Dedicated readers will recall my mild moaning about mismatches in a recent BGA tournament, and the hope that the upcoming Welwyn Garden City tournament would provide more even (not "even more") matches.
In the event, the draw matched me against two of the same players I had played in the previous tournament: Queenchess (who always wins) and A.N. Other11 (who recently always loses). the underlying pronblem is that I entered at 4kyu, and nobody entered at 2 or 3 kyu, so there were no beatable stronger players to target.
As before, I am posting the defeat against Queenchess and inviting comments from stronger players. The other two games from Welwyn are also posted in case they may be of interest to players of 6kyu and weaker.
There is another tournament this weekend. I have been feeling a little stronger recently, and will enter at the dizzy heights of 3 kyu instead of 4 kyu. I will not then spam the forum with more of my worthless games (just yet). The time limit this weekend is 35 minutes per player followed by sudden death, with AGA-style rules that require filling all the dame with the clock still running, which means there will be no time to keep records. For one thing, 5 minutes must be kept in reserve in case the opponent decides to play out all the ko threats with the clock running after the 'regular' dame have been filled.
Here is the win by Queenchess. At least I made him think this time before the inevitable collapse when the multiple issues of life, death and connection overwhelmed my aging brain.
(;GM[1]FF[4]
CA[UTF-8]
AP[Quarry:0.2.0]
SZ[19]
EV[Hatfield]
RO[3]
DT[2014-04-26]
RU[BGA]
KM[0.0]
TM[3600.0]
OT[20/5 Canadian]
PB[thirdfogie]
BR[4k]
PW[Queenchess]
WR[1k]
RE[W+Resign]
;B[pd]BL[3600.0];W[dp]WL[3598.21];B[pq]BL[3591.45];W[dc]WL[3587.07]
;B[ql]BL[3581.36];W[lp]WL[3573.19];B[po]BL[3575.28];W[nc]
WL[3556.6];B[pf]BL[3565.97];W[jd]WL[3551.74];B[ce]BL[3555.1]
;W[ch]C[I (White) had no idea what to do about this pincer.
Afterwards, I read the note in "38 Basic Joseki" which says that the
variations are similar to those when White plays at a.]
WL[3522.99]LB[dh:a];B[ee];W[fd];B[cc];W[cb];B[bc]C[This is wrong.
Black must play at a, and offer White the chance for an exchange.]
LB[dd:a];W[dd];B[de];W[bb];B[cj];W[eh];B[gf];W[cl];B[ej]
;W[gh];B[if];W[el];B[di]C[The peep aims to prevent White connecting
under at a.]
LB[bj:a];W[dh];B[gj];W[fi];B[fj];W[ih];B[kf];W[hd];B[gl]
;W[ff]C[It is not clear what White gains by this move.];B[fe]
;W[kh];B[lh]C[I have seen moves like this in pro games, and it is
definitely more interesting than continuing to jump out mindlessly.]
;W[kg];B[lg];W[kj];B[le];W[ie];B[hf];W[fn]C[The marked black stones are
in trouble. Maybe I should have tried to make life immediately to
avoid solidifying White's surrounding positions.]
TR[di][cj][ej:gj][gl]
;B[il];W[kl];B[hn];W[dk];B[dj]C[Perhaps better at a. That move makes
an empty triangle but offers more chance of making an eye on the edge
later.]
LB[ci:a];W[jn];B[hh]C[It is not clear what Black gains by this move.]
;W[hi];B[hg];W[gi];B[ii];W[ij];B[hp];W[fp];B[jq];W[hm];B[im]
;W[in];B[gn];W[ip];B[gp];W[iq];B[fq];W[eq];B[fo];W[eo];B[ep]
;W[fm];B[gm];W[fp];B[hj]C[Maybe better at a.]LB[fl:a];W[ji]
;B[ep];W[ge];B[fg];W[fp];B[bk];W[go];B[ho];W[qc]C[At this point, the
game is lost for Black. It looks like White could cut off and kill the
triangled stones by playing at a, and the status of the circled stones
is also unclear. And White has more territory even if no black stones
die.
White was consciously trying to play less aggressively than he normally
does, and the game continued.]
CR[di][cj:hj][bk][il:im][gl:gn][hn:ho][gp:hp]
TR[bc:cc][ce:fe][gf:if][fg][hg:hh]
LB[jf:a];B[pc];W[pb];B[qd]C[I played this way to get sente to repair
the weakness at a.]
LB[jf:a];W[rb];B[rc];W[qb];B[je];W[ph]C[But this is too aggressive after
all. White should play at a, where his stone can either live on the
side or connect to his centre stones.]
LB[pj:a];B[pj]C[Black needs to kill the invading stone and not lose any
groups to win the game.]
;W[oi];B[mj];W[oj];B[pk];W[nk];B[lk];W[kk];B[ll];W[nm];B[lm]
;W[km];B[mn];W[pn]
(;B[qn]C[Better at a. Black can afford a loss in the corner if he can
kill all the marked stones.]
SQ[ph][oi:oj][nk][nm]
LB[on:a];W[oo];B[pp];W[pm];B[kn];W[ko];B[ln];W[jm];B[qm]
;W[np];B[no];W[nn]C[White should simply play at a to connect out safely.]
LB[op:a];B[mo];W[op];B[mp];W[mq];B[lq];W[nq];B[kp];W[jo]
;B[lo];W[mi];B[li];W[lj];B[mk];W[nj];B[jp];W[io];B[kr]C[White was
surprised that Black can live like this. The shape is easy to remember.
Black is still losing.]
;W[qf];B[fr];W[ik];B[jg]C[A bad, bad mistake. Tiredness leads to
impatience, which leads to me not bothering to pay attention to my
opponent's aims.]
;W[hk];B[hl]C[Black had to play at a and let his big group take its
chances.]
LB[gk:a];W[gk];B[fk];W[fl];B[qg];W[pg];B[rf];W[of];B[qe]C[Black should
play at a. His last remaining chance is to cut off the marked white
stones by playing on or near the triangled points. A Black stone at a would
have been more helpful.]
SQ[of][pg:ph][mi][oi][nj:oj][nk][nm:nn][pm:pn][oo][np:op]
[mq:nq]
TR[nd:od]
LB[pe:a];W[ne];B[hr];W[bl];B[nd];W[md];B[od];W[me];B[kc]
;W[lc];B[kd];W[ib];B[he];W[gd];B[id];W[ic];B[ed];W[fc];B[ec]
;W[eb];B[hc];W[gb];B[ir];W[qi];B[rh];W[cq];B[kb];W[lb];B[bg]
;W[bh];B[bf];W[hq];B[gq];W[or];B[pr];W[ps];B[qs];W[os];B[qr]
;W[ri];B[rd];W[rk];B[rl];W[mf];B[lf];W[mh];B[mg];W[ng];B[ah]
;W[ai];B[ag];W[bi];B[la];W[ma];B[ka];W[nb];B[dr];W[er];B[es]
;W[cr];B[sb];W[ie];B[cs];W[cg]C[I failed to notice that this move
threatens to pull out the marked white stone. This was the third game
of the day and I was tired, but one should resign if he
cannot any longer pay attention.]
SQ[ff];B[id];W[cf];B[be];W[ef];B[cd];W[db];B[ac];W[ie];B[jh]
;W[ki];B[id];W[ad];B[ae];W[ie];B[nh];W[ni];B[id];W[jc]C[Black can make
an eye at a, but White still has the ko at b. Black resigned.]
LB[ld:a][ie:b]
)
(;B[on]
(;W[om];B[nn];W[qn];B[pm]C[Good for Black.])
(;W[nn];B[no];W[om];B[qn];W[oo];B[np]C[??]))
)
Here is the game against A.N. Other11.
(;GM[2]FF[4]
CA[UTF-8]
AP[Quarry:0.2.0]
SZ[19]
RO[1]
PC[Hatfield]
DT[2014-04-26]
RU[BGA]
KM[7.5]
TM[3600.0]
OT[20/5 Canadian]
PB[thirdfogie]
BR[4k]
PW[A.N. Other11]
WR[4k]
RE[B+Resign]
;B[pd]BL[3600.0];W[qo]WL[3575.97];B[cd]BL[3592.69];W[dc]C[A signature
move by White. His strategy is to play non-standard moves to make the
opponent over-confident or over-excited and so catch him out later. He
should really try something different against me.]
WL[3573.0]
(;B[dd]C[See variation. Either way is OK for Black, but this seemed
better because of the marked black stone.]
BL[3569.78]TR[pd];W[ec]WL[3561.02];B[ed]BL[3558.38];W[hc]
C[White's jump leaves a big weakness behind.]WL[3516.27]
;B[cc]C[Maybe I should have played directly at a, since a White play at
b looks OK now,]
BL[3541.57]LB[fc:a][fd:b]
;W[cb]WL[3503.59];B[bb]BL[3507.72];W[dh]C[This is a strange overplay
given White's weakness at a, and given that the marked black stones are
strong.]
WL[3474.44]TR[bb][cc:cd][dd:ed]
LB[fc:a];B[fc]BL[3416.89]
(;W[fb]WL[3454.05]
(;B[eb]C[This crude atari produces a clear result in Black's favour. I
could not read out the result if Black plkays G18: see variations.]
BL[3364.17];W[db]C[White should probably play at a then b to save
something on the top side and leave Black strong but overconcentrated
at the top left.]
WL[3453.3]LB[gb:a][kc:b]
;B[gb]BL[3363.11];W[ea];B[gc];W[ca]C[White has two points. Black will
get more points and has lots of influence as well.]
;B[dp];W[cn];B[dk];W[cp];B[cq];W[bp];B[bq];W[eq]C[Aji-keshi.]
;B[dq];W[bk];B[cj]C[I am well ahead so decided to keep things simple.]
;W[bj]C["The second line is the line of defeat", so I did not mind
White pushing here.]
;B[bi]
(;W[bh];B[ci];W[ai];B[ch];W[bg];B[cg]C[White now has three blighted
stones, marked with squares.]
SQ[hc][dh][eq]
;W[be];B[mc];W[nc];B[nd];W[oc];B[od];W[lc];B[mb];W[ld];B[jc]
;W[lb];B[md];W[jd];B[ic];W[id];B[hd];W[he];B[hb]C[I am ahead, so I just
need to keep my stones connected and stay out of trouble.]
;W[ma];B[kd];W[ke];B[kc];W[le];B[je];W[jf];B[ie];W[kg];B[pi]
;W[qk];B[ok]C[I thought this was a clever move, but it turned out to be
too greedy. I should have kept on playing safe. On another view,
White has successfully lured me into an overplay.]
;W[qi];B[qh]C[I probably should have played this at a with an eye on
White's top side group, but I did not want White to steal all the
territory along the edge of the board.]
LB[ph:a];W[ri];B[rh];W[ph]C[Now I am in trouble.];B[qf];W[nb]
;B[pb]C[I played this to keep the marked White stones from gaining eyes
in the corner, but it should have been at a.]
SQ[ma][nb:nc][oc][lb:ld][ke:le][jf][kg]
LB[oi:a];W[oh];B[oi];W[nh];B[mg]C[This move failed, but that was beyond
my ability to read out so the ensuing loss is not as painful as one
stemming from an outright blunder.]
;W[mh];B[lg];W[lh];B[kh];W[jh];B[ki];W[nf]C[White found a good move and
the two black stones are captued, ending Black's attack on White's
group and leaving Black with very weak stones (marked). Back to work
to win.]
TR[kh:ki][oi:pi][ok]
;B[bm]C[There had to be a weakness somewhere around here...]
;W[cm];B[bl];W[cl];B[ck];W[aj]C[Ouch. I overlooked this move. I was
not too downhearted, because down in the 4-kyu boondocks, a string of
loosely captured stones with three or more liberties (like the marked
black stones) often turns out to be a dagger in the heart of the
surrounding group. This is the weak player's version of Janice Kim's
proverb: "Lost stones are an endgame goldmine".]
TR[bl:bm]
;B[op]C[I played here with one eye on the marked weak black stones and
the other eye on taking the whole of the bottom side.]
TR[oi:pi][ok]
;W[nq]C[White has his own ideas...];B[np];W[mq];B[qq];W[qp]
;B[pq];W[ol]C[Surely White should have defended around a.]
LB[jq:a];B[kq];W[lp];B[jo]C[A terrible blunder: all the worse because I
have made it before. It instantly throws away the attack on the marked
White stones.]
SQ[lp][mq:nq]
;W[kp];B[jp];W[jq];B[iq];W[jr];B[ir];W[kr];B[nl];W[om];B[nm]
;W[hp]C[More aji-keshi by White. Perhaps he hopes to attack the nearby
black stones after Black connects against the peep, but the two White
marked stones are themselves far too weak for that to work.]
SQ[hp][eq]
;B[ip];W[mk];B[nk];W[mn];B[pk];W[ql];B[nn];W[on];B[rq]C[Can White
disconnect Black by playing at a? Neither player could read it out, so
the problem was ignored for a time.]
LB[no:a];W[hn];B[jm];W[kn];B[jn];W[oo];B[no];W[pp];B[oq]
;W[kl]C[White is still hoping to attack the marked Black stones.]
TR[jm:jo][ip:jp][iq:ir]
;B[en];W[do];B[eo];W[ep]C[White plays into "hane at the head of two
stones".]
;B[er];W[fr];B[dr];W[aq]C[This is bad. White cannot hope to capture
the marked black stones when the marked white stones are so weak.]
SQ[hp][ep:eq][fr]
TR[dp][bq:dq][dr:er]
;B[gr];W[fq];B[fs];W[gq];B[hq]C[White is fast running out of liberties.]
;W[em]C[This move gave me the chance to activate the dagger in the
heart of the White group.]
;B[dn]
(;W[co];B[dm];W[dl];B[el];W[fm]C[Black could now try to capture all the
marked White stones by playing at a, but must first secure his stones
on the outside.]
SQ[be][bg:bh][ai:aj][bj:bk][cl:dl][cm:co][do][bp:cp][aq]
LB[bn:a];B[gp];W[fo];B[fp];W[fn];B[ep];W[ek]C[White does not see the
danger of the dagger.]
;B[fl];W[gl];B[fk];W[ej]C[White's marked stones can be reduced to two
liberties at any moment by a Black play at a, so Black just needs to
ensure all his outside groups have at least three liberties. White's
attempt to capture them is similar to playing out a failing ladder.]
SQ[cl:dl][cm:co][do][bp:cp]
LB[bn:a];B[fj];W[ei];B[bn];W[fi];B[gj];W[gi];B[hj];W[cf]
;B[dg];W[df];B[eg];W[ef];B[fg];W[hi];B[ff];W[ij];B[hk];W[hl]
;B[ik];W[il];B[jk];W[jl];B[jj];W[bd];B[bc];W[br];B[ar];W[ap]
;B[ao]C[White resigns.])
(;W[dm]C[Maybe better for White.];B[co]
(;W[bo];B[bn]C[A huge picnic ko in Black's favour.])
(;W[bn];B[bo];W[ao];B[ap];W[bp];B[fm]C[Good enough for Black.])))
(;W[ci];B[ch];W[di];B[bg]C[Black's marked stones cannot easily be
captured, and White has weak stones either side.]
TR[cj][dk]
))
(;B[gb]
(;W[gc]
(;B[fd];W[eb];B[hb];W[ib])
(;B[eb];W[fd];B[db];W[fc];B[ca]))
(;W[fd];B[gc];W[db];B[fa];W[ea];B[ga];W[gd]C[Ko.];B[hd];W[hb]
;B[eb];W[pc];B[da];W[qd])))
(;W[fb];B[eb];W[gb];B[db];W[kc]C[Better than the game for White?]))
(;B[cc];W[dd];B[de];W[ee];B[ef];W[df];B[ce];W[fe];B[dg])
)
Here is the game against A.N. Other20 - Yay! A new opponent! I entered at 4 kyu and he entered at 5 kyu, so the result was predetermined; although there was an unexpected twist along the way.
(;GM[1]FF[4]
CA[UTF-8]
AP[Quarry:0.2.0]
SZ[19]
EV[Hatfield]
RO[Round 2]
DT[2014-04-26]
RU[BGA]
KM[7.5]
TM[3600.0]
OT[20/5 Canadian]
PB[A.N. Other20]
BR[5k]
PW[thirdfogie]
WR[4k]
C[At last: a new opponent!];B[cp]BL[3600.0];W[pd]WL[3593.94]
;B[dd]BL[3563.42];W[pp]C[I usually play parallel hoshi as White.]
WL[3592.73];B[pj]C[Unusual. I expected a play at a, b or c.]
BL[3548.04]LB[ep:c][eq:b][nq:a]
;W[ep]C[As recommended by Kajiwara.]WL[3580.6];B[nc]C[I have never
played this opponent before, so I am trying to understand (and exploit)
his style. It seems he likes to spread himself thinly around the
board, so I will just strengthen my stones and wait for the chance to
attack.]
BL[3537.06];W[qf]WL[3565.71];B[qn]BL[3513.5];W[np]WL[3542.86]
;B[hp]BL[3473.84];W[dm]WL[3522.02];B[eq]C[This is definitely not
joseki. Replies at at a or b would be interesting, but c looks simple
and safe for White so I chose that.]
BL[3460.4]LB[dp:a][dq:b][fq:c]
;W[fq]WL[3459.49];B[dq]BL[3444.5];W[fp]WL[3441.16];B[lq]C[Black spreads
himself thinly again. Time to attack.]
BL[3416.27];W[jq]WL[3344.96];B[hr]BL[3391.6];W[fr]WL[3295.67]
;B[jp]BL[3375.42];W[iq]WL[3271.36];B[ip]BL[3351.91];W[hq]
WL[3270.69];B[kq]BL[3340.63];W[jr]C[Played to forestall a squeeze by
Black and to keep the black stones at the bottom unsettled.]
WL[3230.49];B[oq]BL[3299.72];W[op]WL[3223.04];B[nq]BL[3295.36]
;W[pq]WL[3205.13];B[rp]BL[3289.53];W[mq]WL[3186.79];B[lo]
BL[3256.33];W[mp]C[Maybe better at a to secure my own eye-space.]
WL[3049.73]LB[mr:a];B[mr]BL[3245.72];W[nr]WL[2960.43];B[or]
BL[3161.06];W[lr]WL[2959.68];B[ns]BL[3148.26];W[kr]WL[2958.88]
;B[pr];W[rq]C[Played to separate Black in the bottom right corner, but
it is too slow and achieved nothing when Black answered. White needs
to play on the outside around a.]
LB[nm:a];B[qr];W[nm];B[lm];W[ro];B[qp];W[qo];B[qq];W[pn]
;B[qm];W[nk]C[A play at a would be much safer.]LB[nl:a];B[pm]
C[White is in big trouble, but does not see it coming.];W[kn]
;B[ln];W[kp];B[lp];W[ko];B[km];W[jn];B[nn]C[I thought that the marked
white stones could either connect to the outside or make two eyes if
they were cut off. In the event, the white stones were cut off and
turned out to have no eyes.]
SQ[pn][qo:ro][mp:pp][mq][pq]
;W[on];B[om];W[mn];B[nl];W[mm];B[mo];W[no];B[ml];W[nn];B[po]
C[Oops. This was a big loss, but there is no need to resign just yet.
Black does not even need to play this move immediately. He could
strengthen his stones on the outside or atttack White elsewhere instead.]
;W[bq]C[I need an attack.];B[cn];W[cr];B[cm];W[dk];B[dn]
;W[em];B[en];W[fn];B[gn]C[It is not clear what Black was trying to
achieve with this move. It is probably aji-keshi.]
;W[fm];B[ck];W[cj];B[bk];W[im];B[dj];W[ci];B[di];W[ch];B[dh]
;W[cg];B[df]C[This is an unnecessary risk by Black, given that he is
way ahead in the game. He should play at a and let White try to live
on the side, then go back and live in the lower left corner with Black
b.]
LB[dg:a][bp:b]
;W[dg];B[eg];W[ef]C[Before playing this move, I had to read out what
happens if Black protects at a or b then White plays c. It was clear
to me that White would win the resulting fight, but Black obviously
thought differently.]
LB[de:c][fg:b][eh:a]
;B[eh];W[de];B[cf];W[ce];B[bf];W[be];B[ed];W[ee];B[gd]C[White lived in
sente, and is now ahead in the game.]
;W[lc]C[Black owes a move here which he never paid back.]
;B[ne];W[ic];B[hc];W[id];B[pb];W[qc];B[gm]C[Black tries to rescue his
dead stones. Probably not a good idea when he has another weak group
(marked) nearby.]
TR[eg][dh:eh][di:dj]
;W[go];B[ho];W[il]C[Avoiding the mistakes made with the marked White
stones.]
SQ[mm:nn][on:pn][no][mp:pp][mq][pq]
;B[gl];W[hn];B[fk];W[ek];B[fj];W[gf];B[he];W[gg];B[hk];W[jj]
;B[ik];W[jk];B[ll];W[ii]C[I had a long think to assure myself that the
marked Black stones would lose any semeai with the marked White stones,
which meant I could play freely on the outside.]
SQ[il:im][hn][jn:kn][ko:kp]
TR[ho:hp][ip:jp]
;B[hi];W[hh];B[gi]C[Another careful think; looking for a way to stop
the black stones getting two eyes.]
;W[ej];B[ei];W[gh];B[fl];W[fo]C[Carefully avoiding Black's trap.]
;B[jl];W[jh]C[The marked Black stones are still dead, so White has time
to simply connect up all his stones on the outside.
I would have resigned here if playing Black, but my opponent is
perfectly entitled to carry on. I decided to play very defensively for
the rest of the game, and almost managed to do so.]
TR[ho:hp][ip:jp]
;B[ie];W[le]C[I can win without saving the marked white stones, so
"safety first".]
SQ[ic:id]
;B[kd];W[ld];B[je];W[lg];B[kc];W[qb]C[Black has captured two white
stones, but his marked stones are now in trouble on a bigger scale.]
TR[pb][nc][ne]
;B[og];W[cc]C[Just a big endgame play.];B[dc];W[cb]C[Better at a or b?]
LB[bb:a][cd:b]
;B[db];W[mi]C[Another endgame play.];B[ok]C[Too passive. Black should
defend the right side around a instead.]
LB[qh:a];W[ri]C[Another endgame move.
I stopped recording here to concentrate on not blundering the game
away, which happens all too often. Later on, I had a rush of blood to
the head and cut off and killed the marked black stones after a
nail-biting and totally unnecessary semeai.
White won by more than 40 points.]
TR[pb][nc][ne]
)