This is a pretty exciting game!

But I can't help feeling Black threw it away by playing too fast.
You were in a 15-minute main time, 20-second byo yomi game. You played your first 105 moves within the main time at an average of 8.5 seconds per move. In essence you used less than half your available time. And it shows.
When White played 154 through 158 (158 is 1 below) you had 3:39 left on your clock. You used 5 seconds to decide on 159 (6 in the diagram). If you used the 5 seconds to decide that you didn't want to fight the ko below, that's fine. But if you automatically followed White's lead to start filling in liberties, you earned the loss (actually earning the loss came later of course).
I admit that lack of respect for my opponents causes me no end of grief, but I would probably have needed less than 5 seconds to answer 1 with 2. Now there is no way that Black is going to lose a straight up semeai so what else could go wrong?

The most likely answer is White 3 and 5 utilizing Black's thinness here. Black wants to force White to connect at 'a' so that the standard tesuji at 'b' together with 'c' can capture some stones and live. This looks scary but the question arises, what will White do against the ko capture of 6? If White plays 7 (as in the game), Black happily captures and sacrifices the group, as in the game. Unlike the game, however, White's upper right group does not clearly have eyes when Black takes the corner with 10. I think that from here on out Black has an easy game due to White's thin position. What do you think? (readers note that if White answers 6 at 8, Black connects at 'c' and the tesuji at 'b' goes away so Black can safely connect at 'a')
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . X . X . 0 . |
$$ | . . b 4 a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | c X X 3 X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | X O O 6 5 X X X O O . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | X X 8 O O O O O X . 1 X . O O . . . . |
$$ | O O O X X X X O X X X . X O X O O . . |
$$ | X . O , . O X X O O O X X X X X O . . |
$$ | . O X X . X O O X . O . O X . . X 2 . |
$$ | O . O X . . O X X . O . O X . . . . . |
$$ | . O X . . . . X O O . . X O O O O X . |
$$ | . X . X . O O O . O O X X O X X X O . |
$$ | . . X . . . O . O X X 7 X X O . O . . |
$$ | . X O X X . . O X X X 9 X O O , O . . |
$$ | . . O O O O . O O O O X X . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . O X X . . X . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
In the game when White cut with 162, Black actually thought for 17 seconds(

) before filling a liberty at 163 (6 below). However, shouldn't Black have actually read a little more and then played 2 below? This takes advantage of White's shortage of liberties. Something like 3 and 5 look likely and Black turns back to 6. What's the difference? White can't play 'a' due to shortage of liberties. So either White has to win the ko here or Black effectively has three liberties. Meanwhile, however, we will be fighting the big ko on the left side. So basically White is in trouble here. Note that if the left side ko fight resolves itself similar to the game, Black can play 'b' to start a 'flower-viewing' ko on the right edge.
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | X X X . X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | X O O X 6 X X X O O . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | X X O O O O O O X . O X . O O . . . . |
$$ | O O O X X X X O X X X . X O X O O . . |
$$ | X . O , . O X X O O O X X X X X O . . |
$$ | . O X X . X O O X . O . O X 4 1 X 3 . |
$$ | O . O X . . O X X . O . O X a 2 5 b . |
$$ | . O X . . . . X O O . . X O O O O X . |
$$ | . X . X . O O O . O O X X O X X X O . |
$$ | . . X . . . O . O X X . X X O . O . . |
$$ | . X O X X . . O X X X . X O O , O . . |
$$ | . . O O O O . O O O O X X . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . O X X . . X . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
_________________
Dave Sigaty"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21