New game tonight. Tragic misreads everywhere. (Oooo, my favorite! )

I lost in fights. That is all there was to this game near as I can tell. I also messed up the 3-4 joseki in the corners. I don't know high approach, low pincer variations very well and I completely forgot my avalanche joseki variations that I had learned from watching Clossius on YouTube. (So that's why you wanted to play "simply" in your Malkovich game against hailthorn. )



I think I should study some 3-4 joseki. I often feel lost when my opponent deviates from the few that I know. Does anyone know a good resource, either online or a book, that discusses 3-4 joseki variations? Not just what the moves are, but why they are played. I also think I'll rewatch that Clossius lecture just so I know for future reference. (So your new strategy is "Buy book, win game" eh? How about you continue reading the couple that you have?)

By some miracle I have not fallen to 4k yet. I'm sure that's more where I belong. These 1k and 2k players have been devastating me. (Let's hope you don't fall too fast. After all, you do learn more when you lose. )

_________________
"You have to walk before you can run. Black 1 was a walking move.
I blushed inwardly to recall the ignorant thoughts that had gone through
my mind before, when I had not realized the true worth of Black 1."
-Kageyama Toshiro on proper moves

Well I'm back to 4k now as I feel I should be. (I was gonna be sad, but I'm sure you'll still get plenty of losses at 4k. )



This game was upsetting in several ways. The first was how I fell behind at the start. I didn't see the move my opponent made and gut-reacted by trying to save my corner only to realize he had attached to me instead of playing 1 away like I thought he would. (Oh, wow. That's a new excuse. I couldn't see the move. Were you blindfolded or something? )

My counting was an important factor again. I figured that I could still win after I invaded his corner but he resisted in a way I am not familiar with. I think I saw the slide under the approaching stone in a pro game once, but I'm sure it was a special situation and I have no idea how I should have reacted in this case. No one has ever played this against me before. I wanted to simply cut, but that didn't seem to work right away and white could get into my side otherwise. So I resisted strongly - too strongly - and resigned when I couldn't win the capturing race. (So basically a lack of knowledge and experience was why you couldn't win... I think that's just called losing. )

That move at the end is the one I would really like help with. Also how I responded to the corner invasion in the top right doesn't seem very good. I wanted to preserve the side but I don't think I did it right. (Giving the guy an 11 point corner when you had an enclosure? No, I should say that's not good.)

_________________
"You have to walk before you can run. Black 1 was a walking move.
I blushed inwardly to recall the ignorant thoughts that had gone through
my mind before, when I had not realized the true worth of Black 1."
-Kageyama Toshiro on proper moves

From your last game everything to 17 was fine. 18 was a mistake, an extension to c8 would have stabilized your vulnerable group and also threaten an invasion at c12. If your opponent went to kakari your upper right stone you could have easily squeezed it and begun to attack it taking the initiative.

As you mentioned your opponent attached to your bottom left stone so you shouldn't have gone down but extended from that stone and move into the center and you would have been fine.

When your opponent invaded top right the standard move is to move down and attach at r16. You would have gotten some thickness and could make a nice moyo on top.

After that you weren't in the best of shape but I think you became too desperate too early.

We all have bad games though so don't worry about it, best of luck next time.

Just curious, but has your first ego ever replied to your second ego?

No, I have yet to directly respond to my internal critic. He is getting a bit frustrated by it, though. Maybe I will at some point. (Don't talk about me like I'm not here. )

_________________
"You have to walk before you can run. Black 1 was a walking move.
I blushed inwardly to recall the ignorant thoughts that had gone through
my mind before, when I had not realized the true worth of Black 1."
-Kageyama Toshiro on proper moves

Another big fighting game today. One that I could have won 4 times... (Oh my. That's an academy record. )

Thanks to skydyr and oren for helping me review the game online. I'll post it with the comments and whatnot. They'll be a bit sporadic but it should be fine. (Too lazy to clean it up. Well, I guess we get to see your misreads either way.)



So yeah, not too much more to say about the game other than it turned into a huge life and death puzzle that I could have solved in my favor several times but did not. (You just don't want to give me more space to make fun of you ) You don't need to look too hard at the move after the ko loss at 135. I saw how far behind I was and was trying to actually kill white's entire right side - the only way I could see a win at that point. (So basically you were, as they say, "Looking for a place to resign" )

I think I may be getting stronger even from these losses though. When playing at the West Michigan Go Club tonight I was able to win both games by winning fights. One of the fights was close to the scale of this one. (Congrats, you won fights against people who need 5+ stones against you. Clearly that means you are getting better. )

I have also been keeping up with my reading. I'm currently half way through the tesuji chapter of Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go and hope to finish it either over the Thanksgiving break or shortly thereafter.

_________________
"You have to walk before you can run. Black 1 was a walking move.
I blushed inwardly to recall the ignorant thoughts that had gone through
my mind before, when I had not realized the true worth of Black 1."
-Kageyama Toshiro on proper moves

Well pal, you achieved your goal! Congratulations! You must be very happy now.

_________________
Stefany, web programmer

I was going to post a simple thank you, but your post here has caused me to self-reflect. I'm glad it did, I've needed to process my feelings on my go progress for a while now. (I thought that was the point of all your ramblings here...) I'm afraid my answer is not altogether joyous, but it is honest.

I am glad that I was able to reach my goal. I do feel like my go playing has improved a lot and I feel more deserving of being the best player at the 2 clubs I attend. (The best kyu player in a bunch of kyu players is still a kyu player )

The thing is, I got this rank quite abruptly, so I didn't take much time to prepare or celebrate. Perhaps I should have spent more time feeling a sense of accomplishment considering that I not only got to my goal but I achieved it sooner than I thought I would. Celebration is sometimes a discipline that I lack. ("Celebration is a discipline" - where did you hear that one?)

Yeah, I want to move on to 1 dan as quickly as I can, but I think being a 5-1 kyu player is still pretty good. It means that I can beat basically any amateur that hasn't taken time to seriously study. In karate terms I'm around a blue belt - which is a much cooler way to explain my kyu rank to people that don't know much about go. Why am I so rushed to become a black belt? Who will I ever face in real life that will require me to have that rank? (Assuming you never go to tournaments and just hang out with West Michigan players... I suppose you have a point. )

The main reason I haven't been more pleased is that I getting strong has made me realize how much farther I have to go. With every stone I gain I see how weak I am. It is disconcerting and discouraging. I know I'm getting better, but as I do I seem to feel like my play is worse. I'm playing an OGS game with a friend and I just made a direction of play mistake. Forget the fact that I managed to kill a group of his earlier - I feel like a complete idiot for not recognizing my mistake before it happened. The only reason I'm upset is because I realize it was a mistake. If I was weaker I would still think I was doing fine. (Ignorance is bliss, as they say. )

So yes, I am happy when I take time to look at where I am compared to where I was. If I continue to progress at about 1 rank a month I will hit 1 dan in March - a nice birthday present for myself. However, what I if I don't gain them that quickly? Or what if I fall back to 5k or 6k? What then? To be honest, gaining ranks has made me fearful of losing them.

And if I do want to achieve 1 dan by March it will require more discipline, but it is hard to find energy to put in more discipline when I am not finding reaching my goal of 5 kyu as fulfilling as I had hoped. I was just about to start another game on the KGS and I find myself putting it off as I fear I may lose again. I don't want to have straight losses like this, but I also know I can't just have my rank sit at 4k so that I don't feel bad about losing. Losses happen and each loss will add something to my game.

In fact, if I have any advice or wisdom from my journey to 5k, it is that I gain more from losses than wins. I know people say that, but it is absolutely true. My wins simply show my current strength. My losses prepare me for being stronger in the future. And that is truly my goal, so I should not fear losses, but welcome them. I need to find the opponents that expose my weakness so I can learn and become a better player. After all, my goal is now 1 dan. I'll need all the help I can get to reach that. (Well, then, what are you waiting for? )

I'll have a new game later tonight to post. Now the question is: am I hoping for a win or a loss? (Uh... that's the spirit? )

_________________
"You have to walk before you can run. Black 1 was a walking move.
I blushed inwardly to recall the ignorant thoughts that had gone through
my mind before, when I had not realized the true worth of Black 1."
-Kageyama Toshiro on proper moves

1 dan by march hmmm... it is possible. I am in the same boat as you finishing up the sdk ranks. I have heard that a lot of people hit a wall at 1-2k that can last years or indefinitely. Well I hope that both of us can break down that wall. See you on the other side, best of luck.

And it was a win. Where I won a big fight.

I knew those games with fights were helping me. Black resigned when he realized he'd lost the capturing race. (No snarky comments for now. Congrats, moyo! )



So maybe I didn't learn much from this game, but, as they say, a win is a win is a win is a win. ( Alright, who ever says that?!)

How did I do on playing tenuki? I did quite a bit more of that this game than I usually do. Particularly , , and , although you could argue wasn't a tenuki. I was sort of doing that in response to black's move, but I also tried not to respond directly to it. Perhaps a half tenuki? Maybe only a fivenuku? (Making up words? Seriously? Why was I being nice to you earlier?)

_________________
"You have to walk before you can run. Black 1 was a walking move.
I blushed inwardly to recall the ignorant thoughts that had gone through
my mind before, when I had not realized the true worth of Black 1."
-Kageyama Toshiro on proper moves

I think your 18 was a mistake. You should have built a wall facing the left side as it had much more potential than the bottom.

Also your invasion at 54 wasn't optimal imo. I think N17 would be more appropriate, o17 allows your opponent to play out the joseki that happened in the game and if you were playing a more experienced opponent would have dealt with you much more easily. N17 is more flexible and no matter what side your opponent attacks your from you can flexibly jump three spaces to the 18th line and start to make shape.

Good job on your win though.

Another Game I Am Proud Of

("Another Game of which I Am Proud" - If you insist on using titles like a loser at least get them right... )

My first game of December, the month I said I was going to hit 5k, I have hit 3k again. (Anyone remember that it was a math mistake that made him think 5 months was from the start of July to the end of December? Anyone? )



I'm not going to declare myself 3k until I win another game, but this game was actually pretty easy for me. I think my opponent made a lot of mistakes, but I'm proud of my play. It was very solid, just like I prefer. Looking back at the game I don't see any enormous blunders and I did a lot of cool reduction tricks, some that I actually read out all the way and others that I came up with on the fly. (Wow, so you have the playing ability of a person that can almost read. Congrats. )

It was a big win. I think my shining moment was sacrificing the 4 stones at Q8 to reduce the center. Before this month I would have saved the stones, but I saw that, even though they were technically cutting stones, they really were just worth 8 points because the cuts weren't going to work without my opponent making a mistake. So I let him take my "cutting stones" to reduce the center by a lot more than 8 points. I also did a good job on life and death in the top right. I saw that it was okay to give because I was ahead - thanks to the counting I've been trying to do. After I reduced the bottom I felt I was ahead by over 30 points so giving up a few points in the corner was nothing. (Okay, but again your opponent basically let you win. He made blatant mistakes like taking the 4 stones. So how was your play any good when your opponent is begging you to beat him? )

Let me know if you can see any errors in judgement. I do worry that was an overplay, but I think I could fight and kill black if he did cut. And I do think move 182 was a mistake. I should have just descended. I didn't consider my opponent cutting and trying to kill me. (Aw, that means you were just a couple of points of eye-space away from a loss. )

Other than those I feel great about the game. And I'm going to get a good night's sleep.

_________________
"You have to walk before you can run. Black 1 was a walking move.
I blushed inwardly to recall the ignorant thoughts that had gone through
my mind before, when I had not realized the true worth of Black 1."
-Kageyama Toshiro on proper moves

If Black cuts after I quite like the fight for white afterwards. Someone stronger can give you a better opinion though, I'm probably missing something.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ -----------------
$$ . . . . . . 6 . .
$$ . . . 7 5 2 3 4 .
$$ . . X . O 1 O O .
$$ , . . . O X X X .
$$ . . X . O . . . .
$$ . . . . . . 8 . .
$$ . . X . O . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . . .
$$ , . . . . . , . .[/go]

There's probably something better than here.

Some thoughts:

Move 10: This is an interesting idea, but I'm not sure I like it by tewari. It's as if white set up the low chinese, black approached, and everyone played a very standard joseki, but compared to the chinese with black, white doesn't have sente to look at the top, so a play on the upper star point seems like it limits white and leaves him overconcentrated on the left, perhaps.

Move 11: I don't like this move for the reason stated above, but I'm no expert on the chinese opening, so perhaps this is fine. The ensuing sacrifice, though, is chancy. Black's definitely betting on his thickness to win after giving up such a huge corner, and the right side is by no means solid. That said, white's potential is mostly tapped out, while black has the rest of the board to develop in.

Moves 38 and 39: I'm not absolutely certain where white should try and break into the right side. Move 38 seems like a good idea, trying to reduce the effect of black's wall, but it could let black build up the right instead. Move 39 is horrible on black's part, making territory from thickness, and black's followups make me cry.

Move 42: Did you consider attaching at Q15 or playing Q14?

Move 44: Did you consider R14 or Q14?

Move 58: I'm looking at either Q6, or the exchange around Q2 followed by Q6, since I don't like the wall black got. With Q6, if black cuts, I think white can give up the corner to strengthen and then drop a bomb around R11. If Q2ish and black cuts, white can ruin the bottom side and be alive in the corner, plus white has ways to get into black's moyo from the bottom and the top.

Move 68: I'd rather ruin the center more with something like N10 or exploiting aji around k3, maybe with a cap or shoulder hit. This stone doesn't seem that big and gives black the opportunity to solidify the center a great deal if he tenukis. Imagine black 71 at O10.

Move 75: Interesting strategy by black, but because sealing this side ends in gote, it's not that great. I'm wondering about a shoulder hit for black at G4 to provoke a running fight and help solidify the bottom side more. Black gives up a lot of points on the bottom left for this when he already is short on solid territory.

Move 91: Too small in gote.

The rest of the game is painful to look at (from black's perspective), but I think black had a decent position up until he started trying to make territory from thickness, which he did several times.

The situation around is kind of weird.

First, if you select to jump out here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Black should be helping his 4-4 stone. The way he played in the game is the wrong direction. He should play like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . B . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This way is totally natural, and black is already strong on the left. If he tries to make territory with that wall, he'll just be overconcentrated. Plus, his 4-4 stone becomes weak.

Back to the game, since black left his 4-4 stone weak, I would, as white, consider enclosing the 4-4 stone:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . C W . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If black tries any funny business in the top right corner, it can't go bad for you. The ladder that could come from the cut at the marked intersection is even good for you.

Compared to the game move, this puts a lot more pressure on the 4-4 stone immediately, and opens up potential for the right side. For example, later, you can approach the bottom right 4-4 stone, and it will work nicely with the potential you have by enclosing his 4-4:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . . B . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I don't know if black plays 3-3, it's just an example. But it's even better if white gets some sort of influence when black tries to live. For example:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . . . O . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . . . . . 4 2 . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Maybe black doesn't do this and gets sente somehow to play the right side first, but either way, I think the pressure on the 4-4 stone is valuable, because the stone is somewhat weak.

Anyway, the move you played is not terrible, because black is still over-concentrated, but black can get the opportunity to help his 4-4, although it's slightly inconsistent:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . B . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

But anyway, you played another jump, which is OK, but not doing as much as pressuring the 4-4 like I explained above, in my opinion.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . X . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

That brings us to the 3-3 invasion, which makes me slightly confused. In the immediate local area, ignoring the jumps you made, I feel the 3-3 is too much here, because black can block the other way and damage the group you jumped out with - I feel 3-3 is inconsistent with you jumping out:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . B O . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . C . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . C . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If black gets solid, cutting points, like those marked above, could be possible to exploit - anyway, the 3-3 makes your group weaker in this sense.

However...

In this case, black has basically tenuki-ed in the 4-4 up until now, so you can't say that his group is totally comfortable by playing in this direction from the 3-3, either. The three stones you jumped out with, while kind of thin and weak against a wall, are somewhat annoying for black, since his group is cramped. For example:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . 2 1 . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X 3 . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If black blocks on this side, it's kind of meaningless for him to have blocked with , above, in the first place:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . 2 1 . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X 3 . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . 4 B . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

On the other hand, if black plays down, white is somewhat thin, but at least it doesn't feel right to me as black:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 5 . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . 2 1 . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X 3 . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . 9 . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Maybe there are better moves... Anyway, in conclusion, normally I feel 3-3 here is damaging to your white stones, since black can play this move:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . B O . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

But the situation is so weird here, since black tenuki-ed twice against the 4-4, so maybe what he did in the game was OK. After he got to this stage, I think black should play something like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . O O . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . O X X X . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . X . O . B . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

In the actual game, he played several moves in this area, which were unnecessary - just play a single move to strengthen the group.

Either way, getting out seems correct: He is not strong enough to really be fighting you right now, since he tenuki-ed twice in a row in this area. He just needs to get out. Then, later, and only after he's strong, he can consider either the cut like you guys already discussed, or perhaps simply here, depending on what happens in the future:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O . O O . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . O X X X . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Either way, black's decision to keep jumping on the left was silly, ignoring the potential of the 4-4 stone in the top right, so he can't expect to get a great result.

_________________
be immersed

By the way, at move 60, he can cut you:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . . . . X . O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O X O X . . , . . . O X X X . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . X . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . O X . . . . . X . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . X O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O B . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . . X . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Also, as was earlier mentioned:


I agree that G4 might be a good move for black. Your invasion might have been an overplay, because black is strong - it's not clear that white can get a great result if black plays G4 and attacks you effectively.

_________________
be immersed

My First Blitz Game

So I've never tried playing a full game of blitz go before. I've played blitz on 9x9 but never on 19x19. Part of the reason is that I don't feel like the blitz format is representative of a player's skill, it is more about instinct. Even so, I've wanted to give it a try. (I see. Well, I'll try giving "blitz comments" for this post. No more than three words per comment. )

I feel that I'm lacking game experience, but playing a full game takes about an hour most of the time. I enjoy sitting for an hour and playing go, but if I want to get in more games against more players that will take quite a bit of time. (Blitz is faster? ) On top of that, blitz games force you to read quickly. There are some reading mistakes I make on a regular basis and, if my opponent is good at catching those kind of mistakes I will get punished for it. If I make that mistake enough times then I should learn to spot it right away. (Learning tactics! )

The biggest thing, however, is that I want to build a brain database of go positions. Even if I don't consciously remember every position I should still retain some memory of the games. (Subconscious go playing? ) A blitz game is all about instinct and using what you already know. If I want to gain game experience then playing blitz will give me just that - raw game experience. It is not a place for me to study and look for new moves or to really experiment. It is just for playing. (Just play more? )

On other game servers I've been on, like Chess.com, there is a rank separation between blitz and regular timed games. You have two different ranks. Sadly, KGS does not have this. So I felt it would be appropriate to make a second account strictly for playing blitz games. I called it "moyoblitz" because it's for blitz games. (Creative! Not.)

So here was my first attempt at a blitz game. I was barely able to win because my opponent's yose was not that good. I also had a hard time reading and my hand was shaking by the end of the game - I had trouble placing stones accurately fast enough, but thankfully I didn't misclick. (Mediocre win... )



My opening was interesting - it's not what I usually play. I think the time constraints somehow made me also want to play fast. I don't think my opponent should have given me a ponukki. I also think was an interesting move for me. I think I did a fair job making points and I definitely tried to play solid. In retrospect move 224 was not necessary but I didn't feel I had time to read to save the corner. Usually I can read something like that within 30 seconds, but not within 10. (So, bad reader?)

Overall I didn't care much for the blitz format. 1 minute plus 10 second byo-yomi periods is just not enough time... However, I will give it more tries. The purpose is to play a lot of games. I hope to get in 5-10 tomorrow. (That's many games! ) We'll see how this goes. I might realize this was a bad idea... (Stupid? No surprise! )

_________________
"You have to walk before you can run. Black 1 was a walking move.
I blushed inwardly to recall the ignorant thoughts that had gone through
my mind before, when I had not realized the true worth of Black 1."
-Kageyama Toshiro on proper moves

I found the UR corner weird: first W tenukies the B extension after approaching, leaving O17 ready for a pincer... Then B leaves a huge open skirt with R10... And until move 44 nothing happens in the UR area, which I think was still pretty much a fun zone to play (san-san, the skirt aji, the pincer... lots of stuff to do round there)

_________________
Geek of all trades, master of none: the motto for my blog mostlymaths.net

I don't think blitz is a good idea especially for Kyus because it fosters the bad habit of not thinking and is of little help to your reading and judgement skills.

Rather than blitz (in which i suck horribly) I prefer to play 10/5 mins game, some people say it's blitz but with byo yomi it's actually very playable, and not over-fast as blitz