Report of the Barcelona Go Seigen Tournament 2015
Placebo effect?
This year I entered the tournament as 5k. If you've been following my progress, last year I entered as 9 and ended with 3/2, not bad, I have to admit. But last year in NGA's tournament I was entered as 5k on the evaluation of the teachers, ended with a dismal 1/3, and my prospects for Barcelona were gloomy. After all, friends of mine that also play in KGS are roughly my KGS rank and were going to enter as 8k and 10k like last year, no way I could think of playing 5 stones stronger than them!
But well, I didn't feel like downgrading my rank to 7 (IIRC the smallest change is of two stones) and I just decided to weather the storm and if needed lose 5 games. My rank would eventually catch up with my playing.
(L) 1st game, vs 5k Nervous. Of course, I was pretty nervous on my first game, feeling like I was playing 4 stones away of my league. But then, after the game started rolling I picked my pace and felt good about maybe even winning the first game. But, I caught my rhythm too late and ended up losing by ~10-11 points. Now that I checked, this opponent had GoR points of 6k, he told me he was away from go for a long while and picked it up again a year ago or so. Since I didn't know that at the time, I felt very good after the game, even if slightly sour for not winning
(W) 2nd game, vs 5k More relaxed, but facing a somewhat "tougher" opponent. This time I was facing a "5k I knew," a friend of a friend, who has been hovering around 5-6k for a long time (checking GoR, he's now hovering at 6k level points). During the game I was lagging by 10-15 points until by late middlegame I managed to slip a couple threats my opponent didn't see and creating a two step ko worth something like 40 points. With my first threat I created another ko that was worth 20-ish that I was bound to win and hence won by 12 or so in the end. Felt pretty good, even if the game had seen me lagging.
(W) 3rd game, vs 5k Again, I was facing a "long timer 5k," and unheard-of from me, I played a moyo game. Basically he started with a very cosmic-y moyo that I wasn't sure how to invade and I just decided to create a counter-moyo. And well, mine was bigger (like 30 points larger.) Felt good coming back home with a 2/1 day, and just feeling reassured I could play at the 5k level.
(L) 4th game, vs 4k At this moment I had to face the next step, in playing a 4k. And for me this was the best game I played. I ehem, sacrificed a corner (brainfarted and saw a J, not a J+1... even if the stones were already in place) and tenuki-ed. In exchange though I totally ruined a potential framework, so the game was even-ish. Then my opponent turned into early endgame somewhat too soon, but worked to her advantage and got a lead of around 15-20 points, even if board-wise it looked as I was better. I was able to use my slight thickness to invade one of his groups and reduced her lead to 0, and then the game was a back-and-forth endgame game... That I lost by half a point. Felt nice, even if sour by the loss.
(W) 5th game, vs 7k I faced a Romanian 7k, not knowing what to expect, since I didn't know his opponents that well, so... Anything could go. Turned out he was very, very defensive (heh, weird coming from me, I've always been the defensive kind) and I just kept "asking" for more. I won relatively easily by ~15, but I guess he'll improve a lot if he gets on the offensive, had some good moves.
So, all in all I felt pretty good about how the tournament ended.
E-12 to force bad shape. Then push through the small opening to attack the heavy White stones. 