Early Lead, Midgame Blunder

WindCaliber · #1

This is a game I played IRL a few weeks. My opponent said his rank was somewhere between 2k-10k, and the game took about 90 minutes.

Some notes:
In this game, I play as White. I felt that I had a decent opening, and I didn't like Black's :b17:

because it was relatively low. I realized that Black deviated from joseki and I was wondering if I should have continued playing there. I'm not sure about playing tenuki to the kakari, but I think after :b21:

, I definitely should have. I also thought Black played a bit strangely at the top left, and I think I had a really good position after the result on the bottom. However, by move 100 I started feeling that I should be playing safely to maintain my position and I ended up giving away points slowly. I end up overlooking a huge weakness, which cost me the game.

Lately, I've been studying the endgame, realizing that games can easily swing 20+ points if you misplay the endgame, and that I could get 1-2 stones stronger. Thus, I spent a lot of time analyzing variations the endgame in this game, which I have pruned so it's not awash in variations.

Please feel free to comment on it or add your own analysis as you see fit! My main questions are how I should have handled the invasions/reductions of the left, bottom, and right, though.

Thanks in advance!

EdLee · #2

mitsun · #3

On the left side, your reduction with :w30:

was reasonable. However, the play at B14 is so huge that you should probably play there first. Note that this move is sente for B, threatening to kill the corner. For :w42:

why not just connect at B12 and consider the reduction a success? Not having to worry about defending this group when it gets cut off is worth a lot, giving you many more options everywhere else for the rest of the game.

Joaz Banbeck · #4

Move 9 looks small. His F3 stone is not threatening to make a big difference in the game. Also move 9 seems unbalanced: your first 5 stones are all on one half of the board.

The biggest simple play, IMHO, is R10. It takes the largest side, and inhibits the natural direction of his upper right shimari.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm9 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , 1 . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Speaking of direction of play...your upper left shimari wants to extend along the top. The shoulder hit at N16 is an interesting option, though I won't claim that it is better than H3.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm9 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . 2 O . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . 3 1 . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , 4 . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Joaz Banbeck · #5

Prior to move 19, you have played nine stones. Only one of them is 4th rank, the rest are low. Yet you play yet one more on the second rank. Even without looking at the position, this gives you cause to worry about falling behind in influence.

When we look at the board, it is indeed worrying.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm19 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , 3 . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . O X X O . X . . . . . B . . 2 . . | $$ | . . O O X . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Your play at O3 is a nice extension off of your lower left strength, but then you continue with 19 as if the lower left did not exist, getting eye space for your O3 stone. You're playing joseki without whole board considerations.
O3 doesn't need help to live. It has lots of strength flowing from the left. You should double down on this.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm19 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . 1 . O . . . | $$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . a . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . O X X O . X . . . . . B . . b . . | $$ | . . O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Play O6, and make the power of your lower left wall come alive. Or you can play slightly conservatively with 'a' and get less influence, but have the invasion at 'b' available.

Once you have given up the 3-3 invasion, and strengthened your O3 stone, the same logic still applies, but even more so. L4 is timid and over-concentrated.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm19 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . 3 . O . . . | $$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , C . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . O X X O . X . . . . . B . . 2 . . | $$ | . . O O X . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Can you feel the power of 21 in this position?

An auxiliary note:

Ed is correct in noting that there is sente to be played against the enclosed white corner.
I would do it differently, focusing on the lower side rather than the left side.

Playing 19 like this is a threat to kill the corner.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm19 If he tenukis with 20 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 3 4 X . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . 5 O X X O . X . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

In summary, when integrating all of this, my preferred line of play would be this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm19 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 2 X . . . . . . . . . . 5 . O . . . | $$ | . O 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 4 . X . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . O X X O . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

EdLee · #6

Hi WindCaliber,

You were

; just FYI:

Quote:

Move 9 looks small.

is not small.^(*)
If not the :b9:

pincer in the real game, perhaps: ^(*)

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

Or: ^(*)

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B $$ ---------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . 2 . . . 3 . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . 1 O . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

(

big wedge at R10 seems slow. ^(*) )

____
^(*) Please check with Leela.

WindCaliber · #7

Thanks for the commentary Joaz, but as I mentioned I was playing with White

EdLee wrote:

Hi WindCaliber,
You were :white:

; just FYI:

During the game, I indeed liked my position better because I thought Black was not so efficient on the bottom.

mitsun wrote:

On the left side, your reduction with :w30:

was reasonable. However, the play at B14 is so huge that you should probably play there first. Note that this move is sente for B, threatening to kill the corner. For :w42:

why not just connect at B12 and consider the reduction a success? Not having to worry about defending this group when it gets cut off is worth a lot, giving you many more options everywhere else for the rest of the game.

I didn't connect at B12 because I thought that that move didn't do a whole lot, and I was afraid I was going to fall behind in territory due to the upper left. It's difficult for me to get a solid grasp on the value of qualitative benefits such as not needing to worry when the group gets cut. At the time, I thought the cut wasn't too severe.

Early Lead, Midgame Blunder

Who is online