wow.. that approach was tight!!

first: i apoloize for not playing as a textbook style.
but what i play is an aggressive style backed with strong reading and intuiation.
it is a style unique to korean players. (ex. like lee sehdol)
i think experiencing non-textbook style can be valuable and somwhat fun.

below is what i expect from my opponent. it will make things more complicated so i will have advantage. and will reveal the weakness in black moyo like "a"
that tight approach may solidify top left into big points after some attack on the black stones in the middle. i am thinking that big moyo might turn into a big dragon that will be hunted.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm40
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . O O X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . 1 3 5 . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . O 2 4 6 . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . a . . . X . O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . a . X . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

if he try to play as below.. i dont think it is any better.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm40
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . O O X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . a . . . X . O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . a . X . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm afraid to say that I think Fredrik is correct. When I saw your lower right position without seeing the sequence, I thought that white must had made a mistake somewhere. The game sequence confirms this.

I think this is the only move for me right now. I want to split white to make him weak.

Continuing from the last move, this move works to keep black separated.

Even if you get a great position on one part of the board, it does not mean you won't collapse at another. The reason that white is still doing ok, is that black didn't play very well in the upperright corner. However, that does not change that white's play in the lowerright corner was not acceptable

Since many stronger players agree that i was wrong so i will agree.
but i will continue to play same move until i personally feel that wrongness through my own skin.
magicwand is very hardheaded character.

thank you for your kind advice.

what i played is usually bad...but i dont want him to giveup two stones on the side.
if he still giveup i will gladly take that side. i am curious how he will answer.

I need to escape with my stones. A move one space to the left would allow for white to control this too much.

I am feeling a bit better about this game, now. I'm not sure if my plans will work, but I have some optimism...

Ugh... watching this game frustrates me to no end.

I hate Magicwand's style. I hate his attitude towards players, I hate the reasoning he gives for most of his moves, and how he happens to get away with so much in this game because I feel Kirby is getting intimidated by the bully.

Mind you, I don't hate Magicwand, it's simply what he represents, the club player who plays on instinct and reading, but always has inconsistent thinking. There was a time when I tried to get stronger by playing such players, but I would never grow conceptually. I would never have games where the outcome was decided because my opening and endgame skill was higher(though often true), it was only because I outfought in the middlegame, because these kinds of players will overplay, overplay, and overplay, until the game is simply one huge fight.

And then they review. They always assert that their moves were rooted firmly in their intuition, so whether or not they were correct or not is usually irrelevant to them, because they're so reliant on intuition that they are usually willing to accept their mistakes and lack of understanding of Go theory because they are satisfied with the way they currently play.

Playing against people like that only seems to strengthen your reading and fighting shape. You never really learn new tricks, sharpen your endgame, or develop opening prowess, the game is essentially all middlegame.

And it pains me so much because I've met Mr. Kirby. And I've seen Mr. Kirby play. He's an honest player who looks straight at the board and tries to rationally come up with each move. He's been using this method to get stronger for quite some time, and it always pains me to see a rational, thinking type player, who establishes an early lead and dominating position get beaten by a stronger player who leaves many openings and chances for punishment, but still wins in the end.

Man... if Kirby doesn't win this game, I might have to play a game with Magicwand over this summer.

I am a big fan of Eric's but I have to disagree with much of the above. Magicwand is the Simon Cowell of Malkovich - yes his opinions are expressed in often annoying ways - but he is the reason we watch. And he generously takes on all comers, and while his comments are terse, they do Malkovichingly show what he is thinking. I certainly feel like I am in his head - and such a feeling should be, on occaision, disturbing. Furthermore, he is pretty good natured when confronted with reasonable and considered criticsm.

Eric is probably stronger than I am by now, but I do not see his play as that poor - he does tend to be overly tactical in exploiting what he sees as a mistake. And his explanations have been less than convincing at times - but he has always been entertaining. And as frustrating as being beaten by this sort of player can be - we do need to learn to do it.

We all are rooting against him, or most of us I suspect, but that has made his games widely followed and full of interest. I would hate the current wave of criticism towards him to lead to him backing off - for me, he is the most interesting thing here right now.

Interesting. I have also met players like you describe - I think most of us have. But I am happy to have them around! Playing with them toughens up my fighting which is just what I need. If I don't get an objective post-mortem, I can live with that.

Maybe it is like swimming. You can study swimming all you want, know how to tell good strokes from bad, recite proper breathing technique, etc. But you can't really swim until you get in the pool. I think Magicwand has spent more time in the pool than most of us.

I don't mean to say that we'd be better off without magicwand, his presence here is, of course, welcome. What I hate is his style winning out over Kirby's. I do believe that sharpening middlegame and fighting is very important, I just personally have played this type of player so many times now that I get a bit irritated whenever I see this style of play. Whenever I see Kirby make a lapse in judgment because of an intimidating looking play, I wince, because it reminds me of my own experiences with what I've come to call "barbarian-style."

And I doubt that I'm stronger than Mr. Arnold.

Maybe I do need to play a game against him this summer.