I know something good must be happening to my game, but I yet have to put my finger on it. Must be all those hard hours of digesting problems

On 27 March I played White. Black won by 49.5 pts. I was upset at my loss to a 9k program



Today I did a few dozen problems out of my copy of Weiqi Introductory Problem Collection. Then I played Black against the same opponent and won by resignation



I feel that in my second game my reading was slightly better than in the previous one. In that one I took a lot of reduction losses. All the better to keep me humble Much obliged in advance for your comments.

Some suggestions based on the first game .

- You simply have to block at R16. If you play there, you get a fairly strong grip on the territory in the corner, and black is still unsettled so he has to play another move on the side. When black plays there on move 11, suddenly it is him who has the corner territory and the settled shape, while yours is still unsettled.

- This is a gote endgame move, too small to play right now.

- Even smaller than . Think about how many points you gain by playing here vs if black had played here. Black was sensible and ignored your move and played elsewhere.

Overall, my recommendation based on the first game would be to work on your sense of big moves. at R16 was a big move because it decided who got the corner and also who got the stronger of the two groups, whereas and neither affect the safety of any groups nor secure much territory.

_________________
We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

Playing for the center is fine, however it doesn't justify not playing R16. R16 is simply too vital for both sides. It's not all the time that I'll say you have no other choice, but this is one of those times. It literally is the only move. It's not just about the huge territory swing between the two groups, it also drastically changes the safety of the two groups, which tends to matter even more than direct territory. I would rather have R16 as white than K16 plus an additional 15 points komi, that's how important it is.

_________________
We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

As Bill mused once, many people would like to become magicians. Enjoy.

Or not :

That's different and you know it

_________________
We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

To expand upon Dusk Eagle's remarks, a few comments on the opening.



Main focus: Do not just think about your own territory. Thwart your opponent's development. Carry out threats. Follow through.

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The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Thanks for your comment. I'll look at your review in detail. I often fail to restrict my opponent's global development in the opening and pay for it dearly.