Critique how I make my decisions

[HokieGeek]

So yesterday I posted a game and a question about scoring, and user EdLee very nicely critiqued my play. It was very useful and so I decided to keep notes of my next game. And while I was reviewing the notes, I thought I'd ask you guys to review this game and maybe also my thought process? I got pretty lucky to lose for as little as I did in this one, I think. Thanks in advance!

[DrStraw]

Is this a computer program you are playing? If so I strongly recommend discontinuing its use as its moves are not good and will not teach you anything.

[EdLee]

Hi Hokie,

Your SGF link did not display your game correctly here on the forum; I don't know why. Did it work for you ?
It's a good idea to preview or double check an SGF link actually displays the game correctly in your post here.
I prefer to embed the actual SGF text here directly; this way even if the external website disappears, the SGF is still here, so it's one less point of potential failure.
Here's your SGF directly:
(Local time Sat Dec 13, 2014. 10:22 am )

[EdLee]

Hi Hokie,

Did you consider just block at D12 ? It'd be consistent with your previous moves to build a wall toward the center.

did you consider just block at E11 ?

ponnuki. good.

just connect at Q6. Same shape problem as your last game. See the same link as before: Toothpaste
See your moves and of your last game.

Big mistake. You must connect at Q6, only move. Exactly the same shape problem as .

White must connect at Q6 and destroy your shape here, only move. Exactly the same mistake as in your previous game.

[HokieGeek]

Is this a computer program you are playing? If so I strongly recommend discontinuing its use as its moves are not good and will not teach you anything.

Yes. It's the window's version of Aya 6.34. I had two day long meetings this week so I whipped it out at work. At home I'm almost always playing against gnugo. I have never played against a real human although I've created accounts at IGS, KGS and DGS to achieve that. I just learned the game last week so I wanted to get a hold of the basics before I subjected real humans to the pain of playing me

Hi Hokie,

Your SGF link did not display your game correctly here on the forum; I don't know why. Did it work for you ?
It's a good idea to preview or double check an SGF link actually displays the game correctly in your post here.
I prefer to embed the actual SGF text here directly; this way even if the external website disappears, the SGF is still here, so it's one less point of potential failure.

Interesting, it does work for me, but I'll take note and copy the sgf contents directly next time.

Did you consider just block at D12 ? It'd be consistent with your previous moves to build a wall toward the center.

I did consider it, but I think I was thinking that maybe I didn't need to respond to it immediately and that it would be better worth my time to extend at the top. Good to know that I should have stuck to my initial instincts that it was something I needed to deal with.

did you consider just block at E11 ?

Not at all, actually. My only consideration was to connect those two stones. That's a good point though. Blocking would have been a better choice.

ponnuki. good.

Glad you commented on it. Didn't know it was called that (now reading that shape on SL) and was at first not sure if I was making the right decision by going with a few diamonds there.

just connect at Q6. Same shape problem as your last game. See the same link as before: Toothpaste
See your moves and of your last game.

I did start reading that link today but I'll study it even more attentively as it is obviously a weak spot of mine.

Big mistake. You must connect at Q6, only move. Exactly the same shape problem as .

This is good to hear. Sometimes when I focus on long chains, I wonder if I'm wasting time.

White must connect at Q6 and destroy your shape here, only move. Exactly the same mistake as in your previous game.

Heh. Guess Aya has the same blind spot?

Very helpful again, Ed. Thank you!

[EdLee]

Hi Hokie,

Finally.

Too small. Why do you care about that one stone ?

bad wedge. After you connect with , W can just connect his cut on the outside ( at N12 ) -- the net result is you fixed W's weakness here, you forced W to become stronger. In contrast, your 2 stones, and , are useless -- they are not doing anything but only take up neutral space.

[DrStraw]

Where are you? The handle you have chosen almost makes it sounds like you are at Virginia Tech. If so, you should go to the club there.

[HokieGeek]

Where are you? The handle you have chosen almost makes it sounds like you are at Virginia Tech. If so, you should go to the club there.

I'm an alumni. I graduated in 2006.

But thank you for the invite!

[HokieGeek]

Finally.

of course you're right. I was already planning on making this connection when I placed so might as well just have done it then instead of risking that would cut it.

Too small. Why do you care about that one stone ?

Hmm. so my thinking here was that I was feeling like my chains there were being surrounded from the center by . I was less interested in capturing that one stone at P6 as I was in ensuring that it didn't connect down to P3. And, in fact, though I debated it in my notes at if I should just leave it alone (I meant P14 instead of O14 and with the coordinates we're using now it's actually P6 ) I never touched that stone in the game. Should I have ignored that stone, allowed it to connect and just tried to capture the whole group further down the edge by trying to connect to N3 and R3? That seemed harder to do.

bad wedge. After you connect with , W can just connect his cut on the outside ( at N12 ) -- the net result is you fixed W's weakness here, you forced W to become stronger. In contrast, your 2 stones, and , are useless -- they are not doing anything but only take up neutral space.

Looking up wedge on SL. Interesting. I'll have to study these moves more closely. My aim was to not allow his stones to connect (which is called a wedge, I have now learned) but, although it was obvious once had done it, I hadn't considered that it would just block me as it did with and, as you say, rendered and useles. At this point I'm still worrying about all of those stones in the right and wanting to prevent shapes and connections, especially after . I wound up just surrounding that remaining cluster. The most interesting part of your comment is that I strengthened 's weakness. Definitely need to study those moves more closely. Should I have placed in N10 instead? Or maybe started laying the groundwork to surround those pieces earlier than I did?

[DrStraw]

Where are you? The handle you have chosen almost makes it sounds like you are at Virginia Tech. If so, you should go to the club there.

I'm an alumni. I graduated in 2006.

But thank you for the invite!

Then you were there when I played my last tournament there, in 2005. You started too late.