To kill or not to kill. That is the problem.

[Ian Butler]

Another game. It's already self reviewed lightly, but more tips are definitely welcome.

Main theme of the game is a group I had (skillfully?) killed, but that was resurrected after a liberty problem and a nice netting move later in the game.
I changed my course and I think I was just better than the other player so I was able to come back in the game and actually win quite comfortably.

Still, that blunder shouldn't have happened and it shows again that my killer instinct in Go is below par.

The Good
Not resigning. I was close at one point, and sat in front of the board for minutes, going into Byo-Yomi that way.
Creative moves trying to comeback (I think)
Big moves when my opponent played slowly in the opening.
Recovering my wits in the endgame and start looking for the biggest moves actively again. (*)

The Bad
Missed opportunity to wrap up the game easily by letting the dead group come back to live.
Some defensive moves that could really wait a while. Saving a group that is not in danger yet (2 moves away or something)
Loss of concentration in the early endgame and playing a neutral point. (*)

The Ugly
Keep playing after my opponent asked to pass 3 times

[dfan]

You were 100% in the right to keep playing when your opponent passed; there were still points at stake. This is not an etiquette issue at all. The game isn't even over when you finally passed; L5 is a point and there's a ko at F12.

Etiquette only comes into it at the point that you are filling dame instead of passing, at which point you are only 99% in the right. The reasons to fill the dame are:

• If you are playing with Chinese or AGA scoring, it matters. It's best to play in a consistent way so you don't have to deal with playing differently (and remembering to play differently!) when the rulesets are different.
• There are very often liberty issues that arise when dame are filled. Sometimes this means that someone has to fill a point of their own territory and it wasn't obvious they had to do so until the dames started getting filled; sometimes, especially at your level but occasionally at mine too, someone will not pay attention and actually lose a bunch of stones.

Just last night I "wasted" 10 seconds playing the last three dame points as my 1d opponent repeatedly passed. I don't remotely feel bad about it.

[Bill Spight]

Opponent got a little 'mad' that I kept playing when he asked to pass a few times.
I apologised and told him I was lousy at counting and didn't know I was ahead by this much, also I didn't want to learn bad habits of leaving points on the board for free.

No need to apologize. The game was not over. Why should you pass? (For that matter, why should he? But you don't need to rub it in. )

As for filling the dame, tell your opponents that even 5 kyus sometimes make mistakes when they don't fill in all the dame. (True.) Besides, it only takes a few seconds to fill the dame -- if the game really is over!

[Joaz Banbeck]

12: This is the wrong direction.
Your Q4 stone is a high stone - both with respect to the side and the bottom. It wants to go outward toward the center, or at least along the sides.
So when he plays on one side of your stone, you must take the other. O4 is best, though N4 or N3 or O3 might be playable.

18: You must get out. P6 is probably best, or maybe O5.

23: You cannot let him get away with this.

24: Good!

26: Noooooo! You must push through. The side is big, but N5 is urgent.

28: Not a bad move, but N5 is still urgent. ( Your Q11 group is safe: it has miai of S16 and N10 )

34: Those two stones are really important - if you should ever decide to use them. You must play Q5.

[Ian Butler]

Thanks, dfan & Bill for your comments. I didn't know about passing etiquette so I figured I had been rude. But I thought that it was odd not to finish the game a few moves from the end, so glad to hear I was not in the wrong

@Joaz
I see now that pushing through could've been big. I let him off the hook too easily there.

[tapir]

66 at E5 would simplify the game a lot.

184 is very small. If you truly believe Black can cut then you should defend now, if you think Black can't cut you should make a big move elsewhere.

186 is unnecessary. You can capture cutting attempts in a net. The way you attempt to cut, you could even directly capture by playing M11.

[schawipp]

At move 238 you mentioned that it’s one move too early. But actually, it’s (locally) necessary right now. Can you see, why?

Edit: On a second glance there is even another “side way“ making the capture unnecessary again.

[Ian Butler]

At move 238 you mentioned that it’s one move too early. But actually, it’s ( necessary right now. Can you see, why?

Oh yeah black can descend to H1 if I play elsewhere!

@tapir:
Hadn't noticed that during the game, so turns out I couldn't be cut anyway...

[Tryss]

At 147, black can descend at Q18 instead: after that, white must live inside the black area, and that seems unlikely

[Ian Butler]

At 147, black can descend at Q18 instead: after that, white must live inside the black area, and that seems unlikely

You're right. It turned out well for me there.