So, the tournament ended on Sunday and I'm quite content with myself =)
On the first day, I managed to win all three games against an 1-kyu, a 4- and 5-kyu. (I started as a 4-kyu.)
The first game against the 1-kyu was very intense and lasted the longest of all five games. I, again, fell behind in the opening - as I often do - because I approached a Komoku in not the ideal way (did not work together with my other stones) and thus became slightly overconcentrated on the side. Then I Tenuki'd an attacking move to enclose my corner, but my opponent luckily missed to attack me severly. A Dan-player later suggested a move threatening two things simultanously, devastating my whole side.
Later on, I invaded my oponnent and he let me live very easily (and lost all territory there) but he managed to get a Moyo in exchange. After the game the same Dan-player showed us some moves, which would make the invasion very painful for me. The game was to be decided in endgame and I had a lot of moves to reduce his Moyo. Once, he missed to defend a cut and I could come in even further, capturing a stone. I won by around Komi.
The second game against the 4-kyu was very aweful for me. My opponent was a slightly older gentlemen whose main objective it was to play strange moves "since the young know patterns too well". It completely throwed me off. I played very timid moves, over-protected my territory, connected living groups and made weak ones inside his influence. Although, it was very funny, because he told me later that he always counted me ahead. I had quite the oppsite opinion and started an all-or-nothing-Ko in the endgame. I ignored a Ko-threat, which killed a group of mine to - in exchange - kill his group which was three times as big. But I missread, it lived. Had he played correctly. He did not and died and I luckily won.
The last game of the first day was against some sort of nemesis of mine. Against her I always play very strange and do not concentrate enough. But we reversed positions in this game. Mostly she goes for influence while I gladly take territory but not this time. After a strange "Noseki" I ended up with a lot of influece and played accordingly. Later I missed a cut and lost quite a lot territory on one side and even let her become thick facing my center Moyo.
My only chance was to attack some early reduction stones in the center and I went all-out-large-scale, which she tried to evade by playing a light two-space-jump. This maybe was a mistake because I was strong everywhere in the center. I immediately cut her jump and the bigger half of my Moyo began to become territory. Sadly, in early endgame she managed to get a Ko to revive her stones inside my Moyo and I had to ignore every threat. Lucky for me, she "just" went to capture six stones of mine on the side (about 20 points of territory) instead of threatening my Moyo. I could even find a sacrificing sequence which attacked her corner and was able to solidify a group of mine in Sente.
The game was over by then and I won by a comfortable margin.
The second day started very bad but had one extremely thrilling game against a japanse 3-dan.
My first opponent was a 2-kyu and - surprise - I blundered in the opening. Or so I thought, later on some Dan-players told us, the position was totally even and my opponent had a few weaknesses I could exploit. But yeah, my feelings overthrew any rational judgment and I played, well, very, very, very bad. I sacrificed a bigger corner to make a lot of influence, but my opponent was thick all over the board. My desperation attack just ate around ten points of his side (and could have even died after the first move ^^) but I myself did not make enough territory in return and lost big time.
The best comes last - it was to true for this tournament. I got to play against a japanese 3-dan and this game was just the best. It made the whole tournament worthwhile.
We played a farily normal Fuseki, with him ignoring my first Hoshi Kakari (mini-chinese rejection) to play a Kakari himself to my Komoku. I, then, douple-approached and got naturally the corner, while he got Sente to attach to my Komoku. With strong positions on both sides he went for a Moyo on the top side and I was baffled as I always am with the decision when to reduce and how. In doubt, I - of course - Tenuki'd and approach his other Hoshi stone. He ignored it and enlarged his Moyo with a Keima. I cut it and pushed the cutting stone along the fourth line (which had an open skirt from my San-San-invasion after the double-approach from the beginning) - attacking and reducing his center at the same time. After I was sure that he would not answer a further push, I jumped in the center but I did it badly. He managed to cut off this jump, solidifying his Moyo again and I had a weak group now.
But since his cutting stones were also weak, we battled it out. In the course of the fight I managed to squeeze him through a hole in my position (with a lot of broken shapes and violating the proverb) but my goal was to cut off and surrounding his Hoshi, which I had approached earlier. And I succeeded. There was some Aji left but he had no time to activate it just yet.
We then jumped along to the right and there he approached my second Komoku. I pincered to help my weakish center group and he attached on the outside to make some shape for his group. Later he played a move from which I guess, he thought would threaten my corner but it did not, it was just big endgame (well and it made his group absolutly alive ^^). I took the chance to completely kill off his Hoshi-Aji. The game was a bit favourable for White (my opponent) because his top-side Moyo was very big and I had no chance to invade it. But I played forcing moves from the outside and my former weakish center group now surrounded almost twenty points - in Sente! The game way very close now but he managed to get a lot of big Sente endgame and in the end I lost by 3.5 points.
Here's the Kifu for the first 93 moves. I forgot the order for the following moves, so I did not include them.
This is the end position.
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$c End position
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . X O O . . . . . . . . O O O |
$$ | . . . . . X X O . . . . . . O . O X O |
$$ | . . X X X X O O . . O . . . . O O X X |
$$ | X X . , X O . . . , . . . O O X X . . |
$$ | X O X X O O . . . . . O O X X . . X . |
$$ | O O X O X X O . . . . . O O X X . . . |
$$ | . O X O X . O O O O O O X X . . . . . |
$$ | . O X O X . O . . O X X . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O X O X X X O O X . . . . . X . X X |
$$ | . O O O O X X O X , . . . . X , X X O |
$$ | . O X X X . X . X . . . X X O X X O O |
$$ | . O O X . X X . X X X X O O O X O O . |
$$ | . . O X O O X . X O O O . . . O . . . |
$$ | O O X X X O . O X X X O . . O . O . . |
$$ | O X X . X O . O O O O . . O X O . . . |
$$ | X . X O X . . . X O . . O O X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X X X X O . O X O O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X O O . O X X X . X O O |
$$ | . . . . . . X O O . O X X . . X X X . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
In the end, I really should work at my Fuseki. Mostly direction and Joseki choices. Then some positional judgment would be fine and a habit to count ^^ But I was very satisfied with my reading ability this tournament - as long as I now what to read ^^