B+R

[tekesta]

Below is a game that as Black I played against GNUGo 10k bot on OGS. Although the game was won by Black, I would like to know if I have improved any since my last lost games. I included in my last post a won game to see if anyone would pick it apart for mistakes in play. Hopefully the below game can be reviewed and errors found therein. My goal is to be able to win consistently against the program on 3 stones, so I can play it on 2 stones. Herein I attacked White as much as possible and tried to avoid following White around the board. Much obliged in advance for your comments.

[drmwc]

Your opening moves in the top LHS were quite heavy. Move 14, for example, is very slow -your whole group is in trouble after this move. Light play is better here - for example H17 as an alternative at move 14.

If white had blocked at H15 at move 19, your group would have struggled to live. Tenuki by white was very slack, and the game became easy for you when you got the H14 atari in - it really is a a key point of attack and defence.

[tekesta]

Drmwc, thanks for the comments. I opted for a heavy shape in preparation for fighting. As for @ H17, wouldn't White respond by playing at G17 and letting the H17 stone connect to safety while torturing the 3 Black stones near the top left corner?

I will post some more of my games for review.

[oren]

Drmwc, thanks for the comments. I opted for a heavy shape in preparation for fighting.?

Heavy in go is always a bad connotation. You never try for one. You may be thinking "thick" shape which can be good.

[tekesta]

Heavy in go is always a bad connotation. You never try for one. You may be thinking "thick" shape which can be good.

Thanks for clearing up the confusion. I consider myself stupid as far as Go players are concerned The shape in question was heavy, but I was hoping to get thickness out of it by cutting through the adjacent White formations before being completely surrounded. Since it was a 10k bot against which I was playing, the method seemed to work well, or at least my opponent did not take advantage of my mistake. A more experienced player would've punished such a mistake in a timely manner.

Also, I have not heard any criticism on and . I am convinced that gote moves like this are good strategically and help Black greatly during the middle game, but perhaps there are lines of play superior to this. I am just doing my best to be faithful to the intended purpose of handicap stones.

I yet have to know when the time is right for sabaki. In hindsight, of course, the move suggested by drmwc seems to make more sense.

[oren]

Also, I have not heard any criticism on and . I am convinced that gote moves like this are good strategically and help Black greatly during the middle game, but perhaps there are lines of play superior to this. I am just doing my best to be faithful to the intended purpose of handicap stones.

I think 6 and 8 should have been local plays. You can get away with quite a bit in handicap games though.

After you played 8, don't play 10 and become heavy. Just give them up.