Path to 9Dan, step by step.

hl782 · Post by **hl782** » Wed Jun 24, 2015 8:18 pm

another loss today

edit: managed to win a game of handi go against a 7kyu with 2 stones, 6.5 komi.

PlaySlow · Post by **PlaySlow** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 11:04 am

Do not get demoralized by losses mate, that's the biggest danger, believe me..
I think Kirby's thoughts might fit into your situation. Our most serious enemy is ourselves.

Kirby wrote:I've been thinking about why I've been losing lately.
Actually, I didn't deliberately think about it so much as a thought came to me as I watched a bit of one of Haylee's Youtube videos. For those of you that don't know, Haylee is a pro that does video streaming of the games she plays on Tygem. As she's a pro, she often wins, so it's fun to watch her talk about her thought process.

Anyway, I started to think about the some of the differences between the way that I play go, and the way that she plays go. Of course, she's much better at reading, and can evaluate the board position much more precisely.

But what stuck out to me was her attitude during the game. The biggest difference in thinking that I can notice in her playing style and mine is that I am constantly thinking of the result. I don't have a problem in making myself try to count points in the game, which is good for evaluation.

But perhaps I think of the result too superficially. When I get into a local skirmish, I feel like I'm rushed to get past the skirmish, and move on to the end of the game. Haylee, on the other hand, strikes me as being much more patient, taking her time to play the best way for each move in the game. Even if she knows she's ahead, she plays without rushing the game - like savoring each local battle.

With thoughts like rank, winning and losing, and finishing the game on my mind, I feel I rush the game, overlooking the basic and proper way to play.

I will play another game soon. And I plan to play it properly, without rushing to the end of the game. I think Haylee would do it that way, and I'd like to try, too.

hl782 wrote:another loss today

edit: managed to win a game of handi go against a 7kyu with 2 stones, 6.5 komi.

hl782 · Post by **hl782** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 2:16 pm

I agree.. I think i don't have full confidence in my baduk because my fundamentals are still shaky and insecure. If i was of a higher level (some dan rank per say),I would know that I am just in a slump, or something.

I hope to turn it around soon. It's been chaotic these past few days for me. But I still got my eyes on the prize for longterm and will hit 8kyu by end of summer, dan by end of next summer.

edit: lost twice, won once... im 2-5 in my last 7 games :/

eksert · Post by **eksert** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 10:28 pm

Are you getting all of the games u played reviewed?
It'a good way of dropping off bad habits. Instead playing more games, maybe you can review them first by yourself, attach questions and then share it on reddit or here, so better players can have at look at them. Even if they do not comment the whole game, they'd indicate 1-2 obvious faults in our gameplay.
edit: You can also ask to some dan level players in kgs, most of the time they would review the whole game with you. It's better to correct most of our bad habits before it's too late. After we play 500+ games it would harder to change our style.

hl782 · Post by **hl782** » Fri Jun 26, 2015 7:40 pm

Yes & no - I review the games I win by myself, the the ones I lose to some of my friends i met on kgs who are higher ranked than me. I think I'm going to start asking my dad for more help.

Thankfully, I won 2 games today - hopefully it's the start of a turnaround!

On another note - I finished GGPB Vol. 4 with 70% accuracy. What was interesting is that I got 94% of the middle game problems and scored around 60 on the life and death problems. But what's odd is that my middlegame during games is weak.. x) Baduk is a mysterious game.

eksert wrote:Are you getting all of the games u played reviewed?
It'a good way of dropping off bad habits. Instead playing more games, maybe you can review them first by yourself, attach questions and then share it on reddit or here, so better players can have at look at them. Even if they do not comment the whole game, they'd indicate 1-2 obvious faults in our gameplay.
edit: You can also ask to some dan level players in kgs, most of the time they would review the whole game with you. It's better to correct most of our bad habits before it's too late. After we play 500+ games it would harder to change our style.

Bill Spight · Post by **Bill Spight** » Sat Jun 27, 2015 7:11 am

hl782 wrote:On another note - I finished GGPB Vol. 4 with 70% accuracy.

Congratulations!

What was interesting is that I got 94% of the middle game problems and scored around 60 on the life and death problems. But what's odd is that my middlegame during games is weak.. x) Baduk is a mysterious game.

It is hard for us to judge our own game. With just this information I would trust your score on middle game problems over your impression of your own play. Why, then, do you feel that your middle game is weak? One possibility is reflected in this old joke:

Patient: Doc, it hurts when I do this.

Doctor: Then don't do that.

You will sometimes see players showing a position and asking what they should have done in it, because they got a bad result. Often the real answer is, "Don't get into that position." It may be that you are getting poor middle game results because of earlier mistakes in the opening.

hl782 · Post by **hl782** » Sat Jun 27, 2015 1:37 pm

Huh That's interesting. Maybe you are right - maybe it's mistakes in my opening that is leading me to a rougher middlegame - but I also say I am bad in my middlegame because i have a tendency to make bad reads, and careless mistakes with my moves...

I also think that I scored very well on the problems for GGPB vol. 4 because there were hints given in the problems. There was a finite objective to accomplish - but in real games, there are no such guidelines.

Bill Spight wrote:
hl782 wrote:On another note - I finished GGPB Vol. 4 with 70% accuracy.

Congratulations!

What was interesting is that I got 94% of the middle game problems and scored around 60 on the life and death problems. But what's odd is that my middlegame during games is weak.. x) Baduk is a mysterious game.

It is hard for us to judge our own game. With just this information I would trust your score on middle game problems over your impression of your own play. Why, then, do you feel that your middle game is weak? One possibility is reflected in this old joke:

Patient: Doc, it hurts when I do this.

Doctor: Then don't do that.

You will sometimes see players showing a position and asking what they should have done in it, because they got a bad result. Often the real answer is, "Don't get into that position." It may be that you are getting poor middle game results because of earlier mistakes in the opening.

hl782 · Post by **hl782** » Sun Jun 28, 2015 9:01 pm

Played 2 great teaching games with my friend yoyoma on kgs today. Besides that, finished Lee Chang Ho Tesuji Vol.1.

I am getting more slack on problem solving, especially with alot of work on the weekdays. I need to pick it up. I am about halfway to 8kyu now. Took me about 15 days so hopefully ill hit in another 15.

hl782 · Post by **hl782** » Mon Jun 29, 2015 8:33 pm

Played three games, 2 ranked, 1 8-stone handi against 1 kyu. Won 2, lost a ranked game.

Completely dominated my opponent in my first game. Attached is the game. What's funny is that I missed killing the upper right early in the game but so did my opponent... eventually i got around to it

The 2nd game... was a bit of a disappointment. I think this was a very winnable now that i've taken a step back and reviewed but what i did in the actual game was just terrible

On another note. I finally beat my dad with 15 stones of handi...

hl782 · Post by **hl782** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 12:42 pm

Here are two games that i played and won yesterday.

Also, i played a 9 stone handi game with Justin Teng. I lost in the end but I think i played pretty well against him (he said so himself... teehee). Perhaps I'll upload that game up some other time.

Does anyone know of any books or video lectures to learn some proper shapes and go theory fundamentals? I need help the most on those 2.

Speaking of books, i finished my first readthrough of Fujisawa Shuko's Reducing Territorial Frameworks. The book was so good. Honestly, I think if one studies just the diagrams labeled as 'joseki' (not all the other variations), and the 1st chapter of the book (what Shuko says reduction is, how it should be used, etc) - i think one will improve a stone or so. This book made me more confident in playing shoulder hits, capping moves, reducing 2 space extensions, opponent moyos, corner enclosures, and creating light groups to flee with after making the reduction. Superb book. Now I wish there was something like this for invasions. For those, I'll stick to 'Invasion Vitamin' lectures on baduktv for now, but I'd be glad to take any recommendations

Charles Matthews · Post by **Charles Matthews** » Wed Jul 01, 2015 7:06 am

hl782 wrote:Here are two games that i played and won yesterday.

Game 2:

is a bit early to enclose, but OK. :b13:

isn't so consistent.

:w16:

The vital point is at E4, bulge shape (now and for a long time).

:b17:

With the Chinese formation you need to play R15. :b21:

is slow.

- I think P9 is bigger. White can sacrifice the upper half of the group. So :w33:

can be at Q9, another bulge.

:b39:

- This sequence has been good so far, but this is heavy. If Black played at G16 ... well, quite hard for White to answer. To :b45:

White is too slow, so the result is clearly good for Black.

:b49:

Oh no, there are good bulges at E4 and K14, and you don't play either! To :w60:

is indeed disappointing. Comments end

hl782 · Post by **hl782** » Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:19 pm

Charles Matthews wrote:
hl782 wrote:Here are two games that i played and won yesterday.

Game 2:

http://lifein19x19.com/forum/download/file.php?id=6132

is a bit early to enclose, but OK. isn't so consistent.

The vital point is at E4, bulge shape (now and for a long time).

With the Chinese formation you need to play R15. is slow. - I think P9 is bigger. White can sacrifice the upper half of the group. So can be at Q9, another bulge.

- This sequence has been good so far, but this is heavy. If Black played at G16 ... well, quite hard for White to answer. To White is too slow, so the result is clearly good for Black.

Oh no, there are good bulges at E4 and K14, and you don't play either! To is indeed disappointing. Comments end

Hi Charles. Thanks for the reviews and comments as always!

Couple questions I have - What do you mean by 13 isn't consistent? So I thought for chinese fuseki you aim to take territory on one side (depending how opponent decides to play) - This game I decided to go for the bottom. Was the 3-3 invasion not a good continuation of it?

Also, for b39 - If black played at G16, doesn't it leave a weakness at F15 (the elephant's eye)? Idk i am very hesitant to play it the diagonal jump in my games because the weakness is hard for me to cover. If G16 is played, and white plays at F15, would black throw away the D14/E14 stones and aim to take the top? If so, doesn't that give white considerable thickness/territory near the upper left as well?

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:36 pm

If white plays D3 after 13, it hurts your development on the bottom.

Charles Matthews · Post by **Charles Matthews** » Thu Jul 02, 2015 4:37 am

hl782 wrote:
Charles Matthews wrote:
hl782 wrote:Here are two games that i played and won yesterday.

Game 2:

http://lifein19x19.com/forum/download/file.php?id=6132

Couple questions I have - What do you mean by 13 isn't consistent? So I thought for chinese fuseki you aim to take territory on one side (depending how opponent decides to play) - This game I decided to go for the bottom. Was the 3-3 invasion not a good continuation of it?

The enclosure at Q5 is good in a large-scale game: it is looser than R5 in the corner, but it cannot be so easily reduced from the centre. So Black should look for a large framework plan. :b13:

at F5 seems good to me.

Then White indeed could enclose the corner. But Black has ideas such as L15 to build a major central framework. Usually Black welcomes openings that are framework contests.

Charles Matthews · Post by **Charles Matthews** » Thu Jul 02, 2015 5:13 am

hl782 wrote:Also, for b39 - If black played at G16, doesn't it leave a weakness at F15 (the elephant's eye)? Idk i am very hesitant to play it the diagonal jump in my games because the weakness is hard for me to cover. If G16 is played, and white plays at F15, would black throw away the D14/E14 stones and aim to take the top? If so, doesn't that give white considerable thickness/territory near the upper left as well?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B So this needs a diagram ... $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . W . . X . . . X X . | $$ | . . . , . . B . . W X . . . . X . O . | $$ | . . . O . a . . . . X . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . X . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . . . . . . O . O X . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X X . X . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The idea of the marked black stone is obviously to attack the marked white stones. And indeed, the first question is "what about White now at a?"

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$W White goes for it (1) $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O 6 . . . . W . . X . . . X X . | $$ | . . . 7 3 4 X . . W X . . . . X . O . | $$ | . . . O 2 1 . b . . X . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O X X 5 . c . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . X . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . . . . . . O . O X . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X X . X . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This is one way for Black to play. Now :b8:

is probably at b, because c looks like a tempting overplay (reading problem). The marked white stones are nearly captured.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$W White goes for it (2) $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . W . . X . . . X X . | $$ | . . . . . . X . . W X . . . . X . O . | $$ | . . . O d O 2 . . . X . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O X X 4 3 e . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . X . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . . . . . . O . O X . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X X . X . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Actually

here is a bit calmer. I don't believe :w3:

is really possible. Miai of atari at d and e seems to be good for Black.

The bottom line is that the white stones on the upper side are heavier than the black stones in the upper left. I didn't try to find the best line for this suggestion: I thought it was interesting as something to consider here.

Life In 19x19

Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.

Re: Path to 9Dan, step by step.