BlindGroup wrote:
Overall, I think you played well.
Here are some general thoughts:
1. You did a good job of pushing into your opponents territory in the middle game.
2. You also did a nice job at the end of taking advantage of your opponent's mistakes to live in the top left area late in the game.
3. That said, you need to think about when it is better to push into and area and when it is better to invade. In your game, I think you should have invaded much earlier than you did.
4. I think you are undervaluing the importance of playing towards the center when one has attached stones on the 4th or 5th lines. Examples of when you should have pushed towards the center are moves 11-15 and 25.
Thanks so much for your constructive criticism, it's very helpful!
Particularly your comments about invasion & pushing to the middle are very interesting. When I analyse my play from last few weeks, I usually go around and push a lot from a strong group, but leave the invasions for when it's too late and the opponent has too many friends nearby. I should indeed invade earlier, before it becomes impossible.
Concerning the pushing out, it's something I'll have to work on. I'm a rather territorial player, because I've had some big losses when I tried to focus on the middle. I feel more comfortable on the sides of the board. Still, I'll have to learn to play the middle, I guess, because most games where I lose, it is indeed because my opponent has more points, mainly in the middle.
Thanks once again for your help!