Kirby's Study Journal

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Jan 19, 2020 6:46 am

Reviewed my second game again. Seems there might be a way for black, even after the move I was proud of. Even so, I still like that move.

Namely, at move 95, black can extend up instead of down, and I’m dead. Even later, black has a descent in one variation.

Still, cool variations.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:14 am

I lost my 4th game. I was black:

I misread the top right and that was a big loss. I think I was too aggressive before that, too.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:20 am

So far in this tournament, I feel a pattern, both for my wins and losses.

I aim for big profit by attack or kill or in the case of the first game, splitting unreasonably on the right.

If I get my way, I win big. If I don’t, I lose big.

One obvious way to fix this is deeper reading. If I can see the variations where I explode, I can avoid them. But reading still has a limit.

So in cases where I cannot see everything, I guess I should refrain from proceeding: there may be bombs ahead.

—

But then, it follows, what do I do if it’s unclear and I don’t like the path that avoids possible bombs?

I suppose, I need to get used to being satisfied for less...? Maybe it depends on the probability of a bomb.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Jan 19, 2020 2:17 pm

I was white for my last game.

I “won”, but it feels like a loss. Black was winning by a lot - so much that I don’t remember where things went wrong for him:

Somehow, I made a moyo like shape on the right. Black tried to invade, and I killed it.

So it doesn’t really feel like a win. I think my problem this time was misreading. That ko shape on the bottom was terrible for me. It’s questionable that I should have gone for a big moyo like that.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Jan 19, 2020 3:04 pm

Played a casual game with a friend, Jake. He is 4d AGA. I played with 2 stone handicap, and won by resignation.

The awards ceremony was nice: quick, but effective. Folks got prizes.

Now seeing what folks are doing before making the drive home.

—

So that sums it up. The tournament is over. I ended with a score of 3-2 as a 2 dan. I think I can do better than that, but this tournament has shown that I need more:

* Reading - no brainer
* Patience - I cant try to gain 20 points immediately. It’s too risky, and there are often bombs
* Maturity - I need to do better at time management and controlling my emotions. The casual game with Jake was a lot easier for me because the pressure wasn’t there - or maybe he wasn’t trying as hard, either.

Anyway, I had a good time. But i can see I have a long way to go.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 10:58 am

I took a break yesterday, due to the tournament, but played another game on fox today.

I won, but the game was garbage.

Here it is:

I put a review in the SGF, but more than specific moves, I feel my mindset is wrong. Reflecting on the tournament, too, I think I can think of a way to describe my play recently: sloppy.

I'm about halfway through a book called, "Grit". The topic is about... Grit. Like so many others, the author talks about the famous topic of deliberate practice. She asked someone she believed to be an expert on this type of practice something to the effect of, "I run every day for health. I've put in thousands of hours over the last several years - more than the 10,000 supposedly required to become world class. Why am I not winning medals?"

The expert reflected on this, and asked some things about her practice: was she striving to beat her personal best time when she ran? Was she pushing herself for a longer or harder run? Was she exerting herself to stretch the limits of what she was capable of? The answer was no. She was running about the same way every day, just for health.

So while she spent thousands of hours on running - it wasn't a form of deliberate practice - she wasn't getting that much better at running. She was merely maintaining her current level.

---

That story comes to mind when I look at this garbage game, and reflect on some of the sloppiness I showed at the tournament this weekend. I'm playing go somewhat regularly now - not thousands of hours, but at least during lunch breaks. And I'm going to tournaments, facing the pressure of an opponent that's trying to win.

But am I pushing my limits? No - I'm just playing what I think I should play at my current level - I'm not stretching any boundaries.

I think I stretch myself sometimes when I do go problems. But I'm not stretching myself at all with a game like this. I'm just playing moves - reading out some minimal amount, and seeing what the result is.

A garbage game like this is just the same as an author who jogs for health. She's not going to improve much or win any medals. And with this kind of practice, neither will I.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 11:20 am

Could also have to do with time settings. It is hard to be serious with 10 minutes time, at least with my slow reading speed. Maybe a 30 minute game would be better. But then it’s hard to both play and review at lunch. Maybe I can just play at lunch then review in the evening... or maybe problems at lunch and all game stuff in evening...

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sat Feb 01, 2020 6:52 am

Another video I translated. You can use the English captions to see them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPJmAUDCWSc

Looks like Choi Cheolhan publicly thanked me this time - haha

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Feb 02, 2020 8:10 pm

I had the pleasure of receiving a teaching game from Young Sun Yoon 8p today. Since I've been translating videos for her, she kindly offered to do this for me.

Here is the game:

As a side note, you can ignore the rank. KGS ranks are really screwy right now, and I haven't played many games on this account. I'm still your typical low dan player.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Feb 02, 2020 8:19 pm

Highlights of the game

Thought 1
When I go to go clubs and stuff, there aren't many players around my level. So I often play handicap games. It's fun and faster to win if I overplay and terrorize the opponent. So I end up getting aggressive habits that don't work in practice, but work against my opponents.

I haven't played 1-on-1 with pros that often. And I think it's really valuable. I know the tricks I usually do won't work.

But there's also a downside. I find that sometimes when a pro plays out a sequence that I haven't read out yet, I trust that the pro has read it out. And I seem scared to play against their reading, because it seems hopeless. I think this isn't a huge problem - I just have to focus on reading it out and pushing back, even though the pro probably has already read it out.

Thought 2
I need to think big picture more. Inseong has said before that I only see the stones and not the territory.

I think this is a good example of that:

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

My thought right now is: how do I cut off her stones and attack? I'm thinking nothing of making points in the center. I'm only thinking of making points by capturing.

She pointed out that I can make a nice shape with this:

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

But this move isn't on my radar. Why? Because it's not aiming toward attacking stones or capturing. My go brain is too simplified right now. I can also win by surrounding points...

Imagine that

Thought 3
This is problematic:

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

I know I considered 'a', which she said was better since it didn't make her stronger.

But why did I play as I did? My thought was that I'm making her *heavier*. So I can attack.

I've had this problem before. I miss the nuance, sometimes between making a stone *heavier* and making it *stronger*. Classic example here (ok, maybe fuseki is questionable, but that's irrelevant):

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . 3 . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . B . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The classic theory is to kick that stone because the marked black stone can be used to attack white. So we kick to make black *heavier* and then attack.

But we are also making white stronger.

When is it good to make the opponent heavier at the expense of making them stronger? I don't really know, and I get it wrong a lot. I'm thinking it has to do with if I can immediately profit from an attack by making the opponent heavier. But to be honest, I get this wrong enough, that I don't really know

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:16 pm

I've done Inseong's yunguseng program for awhile, so I decided to try out the online BIBA program. Today, I played my first game. Here it is:

I haven't had this reviewed or anything, yet. But I reviewed it myself in the SGF file. I believe that I could have won at the end, but I misread pretty badly in the top right.

I'm a little dull with my reading, it seems. There are a couple of places where I could have profited more, and messed up badly.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:21 pm

Highlights

Position 1
Here, I think I extended too far:

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

I was aiming toward the bottom right corner, but this move doesn't do much for that. And furthermore, the bigger problem is that it's very hard to attack black's stones if I am stretched thin like this - I'm subject to counter attack.

Because I aim to have the potential to attack later, I need to keep the surrounding groups strong.

Instead, I should do this (I think):

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

Position 2
I think my choice here is questionable:

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

Black has already invested in the bottom right corner - so to give good potential on the right side will only magnify this effect. I think the right side is big, so I can keep it simple:

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

I still don't like my bottom stones that much, but this seems reasonable - black's potential is not too big this way.

---

There are some other mistakes I point out in the SGF, but I think these are more like reading mistakes than conceptual mistakes - at least the stuff I recognize.

So the takeaways for this game are:
1. I need to be strong nearby if I aim to potentially attack a group later.
2. Play the bigger area (right side seems bigger than digging into the corner in that second position).

---

Let's see what they say in the review - I've never experienced a BIBA review, so it'll be interesting to compare to what I'm used to with Inseong.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:25 pm

Another thing that strikes me about this game... Let’s assume that I played correctly at the end, and that I won the game. Even after capturing that big group, it was a relatively close game.

And it wasn’t at all clear that I’d capture the group early on.

So it means that I put a lot of risk into this game by not taking much territory and making everything depend on me killing the group.

Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I think I need to think more territorially. It’s hard for me to play that way, though

Harleqin · Post by **Harleqin** » Tue Feb 04, 2020 3:29 pm

You didn't say anything about move 162 (M17). If I am not mistaken, it loses points in gote, when White could have just played in the centre, as the top group is safe.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Tue Feb 04, 2020 4:08 pm

I am aiming at L15 with that move, though, probably not the best idea since it loses points like you say.

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