Life In 19x19

First of all for the record that thread name name was NOT my idea.

Anyway me an Leyleth finally got around to playing that game we wanted too. I won by 2.5 points, and we agreed during the game to post it here (that was when we selected the title).



I really enjoyed playing this. Thanks Leyleth!

Anywhere between 133 and 139 black could have played Q7.

I mean, I could have, but he had sente... or are you saying that it is bigger than the followup to his sente moves?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B Snapback at 'a'
$$ . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . X X |
$$ . . . . . . X X O |
$$ . . . . O 2 3 O O |
$$ . . . . . 1 O a . |
$$ . . . . O 4 5 O O |
$$ . . . . . . X X O |
$$ . . . . . . . . X |
$$ . . . . . . . X . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

EDIT: and it still could be played at 141 too, instead of ...so you have time to defend against his sente moves if you wish. I leave it to you to decide if and when it was bigger. Just note the shape.

Oh i see. i misread I thought you said O7 (what i played)

BTW, note the similarity between this and the crane's nest.

While we're taking the review, could I ask you guys what to do as white? Some pointers maybe... I don't know... I know how to play black (at least, I feel like I know). However, with white... I'm always uneasy, not too sure about what I should do. Is it normal? If not, how to "cure" it?

Leyleth wrote:While we're taking the review, could I ask you guys what to do as white? Some pointers maybe... I don't know... I know how to play black (at least, I feel like I know). However, with white... I'm always uneasy, not too sure about what I should do. Is it normal? If not, how to "cure" it?

Play white more.

You can also turn things around and ask "as black, what would my goals be? What move by White would hurt me the most?" This works nicely if it's specific problem, too - you don't feel comfortable playing white in the Chinese, or the Orthodox, or Sanrensei. Well, play those openings a bunch of times as black, and then you'll know exactly what moves white has up his sleeve that make black squirm.

Thanks for posting this

10: not a fan, because:
12: you don't have a good extension here. This "armpit hit" feels really painful.
16: Tries for too much. White will end up with too many cutting points.
22 and 42, same exact mistake: This shape is not good. It leaves a double peep.
26: I think you should kick first (c5).
27: This is wrong, it harms your side stones. You should just slide at b4.
36: This isn't right. I'm not sure what's correct, probably just e3 or something like that.
39: This fails to punish 36. You can just f2; White must take gote to fix the shape. White at c2 does *not* work.
43: Extremely painful. I'd play elsewhere before returning to these stones.
50: I think white at d10 threatens to kill, or at least ko.
54: I think r6 will probably be sente, after which you can make a nice position on the side. The game move is jealous; you've got a huge framework developing. It's too soon to worry about black's.
55: No, no, no-- a thousand times no. You can't make headway in this game by defending tiny areas in gote. Every time you defend something, it gets *smaller*. You must attack! R9! Make white regret not getting a base. This is easily the worst move from black so far.
58 & 59: too small, surely there must be something bigger than this.
60: Jealous. Black has a tiny area here, you could have a huge area in the lower center. Build your own area! If you reduce his, and he reduces yours, black gains, because white has more to lose. Therefore, you must build your own area and not give him a chance.
61: M18. Don't let white push you around! Or better yet, ignore this! Play in the middle!
70: Right idea, wrong spot. How about L11 or 12? Ask for a really big area, because you never get the entire area you ask for!
71: Nice! But still, I think the middle is better-- it reduces while threatening this invasion.
76: Now I like L10. This center should end up being like 60 points for white.
77: CENTER!
78: CENTER!
79: CENTER!
80: CENTER!
81: Close! Go deeper!
82: Maybe not the point I would have played, but definitely the right idea.

OK, that's enough for right now. I know there's more comments for white; black's mistakes, at least in this part of the game, were less numerous but more severe.

Leyleth- I started to feel uncomfortable with white when I was 1k-2d. It was cured by realizing how much 7.5 komi is (a lot!). I now prefer white, because I'm not comfortable with the Chinese opening nor with the Orthodox opening, and these are very common these days. Unfortunately for you, it's difficult to feel how much komi is worth until you're stronger, because games at kyu level tend to be decided by large margins.