Kirby's Study Journal

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Feb 09, 2020 2:23 pm

I had my first BIBA review this morning. I took notes in the SGF file for the game, and included them here:

I learned a lot, but here are a couple of particularly interesting tidbits:

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

I treat the sequence above almost as a combo. If I'm going to kick, I kick - they extend, then I play the two space high pincer. Just about every time.

Blackie noted that this is kind of old fashioned, because black's not in a hurry to jump out. Black can just play this:

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

And then black has a nice shape - and I'm not really threatening the stones much. He prefers something like this for that reason:

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

If it's like this, black's strategy there isn't as effective:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . 8 7 . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . O . 2 . . . , . . . . X , . . . | $$ | . . . . 1 X . 5 . 3 . 4 . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I can still attack black, I get more territory, and black's extension with

isn't as good as in the other variation.

Very interesting!

---

The other thing was, Blackie noted that it's pretty big to defend here:

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

1.) It puts more pressure on black
2.) It helps to make black's invasion (as in the game) less relevant.

I don't often think of my own weaknesses - so I don't see this kind of move usually - it seems so slow to me.

But it's a nice shape and pressures black. So it must be a lot better. Blackie said it was quite big.

---

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

All of these moves I'm making are bad exchanges. Blackie noted that I should just try to make good shape in the middle.

Looking back, why did I play these, psychologically?
- The reason is that I wanted to kill black. I figured I lost, so I needed to kill.

The problem is, it's very hard for me to kill black anyway. I did in the game, but I was really lucky...

So what can I take away from this?
- When I'm behind, I have to refrain from trying to catch back up immediately
- I need to think of my *own* weakness and bad shape - not just my opponent's!

---

There are some other goodies from the review (notably, the aji in the top left, which I hadn't noticed earlier). But these are some of the biggest takeaways I had. The pincer thing is good knowledge to know; I need to value "defense moves" a lot more than I do right now; and I need to pay attention to my own weaknesses and bad shape more than just my opponents.

If I simplify a majority of this content into one takeaway, I think it might be this: "don't be blind to my own weakness". I think I am already actively looking out for stuff I can do to my opponent. But I'm blind to what they can do to me!

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Feb 09, 2020 2:36 pm

So now I've experienced reviews in both the AYD and in online BIBA. I have a lot more experience with AYD, so I can't give a great comparison. But I can give my initial thoughts.

I'll just list the "pros" of each, since they're both great programs. And the "pros" for one program are in a way the "cons" for the other.

AYD
Pros
- Seems more organized than BIBA; better website, more organized structure for setting up games; better at communication with members
- More affordable (less than half price)
- Inseong is very good at pointing out the high level "game story" that you played. He can get to the main point and summarize it effectively
- Inseong is good at determining a person's style. He gives more personalized and specific advice to you as a player, given your background. For example, he might give different advice to two players having played the same game, because he can tell that they need to work on different aspects of the game
- The organized playing schedule is something I like. Since the schedule is a bit more casual in BIBA, it can be awkward/tough to get in touch with other players if they don't respond to you on facebook. With the AYD, you know when you're playing a particular person, unless they proactively reschedule. With BIBA, it's more like you have to proactively set the initial schedule.

BIBA
Pros
- Reviews are more detailed. We went over a lot more variations than I'm used to in the AYD. The length of the review was around 45 minutes, compared to the typical 15~20 minutes for an AYD review.
- Because it's less personal, perhaps the reviews are more objective (this may change, since I've only been in BIBA for a week)
- Homework is cool - I like having assigned problems to do. I know I can do this myself regardless of the program, but somehow, I like a teacher picking out problems and correcting them for me
- More opportunities to play pro - you only play Inseong occasionally, in unusual events (like if you missed a game due to your opponent not showing up or something)
- The video review is kind of cool - you can see their expressions when you play a bad move, for example :-p

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While I wanted to give a quick summary here, please take this comparison with a grain of salt. I've only been in BIBA for a week, so I don't know if this is a fair comparison for either side. That being said, I wanted to document my initial thoughts, so that's why I'm posting this.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Feb 09, 2020 3:01 pm

Forgot to mention... I translated another video by Choi Cheolhan 9d, if you’ve been following that:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j1w3oApp0dM

This one has content from one of his own games.

Uberdude · Post by **Uberdude** » Sun Feb 09, 2020 4:10 pm

OMG, look at that borg cube with appendages!

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Feb 09, 2020 4:11 pm

Killed the borg, but still managed to lose the game

ez4u · Post by **ez4u** » Sun Feb 09, 2020 4:30 pm

If Black connected 103 at G12 instead of F10, what would you have done?

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Feb 09, 2020 4:53 pm

ez4u wrote:If Black connected 103 at G12 instead of F10, what would you have done?

Probably cut at G10 - though, I can't say I was thinking super far ahead at this point. The variation Blackie gave already shows that black can live somewhat comfortably without me killing, and then it's like I made a bunch of bad exchanges for nothing.

But looking at it now, I'm not exactly sure what black does if the game goes like that and I cut at G10. Is there a follow up you had in mind?

ez4u · Post by **ez4u** » Sun Feb 09, 2020 6:18 pm

Black H7 threatens to cut through White's center position. Black's stones even have enough liberties to atari the G10 cutting stone once before connecting, I think. So cutting does not look like it works. But then White cannot even bend around Black at the top.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Sun Feb 09, 2020 8:49 pm

You are right - I didn’t think about h7 being sente!

Gomoto · Post by **Gomoto** » Sun Feb 09, 2020 11:43 pm

Thank you for the english subtitles. Much appreciated.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:48 am

Gomoto wrote:Thank you for the english subtitles. Much appreciated.

Sure thing! I have been enjoying it a lot, and I think my Korean has improved by doing it - I’ve been getting faster at it.

I do have to admit, though, that when I’m doing subtitles, I’m not focusing much on remembering the variations, but rather on what he is saying. I’m surprised at how little I retain after doing the translation. To really get the material, I have to replay the video without having the intent to translate.

Anyway, I’ve been enjoying it, so hopefully there are many more to come.

It’s also kind of interesting to me personally, because I met Choi Cheolhan 9d awhile back in Korea - it was 2007, I think. I have a picture of us together, but I’m hesitant to spread it around since I was about 20 pounds heavier at that time.

Anyway, glad that you like the videos.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Thu Feb 13, 2020 12:23 pm

Second BIBA game was today. I haven't been having a regular routine, since that's changing up next month anyway. So I haven't been studying a *lot*, except for the problems that I get from BIBA - I always do those.

Last week, I did problems and they seemed pretty simple. So Diana gave me some harder ones - 12 of them. I thought they were harder, but I did them in 40 minutes, and got them all correct. She said that it was good to get them correct, but I should aim to get the 12 problems done in 24 minutes - 2 minutes a problem. It's a good idea. I've done a lot of go problems in my day (I like that form of study), but I *very*, *very* rarely time myself. I think it's a good idea to have the time pressure. The only time I've really done this is with Lee Hajin's app, Baduk Pop, which forces a timer.

I should time myself more often.

Anyway, here is the game:

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Thu Feb 13, 2020 12:32 pm

Some highlights...

Position 1

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

It felt good to cut through here. But it can get more complicated like this:

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

It might still be OK for me, I feel, but it's a little complicated. I certainly didn't read this during the game (and I haven't really read it out yet, now, either!).

---

Position 2

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

The move above is naive. I expect him to just answer me:

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

His move was *great*, and it helps with the cut:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X . X . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . O X X X O O . . . O . . . O X . . . | $$ | . O O O O . . . . , . . . . O , X . . | $$ | X O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X . X O O . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . X O . O . . . . . 2 . X X . . . | $$ | . . . . X O . . . . . . . . . O X . . | $$ | . X X . X O . . . . . . . . X O X . . | $$ | . O . X O 4 . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . O O 3 . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . 9 7 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 1 8 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . | $$ | . . X , O . . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . O . . . . X . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

!!!

I thought his move was great.

I feel OK about the resulting follow up to get me the stone, but maybe he could have still resisted:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X . X . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . O X X X O O . . . O . . . O X . . . | $$ | . O O O O . . . . , . . . . O , X . . | $$ | X O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | 5 X . X O O . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . 1 W X O . O . . . . . . . X X . . . | $$ | . . 2 3 X O . . . . . . . . . O X . . | $$ | . X X 6 X O . . . . . . . . X O X . . | $$ | . O 4 C O . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . | $$ | . . X , O . . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . O . . . . X . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Felt great to do this, though, seems he may have a way to resist.

---

Position 3
This is a little risky:

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

For example, black might play at 'a', and it can mix things up.

I think my position is decent right now, so probably I should just be solid here:

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

Very hard for me to force myself to play this way, though. Seems very passive to me. But probably safer in this case. And I can be more aggressive on follow ups after this, perhaps...

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Position 4
Cutting here puts risk on my right side group:

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

I think it makes more sense to let him connect, and defend my group:

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

Attacking doesn't have to kill - it can bring other benefits. Like here, strengthening my right side group.

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Position 5
Obviously, don't tenuki here:

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

I don't know what I was thinking here - I guess I lost my concentration.

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Summary

In this game, there are two takeaways that I want to hold on to:
1. Don't be naive. I expected my opponent to answer in an obvious way in Position 2, but this was wishful thinking, as they say.
2. Don't put so much risk into the game. When I feel a little comfortable, I should consolidate - not give more chances. This is hard for me to do, though.

Bill Spight · Post by **Bill Spight** » Fri Feb 14, 2020 10:26 am

Kirby wrote:Last week, I did problems and they seemed pretty simple. So Diana gave me some harder ones - 12 of them. I thought they were harder, but I did them in 40 minutes, and got them all correct. She said that it was good to get them correct, but I should aim to get the 12 problems done in 24 minutes - 2 minutes a problem.

Yeah, 2 min. per problem seems like a good time limit.

But my guess is that the pros do not know about the 50% rule for learning tasks. A good level for the problems is one where you get half of them right in the time allowed.

Bill Spight · Post by **Bill Spight** » Fri Feb 14, 2020 11:03 am

A few caustic comments on the last game.

By now I am reasonably certain that the last corner tedomari is a thing. Besides that, even the ancients who played with no komi thought that this approach was objectively suboptimal, but did not want to give Black an easy game.

Long before the AI era, Shuei showed that leaving this two stone shape to fend for itself was fine. Seize the last open corner. (And the bots have shown that the three space extension rule is not correct. Jowa and other top players did not follow it, either.)

What special opening did you prevent Black from playing? He got in the Shusaku 1-3-5, didn't he?

Well, I do not yet have my new computer to back me up, but I bet that just about any top bot with at least 4k rollouts for each of these options will say that the keima approach to the bottom right corner has a better winrate for White than this three space extension.

I guess he likes that pattern, too. Probably because his opponents are content to extend three from two stones.

Life In 19x19

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