Here is a game I played against a friend whom I taught to play a few months ago. He's improved fast, but though his tactical play is coming along, he is a bit strategically lost.

I've given him plenty of pointers, but I'm too weak to teach him properly and am weary of passing on my many bad habits. What advice for black (and maybe also white) can other forum members offer?

I'm afraid to say it's a pretty poor game. Hope you don't find it too displeasing.

A few comments on the early play.



Black needs to learn some basic shape and tesuji. Also to throw stones away.

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The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

This is my first attempt at commenting through an sgf file. Unfortunately, the viewer does not seem to show marked moves, which I inserted in several places. Oh well, hopefully the comments will not be too confusing without the marked moves.

I resaved mitsun's file using cgoban and now the letters and variations appear to work:

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We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

Heh, interestingly, black can play s9 to win at the end of this game.

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Tactics yes, Tact no...

Thanks to Bill and mitsun for the excellent comments, I'll look through these carefully.


Man, Black is gonna be furious when he sees that.