Feel like I should've won these games

[sleepyEDB]

Hello, I have a couple more games for review if anyone feels inclined. I feel like I should've won both of these games and I'm curious to see if others point out the same weak points as I have.



Thanks,


sleepy

[sleepyEDB]

Here's the second game.




sleepy

[Calvin Clark]

Some comments on the first game. Yes, you were ahead for much of it but missed some chances to wrap it up. I did not comment on the endgame, but I encourage you to review to the end yourself and consider if every move you played was really necessary.

[sleepyEDB]

Some comments on the first game. Yes, you were ahead for much of it but missed some chances to wrap it up. I did not comment on the endgame, but I encourage you to review to the end yourself and consider if every move you played was really necessary.

Thank you very much for the review! I found you comments very helpful and will definitely spend some time reviewing the end game. I already knew many of my final moves were unnecessary but I was kind of at a loss as to what I should be doing at that point; should I have just passed at or around move 59?

And now that you point out the three uncaptured stones on the right they are so obvious as to be painful. And embarrassing. Ugh.


sleepy

[daal]

Here are some comments on your second game.

[sleepyEDB]

Here are some comments on your second game.

Hi daal, thank you for the review! I found your comments very enlightening, especially those regarding counting liberties (which I obviously don't do ) and that the game looked close to over to you on move 18. It's also a bit frustrating how clear and simple the moves you suggest are in hindsight. I realize I'm still just a rank beginner, but every game I play illustrates the point of just how little I know.

To answer a couple of your questions:

Move 24: I thought the stone at E5 was necessary to give my group in the middle two eyes, but evidently not
Move 37: I could have placed move 38 at H6, effectively killing the five white stones below. I really need to start counting liberties.
Move 42: I played the stone at F3 to prevent white from cutting, thus protecting the two stones to the right. I didn't play the atari at G2 because I didn't see it.

Thanks again,


sleepy

[dfan]

Move 24: I thought the stone at E5 was necessary to give my group in the middle two eyes, but evidently not

That group currently pretty much has eyes at E5, C4, D3, and F3, not to mention about 20 points of territory. How do you envision White capturing it if you don't play at E5?

Move 37: I could have placed move 38 at H6, effectively killing the five white stones below. I really need to start counting liberties.

Yep!

Move 42: I played the stone at F3 to prevent white from cutting

Cutting where?

[sleepyEDB]

Hi dfan, thanks for the comments!

That group currently pretty much has eyes at E5, C4, D3, and F3, not to mention about 20 points of territory. How do you envision White capturing it if you don't play at E5?

Yeesh, I hadn't even thought to consider the outside points C4, D3, or F3 as eyes and certainly didn't count the liberties. I just saw an internal shape that didn't have two distinct eyes and thought it needed protecting. And now, of course, after I open the SGF file in an editor and place a white stone anywhere inside that shape I see that it wasn't in any danger.

Cutting where?

At F3, which puts my two stones at G3 and H3 into atari; but which is also silly since a white stone at F3 is itself in atari, so my stones weren't in any danger at all.

This game is fun!


sleepy

[dfan]

Good! Both of those mistakes came from observing the situation with a 25k eye instead of a 20k eye. To move up, you will want your eyes and brain to realize that

• Live groups are ones that can't be captured. You don't have to laboriously construct two one-space eyes for this to be true.
• Cuts that place the cutting stone in atari aren't cuts.

These are important parts of the skillset you'll need to acquire for 20k and beyond.