Help with reduction techniques.

[Joelnelsonb]

I'm not certain what all went wrong in this game but my reduction move at black 59 seemed to give white a lot of profit. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[DrStraw]

I don't see white as getting much more profit that he deserves so there is not a lot wrong with the invasion. I think I may have played on the 5th instead of the 4th line but otherwise I cannot argue with your move. However, I would have played D9 instead of D11. The move you played gives you fewer liberties.

[Pio2001]

Hi,
Isn't it a bit soon to invade White's moyo? It is still wide open on the top and on the right side.

What about attacking White's top group first with K15 ? It increases a bit the influence of Black towards the left side.

And what about the sequence Black D12 C12 D14 ? Followed by D13 E13 C13 D15 E12 F13 ?

Is it possible to use the aji of the two black stones in O3 with Black O5 ?

I know, I like influence a lot

[Sennahoj]

I like your reduction move.

The game was close, but you lost quite a lot in the endgame. For instance at 176 you comment yourself that "No particular reason for linking up those groups, just wanted to eat up some of the dame..." --- get rid of bad habits like this, and keep looking for the sente moves in the endgame, and you'll win more games

[Bill Spight]

Some comments.



Your play in this game was slow and heavy.

[Joelnelsonb]

Thanks for the replies! Hey Bill, at black 13, why the further approach? I don't usually understand when it's best to place an approach move further from the corner. Here's a recent game I played.
Any comments on it would be much appreciated.

[Bill Spight]

Hey Bill, at black 13, why the further approach?

With a close approach White has pincers which work with the White stone in the bottom right corner. White can also pincer the large knight's approach, but a pincer is not severe against it.

[Charles Matthews]

Here's a recent game I played.
Any comments on it would be much appreciated.

General comment, for both players: go is a game not just of what you do, but of how you do it. This game is replete with technical mistakes (the "how" is wrong). One way to get stronger is incremental, by getting slicker.

By White has fallen behind: no proper organisation of the position.

- for me, the logic of the game is not to make a third unsettled group on this side. N4 is a key point for shape and fighting. You can still invade if White answers at M3 (which is heavy). If White at M4, you can cut and settle the group on the right that way. But before anything I would feel that A3 is urgent. White has no good answer (fighting the ko is a kind of bad joke).

So should be at A2 (base of two groups), to punish Black.

is good for territory, but White seems to have gained ground overall.

turns out well, because Black has become involved with a weak group, unnecessarily. is out of focus. O11, simply, is much better (and there are other choices.

No - play on the fourth line. This is a dud shape.

One line lower is more about shape: wait for it.

and is a 1-2-3 mistake. If you play R2 first, White S3, you would play S2 next, not R3.

But the world doesn't consist just of problem-type plays. If White plays S1, this is a loss.

By , looks very slow. One of my key principles: let go of trying to show you could have played the position better and next time try to get into a better position. Why is the right-side group shut in? Because of your taking time off to play on the left, which was non-urgent.

You should want to play one point to the right.

At , D10 is bigger than E5. Black can build territory, rather than just wrecking White's.

B105 is a typical technical mistake, since B11 is actually less helpful to White.

In this game Black consistently underestimated the value of routes to the centre.