Life In 19x19

I'm 4k on KGS right now. I've got a high (~70%) win rate against players my own rank or lower, but I've got a much lower (~40%) win rate against players with a higher rank. Here's a recent loss. While this is worse than some, the way I let myself end up with several weak groups on the board is fairly typical. I've made some comments about moves I thought were bad (45 and 69 were particularly egregious), but I'd appreciate any insight you might have.

Hi jeromie,

Did you consider P16 ?
( Not saying one is better than the other; just curious if you thought about fighting here. )

( same question as )

I like the game move better.
If you block on top, seems unclear what you gain.

Seems OK, but...

...maybe not so good. J6 ?

Strange ? Locally, why not R12 ?
( Globally, H3? )

Not so big ? W still has R13 or Q10.
C5 aji for B sitting there since .

Unclear what you gain by pushing up. C10 seems natural.

Problem could be missing C10.

B12.

Watch out for B12...

B12...

.. You help W so much.

N16 bigger ?

Sniped by Ed. No overlap in the moves we critisize. The kyu-world is a big place

To me it looks like you got outsmarted in the influence department.

At the beginning, the lower side was the one where you put most stones. But you got hardly anything in return, when your opponent invaded. I'd try to deny him a base and chase it. The right side then might become natural territory and you get some influence to wreck his sides. That would have been my gameplan at :24:


I don't like this move. Looks out of balance. With the high stone at k4 white can still come in.

why??? In the end it led to squeezing toothpaste.

Why not jump to o8? Or tenuki. I think it is now important to have a plan for the d6-h6 line. If these stones amass influence, your c11 stone gets lonely. Might be time to get a base with it now.

Thanks for the feedback!

Ed:

No, I didn't consider P16. I can be overly passive in the opening, so that's a good move for me to keep in mind.
I tend to be unclear about when I should block on the 3rd line vs push up versus a shoulder hit. The push up is my default response, but you're right that it didn't work so well here.
This is the kind of move that I frequently miss - a move that seems slow at first glance, but it settles a weak group and gives me more power to attack. Thank you!
(and following) Yeah, this sequence didn't work out at all as I envisioned. It's the result of poor reading on my part.

bayu:
Thanks. Definitely something I didn't see in my own review.
Since I had the possibility of capturing a stone on either side, I was hoping to leave white with a weak shape that I could attack for profit. The center didn't belong to anyone, so I didn't think I was pushing white into my territory (which is what I associate with squeezing toothpaste). But when I let my bottom get weak, white got too much outside influence and this didn't work very well. In retrospect, the hane may have been better.
Yes, this move was too slow and didn't have much impact on the game. Thanks!

A few comments.



Main focus: Divide and conquer!

Thanks, Bill. Your suggestions look natural when someone else points them out.

jeromie wrote:Thanks, Bill. Your suggestions look natural when someone else points them out.

Well, I goofed in the variation for . I have edited the file. Take a look.