i am on a long losing streak on tygem. i thought i played okay in this game til the end. was surprised how much i lost by but maybe just because i've been doing so so bad in my other games. would appreciate i guess some critiques on my play. i am reading opening theory made easy and waiting for some tsumego books to come from kiseido. i've only done graded problems for beginner vol 1.

Learn the power of the hane, especially when ahead of your opponent.

i agree with ed.
Watching your game it felt like you were afraid to hane.



Also check out this page about the empty triangle

http://senseis.xmp.net/?TheEmptyTriangleIsBad

If you don't want to read the whole page at least look at the pictures and try to understand why the empty triangle is usually a bad shape to make.

Did those other losses involve you surrounding a small amount of territory in the center with stones on both sides while your opponent made territory on both of the other sides?

The center often looks larger than it is.

Who has more territory?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Black has 138 points and white only 121.

I sometimes still get thrown off by problems like this. I underestimate territory on the sides and in multiple places and overestimate a single large territory in the middle.

Here, six, nine or twelve stones all surround 9 points of territory. See how it takes fewer stones along the edge?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Other than that, this is called a shoulder hit:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . c . .
$$ . . . O a . . .
$$ . . . b B . . .
$$ . . d . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .[/go]

White's first instinct here should be to push at a or b with some consideration given to c and d if white wants to get ahead. It will strengthen his stone. If white plays here, this is what it looks like:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . O W . . .
$$ . . . . X . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .[/go]

Compared to this if white omits a move:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . O B . . .
$$ . . . . X . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .[/go]

The difference should appear stark. Sure, you'll want to avoid pushing when your opponent gains more than you from the exchange and if you'll gain from your opponent pushing you in a direction that you'd like to go, but on an empty board, notice the difference in power for whoever plays first.

There are more possibilities, with the possibility of a cut if you hane, but your instincts should be similar for attachments. It is advantageous to be the first to play and you should have a good strategic reason to ever play away from a contact play.

Your play against shoulder hits and attachments seemed timid. It'll be a long road to understand how to respond to attachments, but for now, know that in more circumstances than not, you should respond when your opponent attached and most likely both groups will be strengthened a bit.

After you get this down and have a good feeling for it, you can consider other concepts. My guess for 33 is that you've read about the value of playing lightly when making an invasion or some other such concept and you were trying to apply that concept, but playing that way makes sense in areas where you're opponent is strong He isn't particularly strong here and your stone is in no danger, so he's not threatening your stone in a way that a concept like that applies. But after your opponent plays so close, he's inviting you to strengthen your stone and as you do so, he'll likely strengthen or else you can follow up again further weakening his stone.

Anyhow,

Isn't that 136?

One thing you could try:

- Make yourself very angry but in a way you still have control (or eat some raw meat )
- Play a game on tygem.
- Hane everywhere and cut everything, and try to overplay where possible.
- Try to read as deep as possible.
- Try to kill as much as possible.

If you fail to win the game:

- Do more tsumego

and repeat

If you do this you will be tygem 10k or so soon...

Otenki