It's a bit like watching a pendulum swing. First you're too aggressive and overplay, so you overcorrect and play too passively. Then you recognize that, so you switch back to being aggressive, only to repeat the cycle. Ideally, though, each time you learn something about what makes that direction viable and when it's unreasonable, so you slowly dampen down to a happy middle ground.

- The Loss -


The plays (too tight), (wrong side), (heavy, omit), (bizarre shape), (wrong side to peep), (don't tenuki, cap at K12) seem to indicate you don't know how to handle thickness when you have it.

is the sort of shape that leads to being pushed around. F7 when you have prepared the ground looks much better. can be called an overplay.

Well, maybe you also misread two capturing races in this game. It could have been about you cutting White at M4 and getting two floating groups to attack.

You are competing at this level, but are a bit planless.

I had a similar experience when I was starting out, but I did not shy away from fights, even when I lost three or more groups per game.

It is important to learn how to make thickness and use it for fighting. Taking 5 or more handicaps stones can help to learn that, because it is not too difficult to make thickness with that many handicap stones, and fighting in handicap games is often rewarded.

A good book on handicap go, despite its age, is Okigo Jizai, in 10 volumes, by Hattori Inshuku. Much of it deals with how to attack, especially the high handicap volumes. I have posted a number of games from it here. You might start with

viewtopic.php?p=175432#p175432

Enjoy!

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Everything with love. Stay safe.

Comments on the loss -- ways to play more strongly and less passively (much already covered by Charles in a previous post):

should be M4 to separate the W groups. This is both vital and severe. Just contrast this to the result if W plays first, totally enclosing the corner with M5. The game move is large, but you wanted to learn to play more strongly ...

and are absurdly timid, defending the strongest B group on the board, while neglecting the weakest B group on the board. Your suggestion that should jump into the corner is still not the right direction. W would block at D17 to cut off the F17 stone. This would let W make good use of the K16 stone, after which the B wall to the right would become nearly useless. The strong and correct direction of play is to attack the K16 stone from the left, making good use of the B wall to the right. Start with H16 to keep things simple, or consider even stronger moves like H15 or J15. By driving W toward the B wall, you will strengthen the F17 group at nearly no cost (since the B wall is too strong to be subject to any W counter-attack). Then you can use that strength to attack the W corner for profit.

is like , tenuki away from an ongoing fight, when there are still vital moves for attack and defense. F13 would be a simple and good defensive move, better than tenuki. But clearly W will respond by jumping out to K12, after which W will not feel much pressure. So here the preemptive cap at K12 would be much stronger, actively blocking the natural W development. When W responds awkwardly, perhaps around J13 or H14, you get momentum to jump to F13 (or maybe F12 or G12) naturally. This would be a good strong flow of moves for B.

That's it for comments on how to play more strongly and less passively.

(hane at D2) is worth a more careful look. This move is a bit suspect, because the natural W block leaves the stone at F3 perfectly placed. Sometimes you absolutely need to keep sente, while partially protecting the corner, and the hane can then be appropriate. But if you are willing to take gote, there is a bigger move -- the simple descent to C2. If W responds by blocking at D2, B can hane at D1 to take sente. If W does not respond, B has later sente continuations much larger than simply exchanging D2-E2 (which is effectively what happened in the game).

For your reference, did not live. W forced you to live with the bad exchange -

Charles, and Mitsun - Thank you very much for the reviews!

Here are 3 more games I played yesterday - 2 wins and 1 loss. The loss was particularly rough because I got too greedy and blew away a very good chance to win.

First, the Loss


Second, the 1st win


Lastly, the 2nd win.

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My Baduk Journey

Fast forward to 116

Your analysis is again correct and I just want to hand a mental device to you on how to evaluate such situations. It's really like a detective: what's the situation, what's my weapon, where's the weakness?




The root cause of the mistake is that we see BIG OPPONENT MOYO and not WEAK OPPONENT GROUP.
And the root cause of that is that we see Go as a game of territory, while it is really a game of survival of stones.

So: see WEAK OPPONENT GROUP.

About the 1st win: it was a messy game but what I see most is fighting spirit. This is very promising for your career. You know, techniques and knowledge can be acquired, but things like concentration and fighting spirit are closer to one's character.

Browse through the game: I only have praise for your mentality in this game. I'll leave it to others to point out the mistakes.

Thanks for the very detailed reviews, and compliments Knotwilg - You know, I don't really feel too comfortable in large scale fights, because I still don't have the reading ability to back it up - but I just do all I can to win... That's all. I don't really understand how my moves exactly demonstrate - 'fighting spirit', and what exactly that is but - thank you for the compliments.

Anyways, here's another game from yesterday. Solid W.



Also, yesterday I dominated my dad in a game of 12 stone handi. I was shellshocked, and I think he was too. For the first time ever, he directly told me that i made him think - and that I improved. I was really really happy.

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My Baduk Journey

Still a couple of instances where you played the wrong direction, not making good use of thickness: (should be L5 or K6 or L6) and (should be M11 to really pressure W). But congratulations on -- whether it works tactically or not, it is the right direction and attitude.

By the way, the B wall after makes an interesting tesuji problem. If W cuts at P11, can you capture the cutting stone? Even if the ladder does not work? If W also cuts at P14, can you capture both cutting stones (still without ladder)?

Many players who ask for reviews around here will get the criticism that they're "following the opponent around". Not you. Mitsun and others point out correctly how to take better advantage of thickness and how to better attack. But you are attacking and defending with a sense of independency that is rare. You seem to be taking responsibility for your own moves, very different from "following the opponent around" or responding to other kinds of irrationality or fear.

Enjoy!

If white cuts at P11, can't i capture the stone in a net? Atari him first at o11, then when he extends to P10, I can play O9 and get him. I am a bit confused on what you refer to by the cut at p14 - it looks like white cannot cut at p14? Unless you were referring to him cutting P14 after he cut P11.



Oh - huh. I didn't even know! Haha thanks, and hopefully I'll keep on staying that way!

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My Baduk Journey

B to play and capture (no ladder):

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ -------
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ . . O . . O . O X . . |
$$ . , . . O . . X X O . |
$$ . . . . . X . . X O . |
$$ . . . . . X O X . O . |
$$ . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ . . . . . . X O . O . |
$$ . . . . . . W X . O . |
$$ . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

I dunno how to make the diagrams so please forgive me for the written attempt at an answer

If the question is to capture the cutting stone at P11 - after the atari, black will block, and then white doesn't really have too much of a reply? If white extends, then black just captures the two stones below with O10. If white counter ataris, then black will atari the three stones at N10, white captures, black ataris again from behind, then drives white up the wall until he catches him in a net at M14. Black should be careful to net at M14, and not push up white to net at M14 because if he does the corner group will get disconnected.

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My Baduk Journey

Edit: Well, I guess there is the ladder on top, but I assumed "no ladder", since you mentioned it.

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be immersed

Here are two games I played today - Unfortunately, I lost them both.

The 1st game, I was especially furious with myself for losing because it was a won game. 1 horrendous mistake led to my entire downfall. I got really greedy - wanted the entire center for myself/not let my small stones die - and I paid my price. Should have held myself back considering i was already like 30 points ahead.



The 2nd game, I couldn't help but think that my opponent was a bit stronger than me - Though I did myself no favors in the beginning my making 2 weak groups and let myself drown.



Edit - here's a 3rd. I won this one. He let me break through the top which was gg. Slightly annoyed because he wouldn't play me in a ranked game for some reason and insisted on playing a free game.

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My Baduk Journey

Kirby, I think in ur variation, if black instead extends after 8, rather than atari, black can catch the entire lump of white stones.

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My Baduk Journey

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be immersed

Oh oops - i was looking at the stones directly from my game - in which there was a stone 2 spaces away from your move 9, that black could use to capture the entire thing.

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My Baduk Journey

Halfpoint wins are the best. ^_^

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My Baduk Journey

Two more wins - these were tough wins - especially the first one! As always, any comments would be greatly appreciated

Win 1


Win 2



I wish I can play at this kind of level consistently. I'll upload later, but I had a miserable 40 point loss to someone i had beaten before twice. I not only want to raise the ceiling for myself but raise my floor as well.

As for problems, I am 450 problems down in Get Strong at Tesuji - Slightly disappointed that I am only scoring around 86-88% - considering this is my 3rd runthrough. I have a terrible sense of when to atari, when not to atari, etc - I miss more 1/2 star problems than i do with 3 and 4 star problems.

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My Baduk Journey