Hi All,

Here's a game I just played today. I thought I was doing OK.. until I wasn't! Any pointers on where I need to concentrate my learning efforts?

from someone not very good..

Look at the end of your game. OK you lost a major group and that was about not running/attacking with efficient shape..

Despite the big group loss. Look at white s14. That innocuous stone threatens to kill the black R11 group (you can survive but with few points). A similar monkey jump from s14 upwards wipes out a fair bit of territory. There's a bit of awareness of the urgency of some moves needed.

Again look where you ended up at the bottom part of the board. I think white M2 can capture the K5 group. Even if it doesn't there is damage to be caused to the black territory on the bottom right.

At the end the black group on the top left will fall victim to a few attacks. it can be saved but with few points.

In truth white made quite a few screamers too but you might think about how "stable" your groups are and look at bit at shape.

Yes: All Basics. Basic shapes. Basic broken shapes.

I'm just 2k so take this with a grain of salt:

21: White's wall is very strong. This move doesn't really do anything. I think maybe you wanted to threaten the cut?

33: I think maybe keeping the white stones split is more important around O7.

47: Ok, you tennuki here, so let's look at the board results so far: black took two large corners and a wall facing the q16 stone, but white has a strong wall on the left and thickness facing three weak black stones (k3). I think black can be happy with this, but keeping those 3 white stones healthy is going to be difficult, I'd keep an eye on their escape routes.

57: This feels bad to me, you're trying to disrupt white's shape, but black gets closed into the corner and white can make a base on the side.

I don't think white played well in the followup though, black gets a nice splitting attack. As white I think I'd just connect for 60.

91: playing the atari at N17 would have saved you from the problem here later. Sometimes removing aji is bigger than getting a few more points.

103: I don't like moving these stones out. They are right next to some extremely strong white stones, and you don't have much to gain saving them in my opinion. If you want to save a weak group, how about the three stones on the bottom

103-133: OK, you've staked the whole game on killing these white stones now. Did you need to do that? Who had more territory? Could you have won without this fight?

145: maybe better at H9? You're threatening a cut, but it's a hard cut to activate. (Notice how you couldn't take the cut and white ignored you)

147: Now you are linking up... with those weak stones without a base It took a long time, but the weakness of those three became relevant in a bad way for you.

189: I'm guessing you didn't see white's tricky tesuji at K12, it's a hard one to find. But if black had played H12 here the eye would be gone and black may possibly have enough liberties to win the capturing race (I didn't read it, sorry).

Thanks everyone for their posts - very helpful. I need to work on my shape - any recommendations for the best way to do this? Also watch for weak groups - which I guess will come if I keep watching out for them.... Maybe!!??

You might work your way through these:

http://tsumego.tasuki.org/?page=tsumego

Helps with stability of groups.

Shape: There are books but - watch high kyu/low Dan games. Notice that "connection" of stones is not only about joining them together....

Thanks - these look great!

Study with a good-level pro. Else YMMV.

Swimming is probably the most efficient way to...

Oh! That kind of shape. Study tesuji, definitely.

Haha! Yes - a bit of swimming might not go amiss too!

Ed, is that what you did? I can't seem to find any pros that charge less than $50/hr...

Signifier,

I quite agree. I think $50 an hour is a great deal for private lessons from a pro go player.

I charge $40/h for private music lessons and I am nowhere near as accomplished in music as a pro go player is in his/her field.

In fact, when someone of my musical level does take lessons (I have a masters degree in music) we cas expect to spend around $100/h.