Life In 19x19 :: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)

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An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal) http://www.lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=1150	Page 1 of 4

Author:	Marcus [ Tue Jul 20, 2010 7:44 am ]
Post subject:	An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Ok, it's time for me to jump on this bandwagon ... but I'm a very unstructured person, so with family and work responsibilities and stuff don't expect strict regimens of daily practice or lists of books to read. A little background on me and my Go: I'm 28, married, and I have a young 20 month old son. Family responsibilities and my job keep me from any real serious study of Go. I have zero budget for Go, and so don't own a proper board (I have small plastic "stones" and a cardboard double-sided "board" with 9x9 on one side and 19x19 on the other). I don't own a single Go book. Despite that, I love the game. I play when I can, and I'm always finding new ways to enjoy and appreciate the game. So, what WILL you find here in my journal? I think what I want to share are the things that inspire me to get stronger: games, positions, ideas. There are a thousand paths of Go. I will walk my own path; I will gain strength through appreciation of the games I play (and replay), the people I teach, and the beauty of stones working together in new and interesting ways. It will take me longer than most to gain strength, I think, since I'm not able to devote as much time ... but it doesn't matter. There is no race. I will set goals and milestones, of course. We'll see how well I progress towards them. So, let's get going! GOALS: In the short term: - Make it to KGS 1d this year - Find a set of pros who's games I enjoy playing through, and begin memorizing them In the middle term: - Find the time to go to a Go Club regularly In the long term (ambitions; reach for the clouds): - Participate in large (national/international) tournaments - Become one of the top players in Canada - Become Canada's representative and the WAGC Note that my long term goals are in order of achievability: first one is believably possible to achieve ... next one is possible, but unlikely ... last one is almost impossible ... but a man can dream, right? CURRENT STRENGTH: I am slowly but steadily reaching towards 3k on KGS. In the last few months, I've found that if I don't just rush through game after game it takes a little longer to reach the next stone in strength, but the strength gain is steadier instead of bouncing up and down on my rank graph. CURRENT STUDIES: I've posted about this in other places ... The recent Fujitsu Cup Final between Kong Jie and Lee Sedol was posted on this forum here ... and I loved the game. I decided it was finally time for me to try and memorize a pro game. So, I did. There are mixed thoughts about when a player should try studying and memorizing pro games. I believe you should do it when you begin to enjoy the process. If it's tedious to you, don't do it. For this particular game, there are moves and sequences that stand out to me and excite me. For instance: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Bcm13 2010 Fujitsu Cup Final - Move 13-14 $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . 2 . . . . . Y . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . Y . . . . . , . . . . . , Y . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . \| $$ \| . . . 1 . . . . . , . . . . X , . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . Q Q . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go] This is a great example of a strong solid group ( ) as one strategy and a loose framework ( and ) as another. White needs to invade before Black solidifies, and does so with There are so many ideas in the game that I can grasp and examine. And I enjoyed (and still enjoy) playing through the game. PLAYED GAMES: There will likely be more posts about games like this than anything else in this journal. The game I'm going to share with you right now is a game I just finished on DGS ... which ended with TRIPLE KO. Perhaps I could have still won the game if I'd let my group be captured, but it would be a tough endgame to work through. My counting and my endgame are not up to the task. Since I'm not all that worried about my rank, I resigned the game. Here's the SGF: I only included up to the start of the triple ko. Note that Black has the liberties to fill ONE of the 4 kos if he so desires, but cannot fill more than one, leaving the triple ko position. I personally believe there is nothing on the board that would allow either player to give up the triple ko and still win the game ... but I'm not necessarily strong enough to identify all possibilities. Hope you enjoyed my rant. Please, all comments welcome.

Author:	kokomi [ Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:24 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
I recommend gocommentary.com if you have zero budget on go books. Nice free video comments on pro games in English. Teach your son play Go when he grows up a bit

Author:	Marcus [ Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:36 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Yes, kokomi, I will be teaching my son when he's ready ... I'm also teaching some of my younger cousins on occasion. UPDATE 07/23/2010: I've played a few more games on KGS. I feel like I'm creeping towards my goal of 1d at a reasonable pace, though I have still not made it up to 3k. Five more months left, and we'll see where I am at the end, but if I'm not 1d, I'll probably be close. I'm playing a number of DGS games as well. I find that my concentration just doesn't hold up on those games, and I get impatient for the next move from my opponent. I'm completing the games I have running, but will probably not play as many at once as I had going there. The occasional DGS game for fun seems like the best way for me to use that server. The most interesting item from my games lately is the following endgame position. My counting is getting better, but I somehow thought I was behind here. I'm White: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc White to Play $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ \| . X O O O O O X X O O O . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X X O O X X X X O O O O O O O O . \| $$ \| . X . X X O O X . X O O X X X X O X O \| $$ \| . . . X O . O X . X O X X . X O X X O \| $$ \| . . X O O . O X X O O O . X X O . X O \| $$ \| . X X O O . O O X X X X X X O O O O O \| $$ \| X X O . O O X O O O O . X O X X X X X \| $$ \| . X O . O . X X X X O O X O O X X . . \| $$ \| X O . O . O O O . O X O O X O X O . . \| $$ \| X O O O O O X X O O X X X X O X . . . \| $$ \| . X O O . . O . O . X O O O O . . . X \| $$ \| X X O O O . . O O X X O X O . . X X O \| $$ \| . X O X X O . O X X X X X X . X X O O \| $$ \| . X O X X O O X . . X O X X X . X O . \| $$ \| . . X . . X X . X X O O O X O X X O . \| $$ \| X X X X X X X . X , X O O O O O O O . \| $$ \| X O O O X O O X . . X O X . O O X X . \| $$ \| O O . . O . O O X X . X O O . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . O . O X X . X X X O . . . . . \| $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go] I found something on this board to put me well over the top. I'm sure the stronger players of L19 will see it pretty quickly, but in game I had to look a few times before I got the reading right. Here's the sequence played in game: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc White to Play $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ \| . X O O O O O X X O O O . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X X O O X X X X O O O O O O O O . \| $$ \| . X . X X O O X . X O O X X X X O X O \| $$ \| . . . X O . O X . X O X X . X O X X O \| $$ \| . . X O O . O X X O O O . X X O . X O \| $$ \| . X X O O . O O X X X X X X O O O O O \| $$ \| X X O . O O X O O O O . X O X X X X X \| $$ \| . X O . O . X X X X O O X O O X X 6 8 \| $$ \| X O . O . O O O . O X O O X O X O 7 4 \| $$ \| X O O O O O X X O O X X X X O X . 3 2 \| $$ \| . X O O . . O . O . X O O O O 9 . 1 X \| $$ \| X X O O O . . O O X X O X O . . X X O \| $$ \| . X O X X O . O X X X X X X . X X O O \| $$ \| . X O X X O O X . . X O X X X . X O . \| $$ \| . . X . . X X . X X O O O X O X X O . \| $$ \| X X X X X X X . X , X O O O O O O O . \| $$ \| X O O O X O O X . . X O X . O O X X . \| $$ \| O O . . O . O O X X . X O O . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . O . O X X . X X X O . . . . . \| $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go] With @ It was nice to be able to see it. The throw-in with was the part that took away the extra liberty, and made the whole sequence work. Other than that, my games have been pretty straight-forward, with nothing standing out as interesting to post. I did some Tsumego that Loons provided last night, which was a lot of fun. Thanks again, Loons!

Author:	Chew Terr [ Fri Jul 23, 2010 7:16 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Ah, I had it, except for the throw-in. Thanks for sharing!

Author:	noodley [ Fri Jul 23, 2010 7:38 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Why can't black respond with Q19 after S9?

Author:	Marcus [ Fri Jul 23, 2010 7:47 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
noodley wrote: Why can't black respond with Q19 after S9? He certainly can (I assume you mean Q9) ... I simply posted the line that was played out in the game. White still reduces by a good 6-8 points, which is quite big for the very end of the game. Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc White to Play $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ \| . X O O O O O X X O O O . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X X O O X X X X O O O O O O O O . \| $$ \| . X . X X O O X . X O O X X X X O X O \| $$ \| . . . X O . O X . X O X X . X O X X O \| $$ \| . . X O O . O X X O O O . X X O . X O \| $$ \| . X X O O . O O X X X X X X O O O O O \| $$ \| X X O . O O X O O O O . X O X X X X X \| $$ \| . X O . O . X X X X O O X O O X X . . \| $$ \| X O . O . O O O . O X O O X O X O . . \| $$ \| X O O O O O X X O O X X X X O X . 3 . \| $$ \| . X O O . . O . O . X O O O O 2 . 1 X \| $$ \| X X O O O . . O O X X O X O . . X X O \| $$ \| . X O X X O . O X X X X X X . X X O O \| $$ \| . X O X X O O X . . X O X X X . X O . \| $$ \| . . X . . X X . X X O O O X O X X O . \| $$ \| X X X X X X X . X , X O O O O O O O . \| $$ \| X O O O X O O X . . X O X . O O X X . \| $$ \| O O . . O . O O X X . X O O . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . O . O X X . X X X O . . . . . \| $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

Author:	unkx80 [ Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:16 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
The endgame aspect: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc White to Play $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ \| . X O O O O O X X O O O . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X X O O X X X X O O O O O O O O . \| $$ \| . X . X X O O X . X O O X X X X O X O \| $$ \| . . . X O . O X . X O X X . X O X X O \| $$ \| . . X O O . O X X O O O . X X O . X O \| $$ \| . X X O O . O O X X X X X X O O O O O \| $$ \| X X O . O O X O O O O . X O X X X X X \| $$ \| . X O . O . X X X X O O X O O X X . . \| $$ \| X O . O . O O O . O X O O X O X O 4 . \| $$ \| X O O O O O X X O O X X X X O X . . 3 \| $$ \| . X O O . . O . O . X O O O O . 2 1 X \| $$ \| X X O O O . . O O X X O X O . . X X O \| $$ \| . X O X X O . O X X X X X X . X X O O \| $$ \| . X O X X O O X . . X O X X X . X O . \| $$ \| . . X . . X X . X X O O O X O X X O . \| $$ \| X X X X X X X . X , X O O O O O O O . \| $$ \| X O O O X O O X . . X O X . O O X X . \| $$ \| O O . . O . O O X X . X O O . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . O . O X X . X X X O . . . . . \| $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

Author:	Marcus [ Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:38 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
unkx80 wrote: The endgame aspect: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc White to Play $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ \| . X O O O O O X X O O O . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X X O O X X X X O O O O O O O O . \| $$ \| . X . X X O O X . X O O X X X X O X O \| $$ \| . . . X O . O X . X O X X . X O X X O \| $$ \| . . X O O . O X X O O O . X X O . X O \| $$ \| . X X O O . O O X X X X X X O O O O O \| $$ \| X X O . O O X O O O O . X O X X X X X \| $$ \| . X O . O . X X X X O O X O O X X . . \| $$ \| X O . O . O O O . O X O O X O X O 4 . \| $$ \| X O O O O O X X O O X X X X O X . . 3 \| $$ \| . X O O . . O . O . X O O O O . 2 1 X \| $$ \| X X O O O . . O O X X O X O . . X X O \| $$ \| . X O X X O . O X X X X X X . X X O O \| $$ \| . X O X X O O X . . X O X X X . X O . \| $$ \| . . X . . X X . X X O O O X O X X O . \| $$ \| X X X X X X X . X , X O O O O O O O . \| $$ \| X O O O X O O X . . X O X . O O X X . \| $$ \| O O . . O . O O X X . X O O . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . O . O X X . X X X O . . . . . \| $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go] Thanks for making this explicit. I should have done so in my earlier post. Looks like 8 points reduced?

Author:	unkx80 [ Tue Jul 27, 2010 3:03 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Marcus wrote: Thanks for making this explicit. I should have done so in my earlier post. Looks like 8 points reduced? Yes, 8 points gote, because everywhere else is neutral points. If the temperature is up a little bit, then I would say 7 points sente.

Author: Marcus [ Wed Jul 28, 2010 5:16 am ]

Post subject: Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)

A quick update:

Since my game against Kirby in the L19 tournament, I seem to have gone off my game. I've still won a few games, but it seems like my opponent has to make a major mistake in order for me to win, otherwise the game just doesn't work out for me.

There are a few factors that tie in to this, I think, and it's something I'd like to look at. The first is that I'm starting to try new things in the opening again, and in doing so I'm frequently entering the middlegame behind by a good number of points, I think. Until I get the hang of these new ideas, I suspect I'm going to be behind most of the time.

In terms of the opening, I've begun to try and work a couple ideas into my first few moves. As Black, I've started playing :b1:

as a 3-4 stone. This means that, depending on :w2:

, I can play for different variations of Chinese Fuseki, or switch up into Orthodox like what happened in my game with Kirby.

I'm also trying to use the shorter extension instead of the typical extension in the Chinese. I've seen this a few times in the Pro games I've browsed and I like the feel of it.

Here are a few variations of opening I'm aiming for lately:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$c Chinese Variant #1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 3 . . . . . , . . . . . , 1 . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 4 . . . . . , . . . . . 2 . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$c Chinese Variant #2 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . 5 . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 2 . . . . . , . . . . . , 1 . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 4 . . . . . , . . . . . 3 . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$c Orthodox Variation $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . 5 . 6 . . . . . . 7 . . . . | $$ | . . . 2 . 8 . . . , . . . . . , 1 . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . 3 . . . | $$ | . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm finding that there are many, many options available to me when I open like this. I like the way the games flow ... but I'm not very experienced with playing in this way.

Another factor: In the last two weeks I've worked 50+ hours a week, which has cut into my sleep time. When I'm not in a rested state of mind, I find that I tend to rush my games. I really shouldn't play Go when I'm not rested, but I enjoy the game so much I just want to play as much as I can. Hurts my rank a little, but it's still fun (though losing streaks are a bit frustrating).

I'm on vacation next week, so it may be that I won't get much time to play Go ... but I'll also have more time to sleep and rest. That should also help me improve.

Author:	Chew Terr [ Wed Jul 28, 2010 7:23 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Hmm, maybe I should experiment with these sorts of openings. I feel uncomfortable with 3-4s as black, so perhaps that's the next thing I need to force myself into. Thanks for showing them, and keeping us posted. =)

Author:	Magicwand [ Wed Jul 28, 2010 8:34 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Chew Terr wrote: Hmm, maybe I should experiment with these sorts of openings. I feel uncomfortable with 3-4s as black, so perhaps that's the next thing I need to force myself into. Thanks for showing them, and keeping us posted. =) it is wise to learn every opening about your favorit opening. if you are well prepared then you can play professional even for first 20 moves when i was ddk i started with starpoint josekies and triple starpoint opening to minimize the variations. and it really helped me get strong.

Author:	Chew Terr [ Wed Jul 28, 2010 8:35 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Magicwand wrote: Chew Terr wrote: Hmm, maybe I should experiment with these sorts of openings. I feel uncomfortable with 3-4s as black, so perhaps that's the next thing I need to force myself into. Thanks for showing them, and keeping us posted. =) it is wise to learn every opening about your favorit opening. if you are well prepared then you can play professional even for first 20 moves when i was ddk i started with starpoint josekies and triple starpoint opening to minimize the variations. and it really helped me get strong. Hmmm, that makes sense. Maybe I'll keep studying Kobayashi for a while more.

Author: Marcus [ Wed Jul 28, 2010 11:17 am ]

Post subject: Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)

Let's talk about a recent game of mine.

I played a game for the ASR League recently, which drove home joseki choice rather heavily. I've been playing with a particular joseki for a little while now because I like it, and many people don't seem to know the continuations very well. My opponent in this game did know the proper continuation, and the joseki turned out to leave me in an awkward position. Here's the joseki (I am White):

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc Joseki, Final move at a $$ ---------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . 0 7 . . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . 4 1 . . 5 . . a . . . . $$ | . . . 6 . . . . . , . . . . $$ | . 8 . 2 . . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . 9 , . . . . . . . . . .[/go]

I really do like this joseki, but it ends in gote here. There are variations, of course, but this is what I played in the game. Here's the game position:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm14 Ouch ... bad choice ... $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O . . O . . 1 . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

Ending in gote allowed my opponent to jump right in and cut my position apart ... not only that, but I gave up the corner in a big way for two sides that can easily be attacked. There's no clearer indication, I think, that this was the wrong time to play this joseki. It feels awkward now looking at this board. Aphelion, Shaddy, Loons and I were looking at it after the game, and I tend to agree with Aph that it looks painful in this position.

So, this particular joseki and its variations are being put aside for a little while, though it remains in my joseki toolbelt. I have other things to try out that will hopefully give me more tools to work with in the opening.

I did manage to win this game though, due to a mistake in my opponent's reading. To be fair, he was down to only 3 byo-yomi periods of 30 seconds each, so perhaps he felt rushed. Here's the position:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm178 Punish Black! $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . O O . . . . | $$ | . . X O . . O O O O . . X O X O O O . | $$ | . . . X . . . X O X . . X X X X X O . | $$ | . X . X . . . . X X . . O . . . X X X | $$ | . . . . . X . X . . . O X X . X O O . | $$ | . . O X . X O O X . . . X O O X X . . | $$ | . . O X . O . O X O O O O . O O X . . | $$ | . . O X . X . O O X X X O O O X O . . | $$ | . . O X O . . O . O X X O . O X X . . | $$ | . O X X X O O . O X X . X O O . . . . | $$ | . . O X O . X O O O X X X X X X . . . | $$ | . O O X O . X X . X O O X O X . X . . | $$ | . O X X X . 2 . . X X O O O O X X . . | $$ | . . O X . . 1 . X O X X O . X O . . . | $$ | . . O X . X . . O O O X O . X , . . . | $$ | . O X . X . . . O . O O O . . X . . . | $$ | . O X X . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

This response by Black gives me the win. I'll hide the game line for those who want to try and see it themselves.

Author:	unkx80 [ Wed Jul 28, 2010 11:55 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Ah, some mistakes, I never forget. I remember having this dan-level embarrassment between two dans: Click Here To Show Diagram Code `[go]$$B $$ . . . . . . . . . $$ . . . . . . . . . $$ . . . . . O . . . $$ . . X 1 O X O . . $$ . . X O . X O . . $$ . . X O . X O . . $$ . . X X O X O . . $$ . . . . . . . . . $$ . . . . . . . . . $$ . . . . . . . . .[/go]` I played thinking that it is a tesuji. My opponent proceeded to let me capture the two white stones.

Author:	daniel_the_smith [ Wed Jul 28, 2010 12:08 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
white didn't play here? Click Here To Show Diagram Code `[go]$$B $$ . . . . . . . . . $$ . . . . . . . . . $$ . . . . . O . . . $$ . . X 1 O X O . . $$ . . X O . X O . . $$ . . X O . X O . . $$ . . X X O X O . . $$ . . . . . 2 . . . $$ . . . . . . . . . $$ . . . . . . . . .[/go]` Presumably this is better: Click Here To Show Diagram Code `[go]$$B $$ . . . . . . . . . $$ . . . . . . . . . $$ . . . . . O . . . $$ . . X 3 O X O . . $$ . . X O . X O . . $$ . . X O 2 X O . . $$ . . X X O X O . . $$ . . . . 1 a . . . $$ . . . . . . . . . $$ . . . . . . . . .[/go]` (white will play a instead of if white continues locally, of course)

Author: Marcus [ Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:38 am ]

Post subject: Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)

As promised, I cleaned up the review notes from the game with Tabemasu.

I've also made a few comments, but I've left only variations that were made by Tabemasu.

I have been told (and I agree) that I was not very aggressive in this game. It felt like I couldn't find any decent openings and the game just slowly crept out of reach.

I've actually played another even game against another high dan today, this time for the League portion of the Trollnament VI. My opponent was yamashitaK. I'm going to post the game for review in the Game Analysis forum, but I wanted to mention three parts of the game specifically in my journal here. The first is the joseki in the lower right, which I thought was really interesting, though I've never seen it before this game. Here's the beginning, up until I made a move outside joseki.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bc $$ , . . . . . , . . . | $$ . . . . . . . . . . | $$ . . . . . . X . . . | $$ . . . . . . . . . . | $$ . . . . . . . . . . | $$ . . . . 1 . O . . . | $$ , . . O 3 2 , 0 . . | $$ . . . 9 5 4 X a . . | $$ . . . . 6 8 7 . . . | $$ . . . . . . . . . . | $$ --------------------+[/go]

This is how we proceeded in the game. :w10:

is supposed to be at 'a' in the actual joseki. It seems like an interesting, though obscure, joseki. I need to look into it more.

Second part I wanted to bring up is the point where the game felt like it was starting to slip away from me. I didn't want to play as quietly as I had against Tabemasu, and it felt like there were more opportunities in this game to make trouble. So, I dove in, and promptly got lost.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm27 Move 29 ... White's invasion is getting into trouble. $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O O O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

Honestly, I have no clue how I should respond to :b29:

... yet another area to study.

Finally, near the end of the game, an interesting Tsumego popped up. Black to live (ignore the fact that one of my groups of stones on the outside won't live if it came down to a capturing race ... assume the outside stones are all alive):

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm96 $$ | . . . O . . . $$ | . . . . . . . $$ | . . . . . . . $$ | . O . . . . . $$ | X X O O O . X $$ | . . X X O . X $$ | 1 . X O X . X $$ | . . X O . X . $$ | . X O O . . . $$ | . . . . . . . $$ +---------------[/go]

Solution (as played in game; I cannot say if there is a better one):

Now, I need to find time for more Trollnament games ...

Author:	Excalibor [ Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:14 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Marcus wrote: Let's talk about a recent game of mine. I played a game for the ASR League recently, which drove home joseki choice rather heavily. I've been playing with a particular joseki for a little while now because I like it, and many people don't seem to know the continuations very well. My opponent in this game did know the proper continuation, and the joseki turned out to leave me in an awkward position... There's a recent blog entry by a spanish Go player who has spent a month in Seoul (with two other of the highest spanish dan players) about this joseki, which he calls the 'Spanish nightmare' cause he always ask about it to every professional he meets, and they all (most are Koreans) end up asking to Mok Jinseok 9p, who explained it to him... http://www.badukaires.com/2010/07/24/el ... nightmare/ It's in spanish, but easy to follow or you can use translate.google.com... Maybe you already know this, otherwise you might find it interesting... best regards

Author:	Marcus [ Mon Oct 11, 2010 10:04 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Well, I guess I should update this, since I've begun to play more frequently again. I've just made it to 3k on KGS after going 4-0 tonight in ranked games. Not that I feel I'm any stronger. We'll see if I can keep this rank, or if I'll bounce back down again shortly. I have my work cut out for me for the next few stones to gain. My yose is terribly weak, and I still play instinctive moves without reading. On the plus side, my counting is getting better. I hope that counting will help me to slow down and read more often as well. Somehow, in the transition from 5k to 4k, I seem to have lost all my sense of fuseki, joseki, reading/fighting, and what little yose I knew. Perhaps it's just that my opponents now know more than I do. Now that I'm 3k (at least for now), I'm going to assume that I'll have even more trouble keeping up with my opponents. The new "study" plan: 1) Count more 2) Pay attention to sente 3) Read more That's about all I have time for. I'd post a recent game, but I'd prefer to go through them myself first to better have an idea of the questions I have concerning my play.

Author:	Marcus [ Thu Oct 14, 2010 11:24 am ]
Post subject:	Re: An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)
Back to 4k. Seems like I'll always hit a new rank 3 times. That was #2 ... I've posted a recent loss in the Game Analysis forum here. It's not all losses, though. I had a good even game against a 2k in the ASR League. I think I did well. Here's that game: I have decided to push for as much strength as I can gain by the end of the year. If I reach KGS 1d, that would be awesome (but it's highly unlikely). I'll settle for feeling like I've gained strength over the past year. It's definitely been a fun year for my Go.

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