Life In 19x19

I guess I could do this. Keeping track of things can't be bad.

Let's first outline the things I set myself to do :

- Play at least one game a day (I usually play more), and review it afterwards (by myself, and if I feel it's necessary, posting it somewhere to get a stronger player to help). Usually I play more than that, though.
- Go through more than 50 problems (L&D or tesuji) a day.
- Try to study at least a few pro games per week. Currently, because I have Invincible, I'm going through Shusaku's games.

A game I played today. I'm not exactly proud of it, because the first corner was a disaster, and I let my opponent get a ko for life while I had dozens of ways to kill him at one point. But I still won (even if I really felt resigning at some point).

Positive lesson: you did not resign and took the game away because the opponent became lazy.

Indeed, was too much and invited a severe cut which was completed at
and following were very well executed by White and the advantage was clear until
148, which you correctly analyzed as a missed opportunity by White to finish the game (I would however play your 150 at S14)

Overall, the lesson from this game seems to be to put more effort into the game(s you play). It has a blitz feeling and does not feel like you put a lot of effort in it, tactically and strategically. The first 25 moves were played in a minute or so and in the end you still have 10 minutes left from the original 25.

Use all the time you have to make the best decisions you can. Don't lose on time either and let time be no concern but don't throw it away either.

Knotwilg wrote:Positive lesson: you did not resign and took the game away because the opponent became lazy.

Indeed, was too much and invited a severe cut which was completed at
and following were very well executed by White and the advantage was clear until
148, which you correctly analyzed as a missed opportunity by White to finish the game (I would however play your 150 at S14)

Overall, the lesson from this game seems to be to put more effort into the game(s you play). It has a blitz feeling and does not feel like you put a lot of effort in it, tactically and strategically. The first 25 moves were played in a minute or so and in the end you still have 10 minutes left from the original 25.

Use all the time you have to make the best decisions you can. Don't lose on time either and let time be no concern but don't throw it away either.

It's true that I tend to play intuitively except when I feel there's a problem or a complicated fight going on (or if I don't know the variations played in a corner). The problem being, of course, when I don't realize I should take time reading out a position. Also, sometime I will play a move, and read further out during my opponent thinking time, and so play immediately after he answer.

Still, you're right that this is one of my problem. I try to remember to pause and evaluate the strategical situation every so often, but most of the time I am too absorbed in the fighting going on to do so.

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$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 2 # # . O . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . O # O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . X . O # O . . . |
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"Two space jump past a cut" can be an important surrounding move (but per Knotwig, definitely not here). A clue as to trouble is that the squared group will only have three liberties after , and less than four liberties often means trouble.

It seems black would have been happy to play at : white still needs to find time to enter top.

I'm not in the best state to play seriously today (bleeping headache and lack of sleep), so I thought I would share this hilarious game from last week.



Made even more fun because I had watched the relevant Battousai video the day before.

Posted without comment. I will freely admit I played my opponent rather than the board at the end to secure my centre territory more easily.

A 2 stone game I played (as White) today. My first victory as white in a handicap game in a while.



As can be deduced by this game and the previous one, I have a tendency to build centre moyo when the fighting doesn't start in the first corner approached.

Another day, another game. I made 2 DDK-ish mistakes in this game, yet I managed to win. (My opponent didn't handle well the invasion at the bottom. I'm pretty sure I would have lived either way, but he could have received compensation).

Hi Bki,

Your game with Lazarow,

C6 feels bigger? The right side is still open skirt for you.
( S6; you need the turn S7. )

basic shape problem: if you push at N4, W cannot resist at M4.

no problem, certainly not at these levels.

, if you played at C11,
W would D12 hane and C12 atari.
You got a better result on your C11 var because
of the moves you wish W would make.

connect at D6, saving your C6 stone, is sente.
W cannot let you push through at B6.

I realized that C11 clearly was the vital point here

Be cautious of the conclusions, at these levels.

atari D6.

Connect at D6.

did you also read the other hane, K17.

EdLee wrote:Hi Bki,

Your game with Lazarow,

C6 feels bigger? The right side is still open skirt for you.
( S6; you need the turn S7. )

basic shape problem: if you push at N4, W cannot resist at M4.

no problem, certainly not at these levels.

, if you played at C11,
W would D12 hane and C12 atari.
You got a better result on your C11 var because
of the moves you wish W would make.

Hi EdLee. Thanks for the comment

On at c11, if W hane at C12, then if I cut inside, W atari at C10, B connect, then I have miai of taking his 4 stones or blocking of by taking C12 in a ladder. If he hane at C10, then I can keep extending, making him crawl on the second line, or double hane (but in this case I think he would abandon the 4 stone and get a ponuki on the left).

It is indeed not as good as what I thought would happen, but isn't this still superior to what happened in the game?

connect at D6, saving your C6 stone, is sente.
W cannot let you push through at B6.

I realized that C11 clearly was the vital point here

Be cautious of the conclusions, at these levels.

atari D6.

Connect at D6.

On , the problem is that I want to protect the top and protect the cutting point at D12. The descent at B12 is sente (if he doesn't connect underneath now, I play B6 myself, then if he cut at D6, I peep at B10 and he can't connect because I would win the capturing race if he does, so he has to let me have 2 stones (freeing me of the worry of D12) and then add a move if he want to keep on the other 3.

So, I can play B12, and then go back and play E13. Afterwards, there are bigger things than saving c6.

Though obviously it may be because of my flawed judgement. You seems to value saving C6 higher than protecting against the cut at D12. (Hum... Now that I look more, the cut at B5 work, so indeed, saving C6 is sente, and if he doesn't protect against the cut, I get either his group on the left side or his corner. Indeed, stronger players are right more often than not when criticising my play .

did you also read the other hane, K17.

Hum... I think the thought crossed my mind, but I didn't pay it much attention during the game. Doesn't it allow W to make nice shape with O17, putting my wall in danger though? (K17 hane, w K16, BJ17, then W M16 atari and get out.

... Looking more, I can sacrifice part of my wall to get a good amount of solid territory on the top left,

Hi Bki,

I'm not sure what's pro sequence for .
Maybe Bill can help, if he's reading this thread.
That's why I only mentioned to be cautious of
our "clear" conclusions -- most of mine are wrong.

On , the problem is that I want to protect the top and protect the cutting point at D12. The descent at B12 is sente

The D12 cut does not seem severe to me; it's one reason I'm not too concerned about it.
Usually, I believe for a descent, the 2nd line stone itself has 3 libs.
I think in this case, B12 is a block or a push (down).

As you probably know, saving your C6 stone is not just about 1 stone,
but it has to do with the aji of that entire region.
If you let White ponnuki with D6, W's power and aji for the LL corner
and the bottom left region are much better than if you yourself connect at D6.

Hi Bki,

before this cap, it may be possible to first peep at H15 (but I'm not sure. )

maybe you're happy to just connect.
( W's local shape is not good. )





J4, maybe.

EdLee wrote:Hi Bki,

before this cap, it may be possible to first peep at H15 (but I'm not sure. )

Hum... Possible. I need to consider the peeps more often. But it also lose the opportunity to eventually cut later in the game.

maybe you're happy to just connect.
( W's local shape is not good. )

I don't like being forced.

... Hum, yeah... O4 seems like, really obvious now that I think about it... >_<.

J4, maybe.

Looks severe. I think it's still possible to live, but just barely, and W's shape won't have as many weak points.

Bki wrote:I don't like being forced

This shows a few facets of your current Go:

It's not about whether you like it or not;
it has to do with the result:
if the result is good for you, you do it --
if your opponent "forces" a good result on you, you take it.
If the result is bad for you, then of course you don't voluntarily do it;
nobody likes to be forced into a bad position.
And if you have no choice but to submit to a bad result,
then either you did something wrong earlier, or your opponent is too good.

If your opponent "offers" you a good result,
and you think you're being "forced,"
so you reject it -- and get an inferior result --
then you're letting your emotions or ego get in the way
of rational assessment of the situation.

Unless you can find a better alternative than
the already good result your opponent is "forcing" you to take,
there is no good, rational reason to reject it.

... Hum, yeah... O4 seems like, really obvious now that I think about it...

You probably meant o3.

I eyed this cut from the start, but now it didn't work quite so well.

Whatever you were eyeing was off.

I think it's still possible to live, but just barely,

What's your sequence to live ?

EdLee wrote:

Bki wrote:I don't like being forced

This shows a few facets of your current Go:

It's not about whether you like it or not;
it has to do with the result:
if the result is good for you, you do it --
if your opponent "forces" a good result on you, you take it.
If the result is bad for you, then of course you don't voluntarily do it;
nobody likes to be forced into a bad position.
And if you have no choice but to submit to a bad result,
then either you did something wrong earlier, or your opponent is too good.

If your opponent "offers" you a good result,
and you think you're being "forced,"
so you reject it -- and get an inferior result --
then you're letting your emotions or ego get in the way
of rational assessment of the situation.

Unless you can find a better alternative than
the already good result your opponent is "forcing" you to take,
there is no good, rational reason to reject it.

True. But here I'm not so thrilled about the result of just connecting. If he play O15 next, then I'm split into two. The wall can take care of itself, but the three stones at M16 are in danger. If I pull them out (for example with M14), he plays O18 and connect underneath. It doesn't give him eyes, but having only one group rather than two weak group that can be attacked simultaneously would not be interesting for me.

It would be better to cut at O16, but then he can abandon two stones and use them to help settle his J17 group.

By playing M16, I indirectly prevent the cut (he has to defend at R15 so I can capture if he push).

Though, as it left bad aji that was used later in the game, maybe I would have done better if I had not tried to be fancy here. But I felt just connecting would help him too much, so I played an indirect protection that threatened J16.

... Hum, yeah... O4 seems like, really obvious now that I think about it...

You probably meant o3.

I eyed this cut from the start, but now it didn't work quite so well.

Whatever you were eyeing was off.

Yeah, if I cut before he play J5, then B-N4, W-M4, M3, O3, L3 and then J4 and there's nothing B can do.

I think it's still possible to live, but just barely,

What's your sequence to live ?

I would start with the E3 peep. If he answer at D3 like in the game, then F2. If he block my escape route, then I can threaten to save M3 to get some eyespace. Otherwise, B E4, W E5, B G5... And White connect and it seems complicated, may involve ko at some point, and have a high likelyhood of death...

The key is to be able to play F3 in sente so that D2 allow to make an eye.

B-E4, W-E5, B-G4... But the again W can connect. Cut directly at F5 then? Then if W atari at F3, I counter atari at G4, sacrificing two stone, then play G6 and am safe. If he doesn't... Then I can play F3, but then after I get one eye with D2-C2-E1, he make the placement at G2...

Okay, F2 is bad. F3 may be better... No, I don't have a good answer to J3.

So, yeah, it seems I doesn't live here.

If you want to avoid simply connecting against that peep, then r13 looks interesting, though white q15 is a sharp counter for white that needs reading.