A beginner's journal of little interest

Bill Spight · **#121**

In my previous note I have added a variation at move 152.

Boidhre · **#122**

Bill Spight wrote:

In my previous note I have added a variation at move 152.

Oh my, that's a lovely one!

Boidhre · **#123**

Very unhappy with how this one went, so many basic mistakes. My concentration is shockingly poor at the moment. Fast game so not the best for review I'm afraid. But I figure fast games will show me where my instincts are wrong, and right now it's very much a case of being overfocused on the local picture and not aware enough of the whole board in my opinion.

Still, I discovered tsumego on the wBaduk app on the iPad and am working my way through the pre-Intermediate stuff at the moment after finishing the Beginner's section. Some nice clever puzzles in there. I'll spare ye the whining about my mental health.

EdLee · **#124**

Basic shapes.

Boidhre · **#125**

Thank you Ed.

Bill Spight · **#126**

Several comments.

Main focus: Make plays that have become sente for both sides.

Also: Don't make small plays.

Also: Don't just make territory.

----

Question: Has how you play the game changed? Obviously, you have learned things, I don't mean that. I mean, what you do, the mechanics of play? Thanks.

Boidhre · **#127**

Thank Bill.

Bill Spight wrote:

Question: Has how you play the game changed? Obviously, you have learned things, I don't mean that. I mean, what you do, the mechanics of play? Thanks.

My approach to the game has changed as the stuff I learned competes with moves that look good intuitively to me. Several times I've pulled back from moves because I felt after a little reading that they were weak despite them actually working when played out with my opponent later after the game (usually at the club), usually cuts of some kind or another. There's the problem of making "joseki moves" that aren't joseki in a particular position. Again a lot of the time it's I feel I should play X and ignore Y which looks interesting to me even though I can't read it out given either my ability or the time constraints. Doing a fair amount of tsumego has improved my life and death a fair amount but I also have a bad habit of making speculative killing moves because of doing too many tsumego rather than just making an opponent live small and taking profit from the attack.

I don't trust my introspection at the moment so I apologise if the above doesn't make a whole lot of sense given what's seen on the board.

Bill Spight · **#128**

Boidhre wrote:

Thank Bill.

Bill Spight wrote:

Question: Has how you play the game changed? Obviously, you have learned things, I don't mean that. I mean, what you do, the mechanics of play? Thanks.

My approach to the game has changed as the stuff I learned competes with moves that look good intuitively to me. Several times I've pulled back from moves because I felt after a little reading that they were weak

That fits with my impression. It seemed like your play went from showing a good feel for the game to looking like typical DDK play. I don't mean to discourage you from reading and thinking, but let me do encourage you to trust your instincts more.

Good luck!

Boidhre · **#129**

Bill Spight wrote:

Boidhre wrote:

Thank Bill.

Bill Spight wrote:

Question: Has how you play the game changed? Obviously, you have learned things, I don't mean that. I mean, what you do, the mechanics of play? Thanks.

My approach to the game has changed as the stuff I learned competes with moves that look good intuitively to me. Several times I've pulled back from moves because I felt after a little reading that they were weak

That fits with my impression. It seemed like your play went from showing a good feel for the game to looking like typical DDK play. I don't mean to discourage you from reading and thinking, but let me do encourage you to trust your instincts more.

Good luck!

You're the second person to say that to me in short succession.

Boidhre · **#130**

A few absolutely awful moves, had a review already by my opponent, I'm more curious if this was more what you were thinking of Bill:

My judgement is way off at the moment, even for a ddk. Still, I think I learned some things in this game.

Edit: Oh, and I got absolutely crushed by a 3k (who I say wasn't even trying) in my first ASR game. Resigned it after 100 moves.

Bill Spight · **#131**

Boidhre wrote:

A few absolutely awful moves, had a review already by my opponent, I'm more curious if this was more what you were thinking of Bill:

My judgement is way off at the moment, even for a ddk. Still, I think I learned some things in this game.

Edit: Oh, and I got absolutely crushed by a 3k (who I say wasn't even trying) in my first ASR game. Resigned it after 100 moves.

No, this is not what I was thinking of, as playing like a typical DDK. You played like an SDK who made some beginner mistakes.

As a tennis commentator, Billie Jean King used to talk about players raising their game a level. Faced with a much stronger opponent, you raised your game at least two levels.

Boidhre · **#132**

Bill Spight wrote:

No, this is not what I was thinking of, as playing like a typical DDK. You played like an SDK who made some beginner mistakes.

Thanks for the compliment. Isn't that a very weird juxtaposition though? What exactly do I do if this is the case? Just play games relying on my instincts until I get over the beginner mistakes?

Bill Spight · **#133**

Boidhre wrote:

Bill Spight wrote:

No, this is not what I was thinking of, as playing like a typical DDK. You played like an SDK who made some beginner mistakes.

Thanks for the compliment. Isn't that a very weird juxtaposition though? What exactly do I do if this is the case? Just play games relying on my instincts until I get over the beginner mistakes?

I have heard that kind of thing recommended: play blitz and study your games afterwards. I never took the first part of that advice, so I cannot say how well it works. (The most extreme form of that advice I got was from a contract bridge pro, who told me to study the game, but when I played, to forget everything that I had learned.)

Boidhre · **#134**

Bill Spight wrote:

Boidhre wrote:

Bill Spight wrote:

No, this is not what I was thinking of, as playing like a typical DDK. You played like an SDK who made some beginner mistakes.

Thanks for the compliment. Isn't that a very weird juxtaposition though? What exactly do I do if this is the case? Just play games relying on my instincts until I get over the beginner mistakes?

I have heard that kind of thing recommended: play blitz and study your games afterwards. I never took the first part of that advice, so I cannot say how well it works. (The most extreme form of that advice I got was from a contract bridge pro, who told me to study the game, but when I played, to forget everything that I had learned.)

I'm finding it fairly true that the more I think during moves the worse I play given my current level. After a certain point obviously. My reading is, well, abysmal as suits my level and most of the time a move looks very interesting to me but I can't read it out. Or I spend a minute thinking and still play the same move I considered at the beginning (there's a psychological term for this happening but I forget its name). e.g. that cut that's a variation in the sgf I linked, it was the first and last move I saw there but I couldn't read it out so I didn't play it which is something I think I need to untrain in myself. Tactically I'm awful, I get kicked around in 9x9 by AIs so much it's embarrassing! (I just can't seem to think straight on a 9x9 board for some reason) Reading books is also affecting me I think, or at least there's a definite drop in my play standard while I process the new information at best and a drop in standard overall as knowledge I haven't really grasped is being applied by me in games if I was more honest about it. That said, I've found books and lectures devoted to mistakes in play to be very helpful.

The contract bridge players advice: it's damn tempting at the moment. Since I first posted a game on this site I've been learning things and feeling constricted by what I've been learning from reading more than liberated by it. A 2k friend of mine looked at two of my games early on, in the first game he genuinely thought I was a sandbagger, in the second he said I played like a 22k, guess which one was before I started reading about theory.

All that said, I'm having a ball of fun with a friend who used to be a 2k who plays a very chaotic and scrappy fighting game. It completely forces me out of my comfort zone and I'm just playing interesting moves I can't read out because, well, I want to see what'll happen... Maybe I need to start doing this in my other games too. I think I'm beginning to find a style too, I'm enjoying building a moyo and having the other player bring the fight to me.

TL;DR: What's helped: books and lectures on mistakes and the basics as well as reviews on here. What I need to do: Play more, read less (i.e. what so many people have told me from the start and the penny that is dropping only now). I feel like I've been wasting my and others time since I've come onto this site but I suppose some lessons are only learned the hard way.

Boidhre · **#135**

I'd like to thank Ed and Bill especially for putting up with me this last while constantly putting up games and learning so little from the reviews, or at least being able to apply so little of what they've said to me in my games.

As a side point: Where you said I keep making that mistake Bill about which side to block in a 3,3 invasion: it's because really early on I was told to block on the wider side so I do it instinctively and don't account for local conditions enough when doing it. I hope, finally, the lesson has sunk in now but only time will tell.

Bill Spight · **#136**

Boidhre wrote:

I'd like to thank Ed and Bill especially for putting up with me this last while constantly putting up games and learning so little from the reviews, or at least being able to apply so little of what they've said to me in my games.

De nada.

It is all grist for the mill.

Quote:

As a side point: Where you said I keep making that mistake Bill about which side to block in a 3,3 invasion: it's because really early on I was told to block on the wider side so I do it instinctively and don't account for local conditions enough when doing it. I hope, finally, the lesson has sunk in now but only time will tell.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Blocking on the wider side $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . B . 1 O . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . O 1 . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The bottom left corner illustrates blocking on the wider side. The top right corner shows the mistake I was talking about. The mistake makes the :bc:

stone inefficient and fails to separate the White stones.

¿Es claro?

Boidhre · **#137**

Bill Spight wrote:

#
The bottom left corner illustrates blocking on the wider side. The top right corner shows the mistake I was talking about. The mistake makes the :bc:

stone inefficient and fails to separate the White stones.

¿Es claro?

Very clear, I just never considered efficiency of stones explicitly until about a week ago.

EdLee · **#138**

Boidhre · **#139**

Thanks Ed, what do you mean by tight and loose?

EdLee · **#140**

Boidhre wrote:

Thanks Ed, what do you mean by tight and loose?

Good quesiton. Things to consider: liberties (yours and your opponent's), sente moves (yours and your opponent's), good and bad aji.
Maybe you can compare the two moves here as an exercise.

A beginner's journal of little interest

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