2016 Samsung Cup

[xiayun]

Lee Sedol didn't make a glaring mistake in this game, but never really had a chance either. It has that same eerie feeling as their Samsung matches last year, and that's just tough on the player since you don't know what you can do to win.

Stop faffing about on the 2nd line in the opening?

Yeah, there were always moves that he could (and probably has) look back and say a different choice would've been better, but when those are not big mistakes and could sometimes attribute to stylistic or strategic choices, he may start feeling like he has to play a perfect game or somehow adjust his style outside his comfort zone, like against AlphaGo, and ends up in a negative feedback loop. Basically right now Ke Jie feels very comfortable playing against Lee, while Lee has a big mental block the other way, not a good combo.

[idontgetit]

I think the greatest strength of Ke Jie is his ability to make very clear positional judgement under complex situations. In this game, when his central group was under attack, he played B141 (an empty triangle move but brilliant in this case), and then gave up the three stones to create the second eye. He then calmly gave up another rather big tail at B149. At that moment almost everyone on the Chinese server watching felt sorry for him. But somehow he went through all these and still managed to have a few points lead.

However those kinds of things are simple to pros, as seen on pro commentaries. So that's not where Ke Jie shines, probably.

[kimidori]

However those kinds of things are simple to pros, as seen on pro commentaries. So that's not where Ke Jie shines, probably.

Perhaps it depends how complex the situation is. Pros of course have far superior positional judgment skills than us amateur, but maybe Ke Jie is a bit more skilled than the others. I also heard that his strength is based on the ability to keep good balance of the game, that's why he can keep his undefeated record with White in official games in 2015, until the MLILY final game when he was too confident and so Lee Sedol could teach him a lesson.

His style seems to be a natural enemy of Lee Sedol's style (and maybe other fighters like Shi Yue or Kim Jiseok), and I also wonder if Lee could be mentally weak against him, since this is the first time ever someone has such a dominated result against Lee.

[trout]

Semifinal,
2nd game:
Lee Sedol defeated Ke Jie by resign.
What a game!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fan Yunruo defeated Tuo Jiaxi by resign.

Lee Sedol vs Ke Jie 1:1
Tuo Jiaxi vs Fan Yunruo 1:1

2/11

[xiayun]

What a game! Such intensity and well-played at the highest level. Hats off to Lee, especially after falling behind early again.

[idontgetit]

ke jie seems to be white again... that's a good thing for ke jie... right?

If we consider that 2 of his 3 losses against lee sedol were with white though... :s

[kimidori]

If we consider that his of his 3 losses against lee sedol were with white though... :s

No, his 2nd loss against Lee (4th game of MLILY final) was with black.

I think Ke Jie still prefers White in general.

[idontgetit]

that was a stupid typo. 2 of his, not his of his.

[trout]

Semifinal,
3rd game:
Ke Jie defeated Lee Sedol by resign.
Lee Sedol vs Ke Jie 1:2
Ke Jie advances to final.....

Tuo Jiaxi defeated Fan Yunruo by resign.
Tuo Jiaxi vs Fan Yunruo 2:1
Tuo Jiaxi advances to final!!!!!!!

[Uberdude]

I think Ke is the heavy favourite for the final: he's 6 wins 1 loss against Tuo and that loss was in 2013 by 1.5 with 5 wins since (all resign).

[idontgetit]

that's... an even better record than against lee sedol...

[Uberdude]

Here's their last game, from the Quzhou-Lane Cup semi-final (richest Chinese domestic tournament). A masterful game from Ke Jie. He lost in the final to Mi Yuting though. Here's hoping their Samsung cup game is as exciting and tesuji-filled.

http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/cn/sgf/6qcsf2.sgf

[skydyr]

Apropos of this game, what's the story behind this:

$$c
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 3 4 . . . . . 9 . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X , 2 . 6 . . 8 . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 3 4 . . . . . 9 . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X , 2 . 6 . . 8 . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

Specifically, I don't think I've seen above before that I can recall, and am not sure I understand it. Is white just trying to make gote with the assumption that there's no real base to speak of and white will be focusing primarily on influence and or sabaki with this group later? Is it specific to the increased corner aji of the (in this diagram) upper right enclosure? Is there something else I'm missing, or some specific sequence it is designed to provoke or avoid?

[Uberdude]

The basic idea behind that 8, as I understand it is: it's a 4th line stone so wants to add a move to finish to the 3rd line and if white gets to do so it's a nice formation (probably here it would be to o17 to aim at 3-3 attachment?) and nicer than 3rd line and adding a move, so black is more likely to play in that area again to deny white the 2nd extension. But because it is closer than the normal extension white need not fear an invasion so can then tenuki. I've also seen that closer move on the 3rd line a few times, but the idea of that seems to be different: playing solidly rather than expecting to get sente because of course then the checking extension has less followup. It's also been popular in the last 2 years after approaching a mini/micro-Chinese plus 3-4, e.g. http://ps.waltheri.net/database/game/69980/. That invasion sequence seems to be a joseki now. Interestingly enough the first occurrence in ps.waltheri is by unknown Chinese 5p Zhao Shouxun in 2007 but it didn't catch on until Kim Jiseok played it in 2014 and there's 32 games since.

[trout]

Reminder !!!!!!!!!

Final;

12/6. 12/7 and 12/8

Ke Jie vs Tuo Jiaxi