is to illustrate that a double tobi can often be cut if the opponent is strong nearby, whereas tobi-kosumi cannot.
So, when running out with invading stones, ask yourself how important it is to maintain the connection against any possible attack, and think of kosumis.]W[od]TR[le][lc][lg]
)

)

)
(
;C[JB\: Not only is this a better direction, but it prevents any possible push-through attacks...]W[kf]
;C[...like this...]B[ld]
;C[...which...]W[kd]
;C[...of course...]B[md]
;C[...fails.]W[kc]
)

(
;C[*** Not so easy to answer, now.]W[ob]
(
;B[nc]
;W[nb]
(
;B[pb]
;W[mc]
)
(
;C[*** Does no good.]B[mc]
;W[mb]
;B[ld]
;W[kd]
;B[md]
;W[kc]
;B[ke]
;W[pc]
;B[pd]
;W[qc]
)

)
(
;B[pb]
;W[nc]
;B[od]
)

)

)
(
;C[JB\: The conventional cap, preventing your natural running tobi.

*** An excellent move. topping the tree.]B[lg]
)

(
;C[A cap that is biased to one side, preventing you from running toward your strength on the left, and nudging you toward his stregnth on the right. Probably best IMHO.]B[kg]
)

)
(
;C[*** Something like this, perhaps.]W[od]
(
;B[nc]
;W[pd]
;B[pc]
;W[qe]
)
(
;B[nd]
;W[nc]
)

(
;B[pd]
;W[nc]
)

(
;B[pc]
;C[*** Still no eye, but White has a helper.]W[le]
)

)

)
(
;C[JB\: If you play like this, you not only protect your side against invasion, but make it easier for your future invaders to run to a friend.

*** This is certainly a good play.]W[fg]
;C[JB\: If he tries to secure against invasion...]B[md]
;C[...and you continue like this, making your territory bigger and flattening his. Now the R14 invasion can easily be assured of running out...]W[hg]
;C[...so he protects it...]B[oh]
;C[...and you take anothe big point, this one at the border of your big territory and his possible secondary moyo ( which is rather low, but still a possibility later. )]W[ip]
)

(
;C[*** This is not only an invasion, it threatens the R-12 stone.]W[qf]
)

(
;C[*** A reduction.]W[oe]
(
;B[pf]
;W[nc]
)
(
;B[nd]
;W[pd]
;B[pc]
;W[qe]
;B[rd]
;W[mf]
)

)

(
;C[*** Another reduction.]W[nd]
(
;B[nc]
;W[ld]
)
(
;B[od]
;W[ne]
)

)

)
(
;C[*** Better late than never.]W[he]
)

)
(
;C[*** Be all that you can be.]W[he]
)

)
(
;C[JB\: With this you would be threatening to grab huge territory to the south, and pressuring his stone to the north.

*** This is an excellent suggestion!]W[fe]
)

)
(
;W[gd]
)

)
(
;W[jc]
)

)
(
;B[cn]
;W[bo]
;B[dn]
;W[bp]
;C[*** Reasonable result for Black.]B[go]
)

)
(
;C[*** I think that this is better than any extension.]W[cq]
;B[bp]
;C[*** Not an easy fight for Black.]W[bo]
)

)
(
;B[fc]
)

)
(
;W[jc]
)

)
(
;B[fc]
)

)
(
;C[*** White is secure on the right, so taking the corner is not so big.]B[jq]
)

)
(
;B[fq]
)

)[/sgf-full]

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Jujube, feel free to post a game in the Game Analysis forum asking for middle-game help. It can often be very hard to talk about the proper way deal with invasions and the like is without being able to give concrete examples. Still, since you seem to find opening principles useful, here's a few principles for the middlegame:

*Don't touch weak stones to attack:
The reason for this is that, when your opponent responds to your last move, the stone you just played suddenly becomes very weak, and you will be forced to try to strengthen it rather than keeping the attack on your opponent's group going. Instead, leave a space or two between weak stones of your opponent and your own stones.

*Touching makes stones stronger:
Similar to the last advice, except it also means that if you have a weak group that is on the run, making contact with your opponent can be a good way of strengthening your own group.

*Attack for profit:
This is a hard one to apply until you've seen it done, but basically, instead of trying to just kill the group you're attacking, try to make a profit elsewhere by attacking a weak group. I think one of the better examples I've seen of this principle is this game between Ishida Yoshio 7p and Chino Tadahiko 7p (B+Resign). It's a very complicated game on the left hand side, but if you focus on moves , , , and , you can see how black builds a large area on the right by attacking white's middle group (also, notice the contact move at to strengthen white's shape shape):


A good Go book will provide much more guidance than this short list, but I hope that this will help you somewhat in your middlegame.

Edit: spelling.

_________________
We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

Welcome to the world of go! Without seeing a game, it's hard to give specific tips about middle game fighting beyond the obvious: during contact fights, keep your stones connected; be ready to sacrifice useless stones; always look for opportunities to counterattack; and (the most effective way to learn) do go-problems. Sakata Eio's "The Middle Game of Go" is a fantastic book, but don't even consider trying it until you are at least strong kyu or dan level. The book assumes a lot of basic knowledge. What might interest you more is something like Kageyama Toshiro's "Fundamentals of Go" or Ishida Akira's "Attack and Defense".

By the way, for a "quick tip", you might be interested also in this post on contact fights and crosscuts I recently wrote.

_________________
My name is Gijs, from Utrecht, NL.

When in doubt, play the most aggressive move

Posting a game is a great idea!

Thank you all for your kind comments! Everyone is so nice here.

I've ordered Kageyama's 'Lessons', I've read some online and it seems... Interesting.

I really must play more online, not just against a computer. I think it's lack of confidence, and not seeming to get a spare hour these days. I need more spare time. I guess blitz Go is a bit beyond my level at the moment!

Thanks again. I'll get back once I play a game that's not going to get ripped to shreds I'm sure you guys are much too polite for that.

_________________
12k: 2015.08.11; 11k: 2015.09.13; 10k: 2015.09.27; 9k: 2015.10.10; 8k: 2015.11.08; 7k: 2016.07.10 6k: 2016.07.24 5k: 2018.05.14 4k: 2018.09.03 3k: who knows?

It sounds like you are playing the opening straight from the proverbs without actually quite knowing what your moves actually mean.

All of the pieces of advice you listed are good advice. They are not rules written in stone, and deviating from them will not cost you the game-- they're to be interpreted as you like and depending on the circumstances of the game.

But in order to use any of those pieces of advice, you're going to have to know what those moves mean into the middlegame.

An example: the advice to start on a star point. Yes, that's good advice, the star point is a good place to begin, and pros very often begin there. But the star point actually is somewhat weak: it's extremely easy to undermine. Your enemy can play a 3-3 invasion at any time, and even after you've made one short extension from it, like a knight's move, you still haven't quite claimed the corner. So if you play on the star point, you are welcoming invasions and incursions. Strong players who open on the star point are totally OK with the types of invasions and approaches that the 4-4 is friendly to, because they know how they'll benefit from those invasions and approaches too.

Likewise the advice to extend long from a star point. Say you play on the star point and then extend halfway across the board, to a third-line point next to another star point. (This is a fairly common move.) This move doesn't mean that you've claimed the whole edge from the corner halfway down. Goodness no. Your opponent can still come in easily, there's plenty of room to live. But if your opponent tries to wedge, your stone in the middle of the edge still will be able to make a two-point extension and live, and your opponent probably will not be able to kill your original star point stone either, unless he already has stones close to it. Or if he plays the 3-3 under your star point, you will build up a big strong wall that will work beautifully with your long extension.

That is, any stones you place in the opening are usually tentative plans, or statements of intent, or flags to mark who's side the early fighting will favor in each region. This is necessarily so-- even the strongest territorial fighters in the world, who like to open on the 3-3 point so as to not need to defend the corner too soon, are still going to make some invadable long extensions or some unsustainable invasions. If you play only low, tight stones and two-point extensions on the third line, you will lose, because your opponent will play faster.

What I mean to say, though, is that each of those useful little pieces of advice you listed, while not bad, are really more summaries of various complicated theories on go strategy than pieces of advice to be memorized and followed by heart.

My advice (for what it's worth) is this: Next time you play a game, whether you win or lose, review it. Take a very good look at the board after about 20 moves or so, whatever point you thought that the shimari and kakari and extension phase is over. Then, skip to the end and compare the final board position with the opening. Look and see how your opening turned out. This way, you'll be able to see the value of all of the plays you made in the opening. Maybe you made an extension which got invaded, and then your original extending stone died because it didn't have enough space to run to. Maybe you played too many stones on the fourth line and your opponent invaded under them. Maybe the way your groups are arranged, when you defended one you gave your opponent strength with which to attack another. (This is very common, even in pro games-- advanced players are just more aware of it.) Maybe it was not you but your opponent who had all of these things happen to his stones. Very often, problems in the middlegame and even endgame can be traced back to problems in the beginning.

I don't know how valuable this advice will be to you-- "beginner" could mean any number of things, and you may be much stronger than me already-- in which case you should be giving me advice. In any case, good luck and have fun!

The star point as an opening move is not weak at all.
As you correctly pointed out, it does not mean you own the whole corner
since the 3-3 is still open, etc., but it does not mean the star point is weak,
"somewhat weak," or even "a little weak." Not at all.
You're confusing weakness with something else.
All your other advice is quite nice, though.

Hi! Now in relation to your questions:
First of all don't worry about your reading ability being so low at this point. This is very normal. Reading ability really does not transfer between Chess-type games and Go, because the underlying patterns and logic are different. You should begin to develop your ability there in the next few months. Doing life and death and tesuji problems help tremendously. As far as the out of print books are concerned, don't worry about them. They may make an interesting read, but there are newer books that cover the same topics, and often with better rigor. I cannot recommend Korean-English books enough for their flawless curriculum planning. They are designed to drill specific concepts, techniques, and even common sequences into your head so thoroughly that they become second nature. You can find these at http://slateandshell.com, http://yutopian.com, and http://www.schaakengo.nl. Definitely do not buy any books on the opening or joseki that are greater than ten years old. The information contained in them is often outdated, and while it may not matter much at all for you for a long time, if you ever become very strong you will have to unlearn the errors that those books taught you.

_________________
"Those who calculate greatly will win; those who calculate only a little will lose, but what of those who don't make any calculations at all!? This is why everything must be calculated, in order to foresee victory and defeat."-The Art of War