Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, tries to reach 1dan

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Re: Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, tries to reach 1da

Post by Bill Spight »

FinrodFelagund wrote:I started to go through OTME (Opening Theory Made Easy) today. Lo and behold, the first principle Otake (9p) discussed was essentially the same idea that Bill suggests is wrong.
I didn't mean to suggest that, only that the top bots prefer the corners over the sides more than humans have done. (OC, that doesn't mean that the bots are right. Top bots 10 years from now may have different ideas. :))
extension vs attachment trad.PNG
Now, my first instinct is that this situation is bad for white. Black is ahead and gaining more with each jump.
I take it you are referring to the right side after both extensions and jumps. I expect that you are right. OC, White does not have to play that extension. ;)
What does Katago say?

Well, Katago, looking at the full board situation from the book, prefers to deal with the other corners first.

As I did explicitly suggest. :)
One possible lesson is that corners are more urgent than sides, even when there is a relatively "hot" side.
That's what I think, too. With enclosure facing enclosure, we have a rather hot side. I did label Black's extension as ideal, and for extensions, it pretty much is. I checked the book position with the Elf commentaries of GoGoD games. Kono Rin (B) vs. Mitsunaga Junzo, 2008-05-22s. has exactly that position, and Kono did play the book extension. Like KataGo, Elf prefers to invade the top left corner, a heresy when the book was written. At the same time, its preference is less than 2%, which is not enough for us to think that the extension is a mistake.

I decided to let the game continue from there, to see when Katago would cast its silver eye toward the right-hand side.
Extension versus attachment.png
This position is still highly symmetrical. Katago slightly prefers the extension over the attachment in this situation. But, letting it ponder even further, we get:
ponderingfurther.PNG
Bravo! You let KataGo run until its top choice had many rollouts. For analysis, I like to have at least 10k rollouts for each option under consideration. :)
Okay, this move also makes sense in this situation.
Yes, this approach to the bottom right high enclosure goes back at least to the 19th century, as well. It's a good move to learn. :)
But, all three moves (extension on the bottom, extension on the right, and attachment) are within a percentage point of each other. Judging between them is impossible for my skill level, but I suggest that any move that would only be a mistake 1% of the time with nearly perfect play cannot be a serious blunder.
Well, yes. But this is an ideal, or nearly ideal extension, which is why it the traditional opening theory thinks that it is so good. But the bots regard it as pretty much run of the mill for this stage of the game.
Indeed, a huge philosophical issue now comes up. Are moves that are good in an objective sense--for strong amateurs, pros, and machine gods--necessarily good strategy for weaker players? The attachment leads to a more complicated, less predictable game. It probably matters more now in which sort of game the player performs better.
Well, what is your objective? Is it to win games or to advance? (Obviously, the two are not mutually exclusive. If you win a lot of games, you will advance, and if you advance you will win a lot of games. ;)) You have to stretch your comfort level. Invest in loss, as the Tao Teh Ching suggests. :)

Anyway, it sounds like your idea of reading OTME while consulting KataGo is paying off. :D

Good luck!
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Re: Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, tries to reach 1da

Post by Bill Spight »

Another example from the Kono - Mitsunaga game :)
Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Bcm15 Double wing and last big point of the opening
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . 1 . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
:b15: makes another ideal shape, the double wing from an enclosure, and in addition gets the last big stakeout play of the opening, something that traditional theory considers a plus. This combination is, if anything, more highly regarded by theory than the extension between facing enclosures. Mitsunaga does not play another stakeout play, but invades the right side. At this point you might consider that the game is in the early middle game or the late opening stage. There is no question that this extension is highly regarded by traditional opening theory.

However, Elf, with 25.5k rollouts for :b15:, regards it as a mistake, losing 8½% by comparison with its top choice (next diagram). OC, that choice is a corner play. Now Elf is highly opinionated, and the version used by the commentary is a year and a half old and weaker than KataGo and Lizzie now. Still, I would be surprised if Katago with a comparable number of rollouts made the double wing its top choice. I don't know about KataGo's winrate estimates, but maybe it will rate :b15: as around 4% worse than its top choice. Just a guess. :)
Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Bcm15 Elf's mainline variation
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . 4 3 . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
Elf likes the kick for :b15: (28k rollouts). Kono might have chosen that, as well. :) Then Elf likes the shoulder blow for :b17: (19.5k rollouts). (Note: The number of rollouts for plays in the variation are part of the rollouts for previous plays, and are therefore fewer in number. The moves are not independently generated.) Then another shoulder blow, :b19:, gets 8.2k rollouts. The thing is, Elf doesn't think much of the double wing or of getting the last big stakeout play. ;) It prefers a couple of corner sente, followed by reducing the left side. :)

Edit: Kono's double wing play surrenders the initiative to Mitsunaga, who makes an invasion. Elf's plays for Black are more dynamic. All three put the question to White. This kind of attitude wins games against humans, as well. :) :cool:
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Re: Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, tries to reach 1da

Post by FinrodFelagund »

Bill Spight wrote:
I didn't mean to suggest that, only that the top bots prefer the corners over the sides more than humans have done. (OC, that doesn't mean that the bots are right. Top bots 10 years from now may have different ideas. :))
...
As I did explicitly suggest. :)


Yeah, I probably misinterpreted your post. I still don't understand what traditional opening theory has gotten wrong since I don't understand what it is. If it's just a set of good moves and bad moves, then it's not so much a theory as a disconnected opinions. From OTME, it seems like the idea in this classic example is that regions between white's zone of influence and black's zone are especially valuable, since play in those regions both expands your own territory and restricts your opponent's.

That's what I think, too. With enclosure facing enclosure, we have a rather hot side. I did label Black's extension as ideal, and for extensions, it pretty much is. I checked the book position with the Elf commentaries of GoGoD games. Kono Rin (B) vs. Mitsunaga Junzo, 2008-05-22s. has exactly that position, and Kono did play the book extension. Like KataGo, Elf prefers to invade the top left corner, a heresy when the book was written. At the same time, its preference is less than 2%, which is not enough for us to think that the extension is a mistake.
Bravo! You let KataGo run until its top choice had many rollouts. For analysis, I like to have at least 10k rollouts for each option under consideration. :)
Thanks. It was almost by accident though, since I came back to the process and noticed that the preferred option had changed.
Well, what is your objective? Is it to win games or to advance? (Obviously, the two are not mutually exclusive. If you win a lot of games, you will advance, and if you advance you will win a lot of games. ;))
Since I measure advancement by winning games, I would never be able to tell if I some how won more games while not actually advancing. Therefore, I do not distinguish between the two objectives.
You have to stretch your comfort level. Invest in loss, as the Tao Teh Ching suggests. :)
...
Anyway, it sounds like your idea of reading OTME while consulting KataGo is paying off. :D
We'll see. It does make reading the book more time consuming.
Uberdude wrote: One way we can understand this is that the 2nd move in a corner (shimari, 3-3 invasion, approach) or even the 3rd (atari and descend on the 3-3 invasions and jump josekis in your picture) changes the strength and weakness of groups, whereas the kind of side extensions favoured in the old theory expounded by Otake are purely territory potential expanding/denying moves, there's not a (potentially) weak group in sight.
That's a tasty bit of theory.

You've definitely miscounted one thing here, and possibly 2, and neglected another. Black is building an area 5 lines wide in front of his shimari, and white has 3. 5 - 3 = 2, not 1. As for how many points each line is worth, I wouldn't count a box territory with a jump to 5th line as sure 4 points per line: there's classic reduction moves like the 5th line reduction which cut it down lower. But even more importantly black's territory is both wider and less secure. So if we do count it as 4 points per line, black has a 5 * 4 = 20 box vs white's 3 * 4 = 12. But you need to adjust these by the probability of them becoming territory, which I would hand-wavy estimate as 60% for black's and 90% for white, So a fairer comparison would be 20 * 60% = 12, vs 12 * 90% = 10.8.
Like I mentioned before, I don't have much experience with positional judgement. Just a binary feeling: good or bad. I was trying to compare value of black's whole moyo with white's whole moyo, but I did simplify by not considering how secure the moyo could be, mainly because I do not even have a "hand-wavy estimate" of that. I guess this isn't the best way to find the value of a specific move, like the extension or either of the jumps.
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Re: Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, tries to reach 1da

Post by FinrodFelagund »

Bill Spight wrote:Another example from the Kono - Mitsunaga game :)
Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Bcm15 Double wing and last big point of the opening
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . 1 . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
:b15: makes another ideal shape, the double wing from an enclosure, and in addition gets the last big stakeout play of the opening, something that traditional theory considers a plus. This combination is, if anything, more highly regarded by theory than the extension between facing enclosures. Mitsunaga does not play another stakeout play, but invades the right side. At this point you might consider that the game is in the early middle game or the late opening stage. There is no question that this extension is highly regarded by traditional opening theory.

However, Elf, with 25.5k rollouts for :b15:, regards it as a mistake, losing 8½% by comparison with its top choice (next diagram). OC, that choice is a corner play. Now Elf is highly opinionated, and the version used by the commentary is a year and a half old and weaker than KataGo and Lizzie now. Still, I would be surprised if Katago with a comparable number of rollouts made the double wing its top choice. I don't know about KataGo's winrate estimates, but maybe it will rate :b15: as around 4% worse than its top choice. Just a guess. :)
Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Bcm15 Elf's mainline variation
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . 4 3 . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
Elf likes the kick for :b15: (28k rollouts). Kono might have chosen that, as well. :) Then Elf likes the shoulder blow for :b17: (19.5k rollouts). (Note: The number of rollouts for plays in the variation are part of the rollouts for previous plays, and are therefore fewer in number. The moves are not independently generated.) Then another shoulder blow, :b19:, gets 8.2k rollouts. The thing is, Elf doesn't think much of the double wing or of getting the last big stakeout play. ;) It prefers a couple of corner sente, followed by reducing the left side. :)

Edit: Kono's double wing play surrenders the initiative to Mitsunaga, who makes an invasion. Elf's plays for Black are more dynamic. All three put the question to White. This kind of attitude wins games against humans, as well. :) :cool:
Maybe just posting slightly to very wrong ideas here is even more productive than reading old books, since the explanations I have been getting here are extremely thorough. Thanks so much for these little articles.
Now men awoke and listened to Felagund as he harped and sang, and each thought that he was in some fair dream, until he saw that his fellows were awake also beside him; but they did not speak or stir while Felagund still played
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Re: Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, tries to reach 1da

Post by Splatted »

Just want to say that even though I can't contribute, I'm enjoying the combination of AI review of opening theory and discussion of its implications. Thanks for all the quality posts. :salute:
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Re: Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, tries to reach 1da

Post by cyndane »

Bill Spight wrote:I don't know about KataGo's winrate estimates, but maybe it will rate :b15: as around 4% worse than its top choice. Just a guess. :)
A good guess. The version of Kata-go I have suggests 3%.
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Re: Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, tries to reach 1da

Post by FinrodFelagund »

Updates!

So, I bought six of Robert Jaisek's books. So far so good. They have the feel of a textbook, which is nice. Some of the principles are easier to say than to follow, like "Do not play superfluous moves" in Endgame Fundamentals. This is certainly good advice, but no one would play a superfluous move if they KNEW it was superfluous. The examples of such moves are useful though, if a bit basic for my level.

On to the main event of this updates, some recent and serious games. I have returned to playing on my OGS account, with some anxiety. I expected to lose a few ranks before stabilizing. Instead, I have actually ranked up to 1k (0.4k to be too exact). Some of that feels like luck at this point, since I have won a few games by strange timeouts. Here's a game that I was initially proud of. Katago ruined that pride, but it still seems instructive. If anyone has any advice on my weak areas or on specific moves, I'd love to hear it.

Now men awoke and listened to Felagund as he harped and sang, and each thought that he was in some fair dream, until he saw that his fellows were awake also beside him; but they did not speak or stir while Felagund still played
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Re: Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, tries to reach 1da

Post by SoDesuNe »

Bots ALWAYS ruin games, that's why I - nowadays - only check with them on direction of play questions.

:b7: As far as I kow the split has pretty much vanished in high level play because the other player is often the one choosing the direction of the checking extension, thus your opponent can use his initiative first to play elsewhere and return at a more appropriate time. I'd approach White's komoku.

:b11: Yep, the first time a bot recommended this extension, I was also mildly baffled. Feeling-wise I'm still not accustomed to it but I play it, too, all the time.

:b13: First feeling would be 3*3. Second feeling would also be the lower side (widest open area). You have a solid two-space-extension on the left and access to the corner. There is no weakness.

:b15: Yes, attachment. Again, the group on the left is solid, there isn't much to do. Settling in style, tacking territory and also getting sente - what more to wish for? ^^

:b17: I can understand the urge because - right now - I deliberately "overplay" (kyu/dan-level what's not overplay, anyway?) to produce fighting in my games. Here, my urge to just take points comes through again: O4. That's of course not a highly enterprising move but my question/reasoning would be, how does White get shape at the bottom? There no one move, which makes a solid formation so I can enter later anyway from my strengthened corner.

:b29: My first feeling is shoulder-hit on G4. But that might turn out bad because the left has some standard invasion points. Two-point-jump, second feeling. Third feeling G3 attachment, because jumping does only run and not separate - settling seems better.

The fight, yeah, was kind of hard for Black. You already spotted the moves that need improvement ; )

:b47: In my opinion less to do with tactics but with pattern recognition.

Nice kill : )
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