Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Elom · **#141**

Hi,

Good luck! :salute:

hl782 · **#142**

Elom wrote:

Good luck! :salute:

Thanks for the review! As for the upper left where I invaded at 3-3, i actually regretted it immediately. I think it would have been best for me to play the lower knights move like the standard joseki. it would have also been a possibility to attack that white gruop to the left as well if i played c-12 afterwards (placement at b-16 looks like it could leave white without a base). The 3-3 just gave him too much thickness that white didnt take advantage of!

hl782 · **#143**

2 more games, 2 more wins - with reviews added (thanks to Justin Teng for reviewing them with me afterwards)

On another note, more progress with 1001 LD Problems - still maintaining a sold 88-90% accuracy (of the ones i missed on my first runthrough) through 650 problems.

Today I also looked back at some of my old games from 15k when i started go about 3 months ago. Even though I go through slumps, and sometimes feel like I'm not making any progress - I've definitely improved. I think after I am done with 1001 LD & Get Strong at Tesuji, I'll finish 501 Tesuji Problems, Making Good Shape, and Lee Chang Ho Tesuji/LD Series Vol 3&4. Should be there in a few months, and I figure I'll be around 3-5k by then. From then on, I'll start jacking up my go studies a bit - Segoe/Seigen Tesuji Dictionary, Segoe LD Dictionary, Shuko's Tesuji Dictionary, and maybe Gokyo Shumyo. I feel myself getting stronger, and I have no intentions of stopping anytime soon.

hl782 · **#144**

2 more games, 2 more Ws - The 1st game was a very easy win but i really messed up the endgame. The 2nd game i shoulda lost for sure but white never sealed the deal and i managed to come back!

Charles Matthews · **#145**

hl782 wrote:

Here's another game I played today - 1 more win. I feel like I got a slight intuitive click on finding bigger moves in the opening and seeking out sente even if i suffer a little in the beginning. Any comments will be greatly appreciated!

You looked the stronger player. The lower right is a puzzle.

:b83:

goes at H9: keep up the pressure on White's shape.

Black 105: test the water in the lower right now. Even if White lives small, you will become more solid.

Black 111 is poor style.

Black 145 at Q7, natch. Black 147 at T9 still kills.

Black 149: now you win ...

hl782 · **#146**

3 more games - 2 wins, 1 loss - with some comments by me. I really shouldn't have blown the one loss away - my endgame is garbage.

Knotwilg · **#147**

Hi

Game 2:

:b33:

at this stage of the game, it is better to surround first, then kill eyes. Now White can break through the lines and separate your stones.

:b41:

an elementary reading mistake. The variations at :b43:

were pointless, the real mistake happened a move earlier. How to avoid this in the future? Any idea where this kind of mistake comes from?

Charles Matthews · **#148**

Game 2:

Play :b73:

at C16. This is an interesting idea: if White builds a vertical wall, it will be wasted, so you prevent the horizontal wall.

Game 3:

:b43:

at H7 is a good idea, right now. The clamp at B6 might be, later. Your plan to break in here wasn't bad: stick to it.

:b57:

- seems you still need to take on board the 123 principle. Just play "3",

Some strange plays in this game. At Black 217 did you look at C16? Seems White can't resist.

hl782 · **#149**

7kyu! lol how does kgs rankings work didnt even expect this...

So I achieved my goal of 7kyu about a month earlier than I expected - I hope to hit or get near about 6k by the end of the summer!

Knotwilg · **#150**

hl782 wrote:

7kyu! lol how does kgs rankings work didnt even expect this...

So I achieved my goal of 7kyu about a month earlier than I expected - I hope to hit or get near about 6k by the end of the summer!

Beware of getting too motivated by arbitrary successes. Soon you'll encounter arbitrary drawbacks. It's natural to be driven by rank but try to find other measurable signs of progress so that your motivation does not become dependent on something as variable as the KGS ranking algorithm.

Still, congratulations with the overall improvement.

hl782 · **#151**

Knotwilg wrote:

hl782 wrote:

7kyu! lol how does kgs rankings work didnt even expect this...

So I achieved my goal of 7kyu about a month earlier than I expected - I hope to hit or get near about 6k by the end of the summer!

Beware of getting too motivated by arbitrary successes. Soon you'll encounter arbitrary drawbacks. It's natural to be driven by rank but try to find other measurable signs of progress so that your motivation does not become dependent on something as variable as the KGS ranking algorithm.

Still, congratulations with the overall improvement.

Thanks! And yes of course haha. Besides the rank i do feel improvement when i look at my scores on l&d problem sets i recycle or my old games from1-2 months ago. Im going to keep my head down, stay consistent in my studies and continue towards my goal of beating my dad in an even game! Until then all of your help will be greatly appreciated

hl782 · **#152**

First game as a 7k. I spoke to justin recently and he said that I played too many games as black so I played against an 8k in an even game, with white. Overall it was a W, but i think I could have played much better.

Edit: Also added a 2 stone handi game against a 4k. Tough fight. Tough win.

I am also redo-ing Graded Go Problems Vol.4 all over again along with LCH LD Vol 2&3. Vol. 2 was decently easy. 3 is pretty tough! By far the hardest baduk problem set I've ever gone through so far.

Also, for anyone with the SmartGoBooks app, does anyone know how to turn off the automatic moves played for white for the L&D problems?

Charles Matthews · **#153**

hl782 wrote:

Also added a 2 stone handi game against a 4k. Tough fight. Tough win.

I think if :w83:

had played the driving tesuji (at H10) the game would have gone on longer. Anyway, you didn't back down.

hl782 · **#154**

Two more games I played - 2 wins against a 6, and 7k respectively. The game against the 6k, i got toasted almost the entire game. Then my opponent made 1 mistake and i took major advantage of it. The game against the 7k was smooth sailing.

As for other studying, I am just solving problems and reading some books from time to time. Unfortunately due to work, i haven't been able to stay true to my studying regime. But I am becoming more bold with my moves, and still having a lot of fun with the game, which is always a good thing

Celebrir · **#155**

Some quick notes on the first game:

:b63:

belongs on J14.If you have your opponent surrounded and you're not in a race for liberties, securing your own connections goes over taking liberties.

:b65:

I can't see anything to dangerous here. This was more or less like a pass.

:b99:

Feels far to deep. Maybe K7 as preperation miai to invade either the bottom or the right moyo?

Charles Matthews · **#156**

hl782 wrote:

Two more games I played - 2 wins against a 6, and 7k respectively. The game against the 6k, i got toasted almost the entire game. Then my opponent made 1 mistake and i took major advantage of it.

seems early: and invasion at O3 seems more natural to me. The lower side is bigger and looser, so give it attention. For the same reason I would have blocked on the other side, as White.

:b31:

at J15 seems more urgent to me.

:w44:

White has a heavy group. A normal suji is to play atari at L14 before connecting. At least then Black has floating stones. :b45:

one the right is surely correct shape: White gets "lucky" later but it all starts here.

:b47:

It may seem reasonable to go for the kill: but at O14 to attack territory makes a lot of sense right now.

:b51:

turns out to be too close, so play one line lower.

:b63:

is just a bad idea. You need all the liberties you can get, to kill the group.

:b99:

Here you should play N2 before anything else. It's big and sente now, and you may lose the chance. Also it has a probing function: does White answer at M2 or M3? In the centre K7 looks reasonable. Not sure what else there is.

Black 127: well, at K1 leads to ko, and you have a massive first threat, at L13. Did you consider the ko?

Black 137: Ouch, endgame Black at S14 was good and perhaps also sente.

hl782 · **#157**

6 More games! 3 wins, 3 losses. 6kyus are hard. I've only had 1 convincing win against them. I'll improve though. I'll keep chugging forward!

First, the 3 losses. Any comments will be greatly appreciated.

hl782 · **#158**

On a more positive note, the 3 wins!

Charles Matthews · **#159**

hl782 wrote:

First, the 3 losses. Any comments will be greatly appreciated.

Game 1. It is interesting that you are now finding opponents who are going to punish your bad shape. (This doesn't mean they are making good shape themselves, by the way.) You will have to get your style together. What happens with :b31:

at H15?

If you want to live here quickly, you need a third line play and more distance, i.e. O3.

Charles Matthews · **#160**

hl782 wrote:

On a more positive note, the 3 wins!

Game 3. Technical mistakes galore.

:b62:

at

is an easier path.

:b74:

is "small even if it works". But having played it, you must cut at M5 to leave something here, before losing the two stones.#

:b94:

at B12 to attack seems natural.

Black 102: cut at J15 right now. The atari plays at D10 and E11 may become important. Black 120: you should still look to cut here. Black 132: you were quite lucky to get this.

Black 142: imagine if this stone had been played long before!

Black has a lead at this stage, as White seems to have realised. Comments end.

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