I had a bit of a hiatus in my routine - my in-laws came to visit on Sunday, and we had to do some preparation for their arrival. I think I should be free to do hobbies for a little while, now - they'll be with us for 3 weeks.
Inseong reviewed the game I posted against AaronP, and had the same advice for me as usual: I don't seem to have the objective of winning the game, but I have the objective of invading my opponent's area, or trying to kill a group. In that game, when Aaron's group became weak, I didn't need to put everything on the line to kill - I could have stepped back and just thought about how to win the game.
Reflecting on that, I wanted to acknowledge to Inseong that I'd try to play a calm game for my next AYD match. I said that I'd try not to invade deeply, or to do anything super fancy. I'd try to just play calmly.
Here is that game:
My attempt to do this early in the game might be characterized in this move (and the couple leading up to it):
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O O X . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . O , X X . . . X . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . X X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O O . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
I just tried to surround some territory on the right. I have the desire to invade the top, without regard to my groups, but I felt this would be something Inseong would just tell me was too aggressive, again. So I went for calmly trying to take territory on the right.
But in the review, Inseong said that he appreciated my idea, but that I should aim for being even more passive. He recommended this:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O O X . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . O , X X . . . X . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . X X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O O . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
It's lower, less ambitious, and is more clear than the loose move that I played.
...
I should stop now and take note of something. Inseong's recommendation of move here is not necessarily his idea of the best move on the board, but rather, it is his idea of a good way for *me*, a typically aggressive player, to play. He said that with more study and game experience, I will probably get there on my own, but I have been stuck at around the same level for a very long time. I've hit a wall. And he thinks that trying to calm down a bit and be passive will be a shortcut for me to overcome that wall. As it stands, when I am aggressive and play overplays, it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Out of 10 games against equally ranked opponents, maybe it'll work 5 times. So I stay at the same level. Maybe eventually this style can break through the wall that I have, but he thinks that it'll be easier to overcome the wall if I try to achieve a more balanced way of playing. I think that if I do more problems and get better at reading, that's another way... But that's been my thought for years, so maybe I should try something new.
Anyway, I digress...
After killing the right side, Inseong thinks the game is good for me, but I have to avoid dying. After this move:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O O X . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . O , X X . . . X . X . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X X O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . O O X X X X O O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . O X . X O O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . X O O . O X . O |
$$ | . . . , . . . O O O O O X O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X X X X . X X O X X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X O O O X . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X O O X . O X . X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . O . O . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . X O O . O O . . |
$$ | . . . , O O O . . , . X O . X X O O . |
$$ | . B . O . X X . . . . . O X . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . O X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
I thought for some time about the double hane, and didn't think that it worked. I was afraid of this:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O O X . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . O , X X . . . X . X . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X X O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . O O X X X X O O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . O X . X O O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . X O O . O X . O |
$$ | . . . , . . . O O O O O X O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X X X X . X X O X X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X O O O X . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X O O X . O X . X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . O . O . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . X O O . O O . . |
$$ | . . . , O O O 5 8 . . X O . X X O O . |
$$ | . X . O . X X 1 4 7 0 . O X . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . 6 2 3 9 X . O X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Wm11 now what?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O O X . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . O , X X . . . X . X . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X X O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . O O X X X X O O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . O X . X O O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . X O O . O X . O |
$$ | . . . , . . . O O O O O X O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X X X X . X X O X X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X O O O X . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X O O X . O X . X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . O . O . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . 2 . . X O O . O O . . |
$$ | . . . , O O O O X 1 . X O . X X O O . |
$$ | . X . O . X X O X O X . O X . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . X X O O X . O X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
After getting here, I didn't seem to be alive, but I overlooked that black was also low on liberties. Inseong pointed out a continuation:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Wm11 i should be ok
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O O X . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . O , X X . . . X . X . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X X O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . O O X X X X O O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . O X . X O O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . X O O . O X . O |
$$ | . . . , . . . O O O O O X O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X X X X . X X O X X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X O O O X . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X O O X . O X . X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . 4 . . X X O . O . O . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . 2 3 . X O O . O O . . |
$$ | . . . , O O O O X 1 . X O . X X O O . |
$$ | . X . O 5 X X O X O X . O X . . X X . |
$$ | . . . 7 6 . X X O O X . O X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 9 . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
So anyway, I failed that. even after that, i had a chance to kill the top, but I failed that, too. So I lost out tactically.
---
My feeling during the game started out as trying to be calm, but when provoked by the opponent - when I wanted to try to kill the right, and got into that mindset... It was hard to shake for the rest of the game. So I can't say that I played in a "calm" way after that. I still had ambition of killing his middle group, at the expense of my own....
---
So from here, I can think of two ways to improve:
1. Get better tactically. Double down. My traditional study, outside of games, is to do go problems. That being said, it's true that I slack sometimes. I don't do enough problems every day, and I skip some days. If I keep going every day, that's gotta help.
2. Try to find a way to study that will induce me to play calmer. Inseong thinks this is a faster way to overcome my wall... So to do this, I have to think.. Why do I play aggressively? Upon reflection, I think it's because:
- I treat local areas on the board like go problems. My natural course of study is to do go problems - black to kill, find the tesuji, etc. So while this is good for my skill, maybe it has some effect on making me lose site of the big picture.
Considering these two, trying to be objective, I still have the feeling that #1 is the way to go. Problems are hard for a reason - they are training and make you stronger. I think I've just slacked off too much with them.... BUT, I have held this philosophy for years, and no change has happened. I don't think it's a very scientific approach to just go on my theory that go problems are superior way to study, and keep with it forever.
And I don't have a major tournament I'm preparing for right now (I won't go to the Cotsen this year, because I'm coaching soccer). It's a long time until the US Go Congress. So why not do a small experiment? I will review pro games - a study that I feel is kind of useless, sometimes - for 30 days. And not modern pro games, where things seem to have a more tactical/aggressive feeling. I'll pick older games. I was scrolling through games that I have, and I kind of like games by Ishida Yoshio. Not sure if I'll keep with him or not.
Anyway, my resolution is this: Review one game a day, memorizing the opening, and thinking about it a little bit. This will have a priority over doing go problems - I'll still try go problems if I have time. But I think it's worth a shot to do a small experiment with what I have long believed to be a study having little value. No tournaments coming up, so why not.
That being said, here is the first game I went over today at lunch:
Day 1: Cho Chikun vs. Ishida Yoshio
Interesting game. A couple of things stuck out to me:
Position 1
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | B O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , X . . . . , . . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . O . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . O . O . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
The marked move above seems obvious, but it's kind of cool to me - not sure if I would have thought about it in the game - maybe I would have. Anyway, it prevents this:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 2 O 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , X . . . . , . . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . O . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . O . O . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
So why not?
Position 2
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . O O X . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . O X . B X X . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X . O O X X O . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . X X X . . X O O . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | X O X . . . X X O . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . O X . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | O . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , X . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O X . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . O . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . O . O . . . . . . O . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
This move surprised me - I thought, what's the matter with playing here?
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . O O X . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . O X B . X X . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X . O O X X O . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . X X X . . X O O . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | X O X . . . X X O . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . O X . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | O . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , X . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O X . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . O . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . O . O . . . . . . O . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
Seems OK for black to me. But my interpretation is that after white connects, white can clamp:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$W black tenuki
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . W O X 1 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . O O X . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . O X X . X X . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O X . O O X X O . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . X X X . . X O O . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | X O X . . . X X O . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . O X . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | O . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , X . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . O . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O X . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . O . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . O . O . . . . . . O . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
So the move in the game is a little better for that. I don't totally get it, but it's my interpretation.
That's all I have for now. Seemed to be a pretty calm game. But I guess that's what I'm aiming for. Maybe I'll get some inspiration