the willow way

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:20 am

So I made a recent book purchase that came in the mail yesterday:

The second volume of the 21st Century Joseki Dictionary
Get Strong at Attacking
Get Strong at Tesuji

It was recommended to me not long ago (ironically after I had already placed my order) that I was good at coming up with plans but needed to bone up on my attacking, and that a book like Get Strong at Attacking would be a good choice to look at. I haven't actually peered at it yet, though, looking instead at the Tesuji book.

I've gone through about 60 or 80 problems and seem to be doing pretty decently. I think I'm getting around 2/3 to 3/4 completely right on my first go through, and some of the others I at least see the vital points, though I miss something in the follow up. The ones that seems to trip me up the most, oddly enough, are the very simple ones where Black just needs to extend, or the like. Here's one below:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$c $$ | . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . X , O O X . . $$ | . . . . X X O . . $$ | . . . . . . O . . $$ | . . . . . . . . . $$ --------------------[/go]

The other sort of problem that gives me trouble stems, I think, from doing lots of life and death problems. They ask for black's best move in the corner, but the answer involves taking the outside. I'm not sure if this is a framing problem for me, or a real blind spot.

In other news, there's a local tournament this Saturday I plan on entering. I've been jumping around on what rank I should enter as, though. Officially, I'm an AGA -8.09 or so, which is to say 8 kyu near 7, and I entered my last tournament as a 7 kyu and went 2-2, but I've jumped in strength since then, even though I'm not certain by how much. I also seem to do better against stronger players than weaker ones, which makes me think that I need to learn to punish better.

I'll probably just pick 4 or 5 kyu without much reasoning, but I'll let you all know how it goes.

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:38 am

As a side note on style, there is a game I'm playing on DGS at the moment in which I feel I took control of the game early and have been directing the flow, the way I'd like my games to go.

I'm including a link, but please don't comment on anything that could still be relevant until the game is over.

I ended up choosing not to try to kill the top group particularly early, as it seemed gote and I didn't want to provoke a knock-down drag-out fight while I was a bit thin outside. The ko or letting it live sealed with a couple points both seemed like fine results. I'm fairly certain I can kill the top left with a placement at B18 as well, thanks to E19, as soon as I grab sente coming out of the fight surrounding the ko threat, but I think that pressuring the centre is bigger for the moment, and I'm a bit concerned that the black group doesn't have quite enough strength as yet.

http://www.dragongoserver.net/game.php?gid=763035

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 7:44 am

Lately my go has been tired, I think. It's rather frustrating. I'm not bothering to read, and playing out invasions speculatively without looking to see if they work or not, as well as playing fancy-pants moves that are completely unnecessary.

I've been reading and working through Get Strong at Tesuji, and I wonder if I'm too concentrated on finding the magical move that wins everything instead of reading out the position and playing normal moves. The game I posted above is over, and was a resounding victory, but many of my other games feel like they lack vision.

One thing I've been trying to do lately is to not approach my opponents' positions too much, and to leave them less settled with aji for later. I don't think I am exploiting that aji properly, though. I'll look for a game that gives a good example of this to post here.

Tami · Post by **Tami** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 8:06 am

I sympathise with your frustration. It`s normal to feel like that sometimes. As for tesuji, I believe tesuji are like the fruit that come with playing well and in good style (and your opponent making mistakes). It's better to apply pressure and watch for the opportunity than simply trying to kill things willy-nilly.

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 8:13 am

I'm beginning to suspect that the tesuji you see in books are not the real tesuji... they are just special case ones. The real ones are the moves everyone already knows. Nobi, one-space jump, keima, etc.

The really frustrating part is that I know better than to try and kill everything, or to save everything, but I've gone back to playing that way. It is, I suppose, a phase, and will pass like any other.

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:06 pm

I noticed in my malkovich game with Topazg that I am not always confident of my assesment of trades and urgent points, even if I am in the right. Even though I know on one level that I took one and my opponent took the other, and I judged the one I took to be more important, seeing that other move hurts and leaves me feeling I misplayed.

I think that confidence plays a large part in playing well. When I am on the up side of my game, I don't sit and evaluate trades for very long, or prevaricate over them. I know that my opponent is giving me exactly what I want and that he is taking the worse option. That 3rd line territory for a wall? My half was better. That 30 point corner I gave up? That result is going to lose them the game. I think this comes out well because I don't play halfway moves, or lose sente by going back to fix in a panic, destroying the meaning of the original move I made. So long as I am confident I made a good exchange, I also don't panic about my opponents moyos, because I got enough in exchange and can calmly reduce them instead of invading rashly.

Another thing that I've been thinking about, but which that malkovich game really drove home for me, is that there is no territory without a fight. I've also been concentrating on keeping the corner open for invasion when I play around a 4-4 stone (perhaps too much), which is a way of playing to that idea.

For your amusement regarding the last idea, I'm including a game I played about a month ago to drive home the point. Almost all areas of the board were exchanged at least once, and there is absolutely no way I should have been able to win like I did.

DeFlow · Post by **DeFlow** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 2:55 pm

Hey Skydyr! I just wanted to say that I've read your journal with a lot of pleasure. You seem to have a very good relationship with Go. It's strange to read you've got online anxiety though, you were so spontaneous when I first met you on KGS! Would it help if we played some games online?

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 8:33 pm

Regarding online go anxiety, I think it has to do with playing people I don't know from anywhere else in particular. Now as I'm thinking about it, I think when I first started playing it was playing with a clock that made me anxious, because I took a lot of time. If I played someone I knew, I could play with time settings that worked for me, but if it was against someone random, it would often be on their terms and then I'd get in a crunch.

Even these days, I go on KGS fairly frequently, but when I go on, I'm much more likely to talk to people I know and go over their games, or look at the beginner's room and review a game for people than I am to play. Part of that is because it's harder to get a lot of time when I'm in a good state of mind to play and I can expect to not be interrupted by the dog, my wife, etc.

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:42 am

The word on the street, by which I mean according to the really strong players at my club, I don't attack enough or try to kill hard enough, and play too peacefully. I think this is why I feel like I've been slumping of late.

There's a tournament coming up this saturday that I intend to enter, the local Slate and Shell open. I think I will try and play more actively there and see how I do.

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 3:06 pm

Last week I played three rounds of the tournament, going 2-1. The last game I played in a manner I wasn't satisfied with, but I don't recall it well enough to post here as I developed a splitting headache in the middle and took a bye for the last round to go home and take something.

Come Monday, I was told I had done well enough to win a book, and picked up The Go Consultants. I must say, I highly recommend this book. It gives a very good idea of the sorts of moves professionals are considering, and why they choose one move over another. The other part I found incredibly validating was the description of the shock and trepidation they seems to feel when one team tenukis earlier than they thought, or plays a move overlooked, or gets to one of a couple miai points first. It's nice to know that the intense feelings of disappointment I feel at not getting somewhere first or missing something aren't there just because I'm not good enough, but rather because I play go, and that they can come at every level.

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Fri Jan 11, 2013 1:00 pm

This is a game I played on OGS in november and december. I tried it as an experiment in reduction, and thought I was doing fairly well until I made a couple endgame misreads. Would someone care to comment on the game? I'm particularly interested in what people thought of my response to white's original reduction move in the top right (Move 54) and my invasion of the left side.

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 1:23 pm

Here's a 13x13 game I lost on OGS today:

I think I know what I did wrong.

schawipp · Post by **schawipp** » Wed May 01, 2013 4:01 pm

At move 46 you could also try to play calm, e. g.:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wm46 $$ ----------------------------- $$| . X . . . . . . . . . . . | $$| . . . X X O . . . . . . . | $$| . X X X O . . . X X P . . | $$| . X O O . O . . . X . . . | $$| . O . . . . . . . . . . . | $$| . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$| . O . . . . . 7 . . . . . | $$| X O O X . . . . . . . 6 4 | $$| . X X O O . . . X X X 2 3 | $$| . . . X O . X X X O O 1 5 | $$| . . X X O . O O O . . . . | $$| . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$| . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$---------------[/go]

By this way you can sacrifice L11 (B on L9 in move 49 was too easy, after 49 on L10 it would be difficult for L11 to survive) and still have good chances of winning just by territory.

skydyr · Post by **skydyr** » Wed May 01, 2013 8:32 pm

schawipp wrote:At move 46 you could also try to play calm, e. g.:

By this way you can sacrifice L11 (B on L9 in move 49 was too easy, after 49 on L10 it would be difficult for L11 to survive) and still have good chances of winning just by territory.

I considered something like your 46, but decided I may as well make what I could of the aji from the corner stone, as I probed there initially instead of taking a bite out of the corner, and the corner is more secure than the side. I am not sure what you mean by the comment about :b49:

as there is a white stone on L10?

schawipp · Post by **schawipp** » Fri May 03, 2013 4:27 pm

I am not sure what you mean by the comment about 49 as there is a white stone on L10?

Well, I thought that black can treat the invading white stones more severely, e. g. after

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wm46 $$ ---------------- $$ . . . . . . . | $$ . . . . 5 6 . | $$ . . X X O 4 . | $$ . . . X 2 1 . | $$ . . . . . 3 . | $$ . . . X . . . | $$ . . . . . . . |[/go]

it looks difficult for w. However in another sequence...

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wm46 $$ ---------------- $$ . . . . 7 a . | $$ . . 6 5 . 8 9 | $$ . . X X O 3 . | $$ . . . X 2 1 b | $$ . . . . . 4 . | $$ . . . X . . . | $$ . . . . . . . |[/go]

... a and b are miai for life. I am not perfectly sure about the status of the white invading stone (maybe someone stronger knows...?), but I think the black move 47 (not 49, which I mis-typed in my last comment) was too soft.

Life In 19x19

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