Life In 19x19

When reviewing my blitz games (I don't invest that much time) I just focus on finding where I deviated from joseki (and whether it was worthwhile or not) and also finding the most glaring wrong shape stuff I did.

Misreads, losing on time, etc, are par for the course. Eventually you'll lose some, win some due to this aspect: It will even out.

I was told I just needed to play more, and since I can't fit long games easily, blitz is a good option. Since you play quite a lot, I guess "playing more" is not that interesting in your case, though. The thing is, in blitz you get to improve shape sense, fuseki direction and "reaction time" just because of repeated conditioning... After losing 3 games due to a misstep in a joseki, you'll damn get it right next time.

I didn't enjoy my first blitz experiences. I'm not a slow player by any means, but in blitz I just dropped stones around aimlessly investing just 1 second per move until I realised I needed to read a situation, see it was hopeless and resign. Also, my "online go anxiety" kicked in strong. But playing more has eased a lot the OGA and also I've gotten into the blitz flow a lot more. I think it has helped my game quite a bit.

Thanks for the comments, Bill. Your reviews of my games recently have been invaluable. Thank you for taking the time to help me improve. (I like you too, Bill. You point out everything moyo does wrong, even in games he's proud of. It's just fantastic! )

In that game, I didn't realize how many times my opponent tried to hand me the game. The only really slow move I saw was the kosumi. In retrospect, I feel my most glaring mistake was . I could have had the game in hand if I'd just played an extension on the bottom. I think you are right that it would have made the game easily winnable without a fight.

I may be focusing too much on attacking now that I'm working on it actively. The same tends to happen whenever I study anything in go. When I worked on fuseki I would overemphasize big moves. When I worked on joseki I would change my opening moves so they could come up and play non-optimal joseki just so I could use the variations I'd learned. Now I keep trying to create weak groups for my opponent. As you said, I could have won without fighting because of my opponent's slow moves. I should have been content to do that. (Tunnel vision is now, and will always be, your greatest enemy. )

On the other hand, if my goal when playing on the IGS is to learn, perhaps it's okay to make these kinds of mistakes? I'm not sure. In the future if I experiment intentionally on a move that I think is wrong I will mark it in the SGF along with what I think the correct move would be. (So does this retroactively make all of your bad moves "experiments?")

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I'm glad blitz games have worked well for you, RBerenguel. Perhaps if I simply focus on joseki and direction of play errors I could get some more value out of the reviews. I know that I will likely win some games on time just like I lose some on time, but for me blitzing isn't really about winning. It's about trying to improve my intuition. I decided that wasn't very valuable since I don't play fast games, but maybe it could be.

I might have to reconsider blitz games. However, if I do play blitz I probably won't post most of the games here. I don't want to have others spend their time reviewing games I didn't spend time thinking over myself. (You just don't want to post a ton of horrific losses. )

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Tonight I played 4 games on FlyOrDie. They don't save automatically, but the site surprisingly has an SGF download button for after the game.

I decided to review one of the games because I found it quite interesting. Normally I just play the games and forget about them on FlyOrDie, but this game caught my attention so I thought I'd share it. (And what, your other games there don't even get you to notice them? Do you just lose on time? )

I made a huge sacrifice and then a blunder and still was able to win. I think the game illustrates the value of outside thickness, the importance of attacking/defending a weak group, and why points are not the be-all and end-all of the game.



For those wondering, my FlyOrDie username is not moyoaji. I use a different handle there, but I updated the SGF to avoid confusion. (And you're not going to tell us what it is, huh? )

Doing Well with Go Problems

So I have been keeping up on my go problem studies. I've done dozens of problems on GoProblems.com over the last two weeks. I've been hovering at 2-4 kyu during that time. Sometimes I would even fall to 6 kyu.

But tonight I was doing well and, for the first time ever, I've managed to reach the dan level on that site. (Well done, you now have the go problem solving skills of a slightly not bad player. )

Not only that, I proceeded to solve problems successfully and it eventually set me to 3 dan! I've been able to maintain that level over about a dozen problems. I even bounced up to 4 dan at one point, but the 5 dan problem that met me there was too much. (Uh huh... )

Obviously this problem website is not a true indicator of my playing strength, but I feel that hitting the dan levels there is an accomplishment. Working to solve higher level problems helps to improving reading and being able to reach the 3 dan level on GoProblems.com is a sign of just how much better my reading has become over the last few months.

I remember not long ago I was ashamed of my life and death reading. To see that I now am able to solve problems of this level is amazing to me. I suppose that post was made in June of last year, but I still remember writing it. (And I still remember laughing at how you were faking your reading ability into the SDK ranks. )

At one point I hit a 6 dan problem and that stumped me. I think I did pretty well even if I didn't find the solution. I found a favorable ko for black - one step for him, two step for white, where black took first. In a game I would probably be happy with finding this result. But there was a better solution that I missed. (Don't try to give yourself partial credit like that! Failure is failure! )

The problem is very interesting. So I'll post it here and show you guys my 3 dan level. (Show off... )

This is one more piece of the puzzle. Perhaps a year from now I'll look back on this post and again be surprised by how far I've come... (Wow, you haven't gotten that sappy in a while. )

moyoaji wrote:Doing Well with Go Problems

So I have been keeping up on my go problem studies. I've done dozens of problems on GoProblems.com over the last two weeks. I've been hovering at 2-4 kyu during that time. Sometimes I would even fall to 6 kyu.

But tonight I was doing well and, for the first time ever, I've managed to reach the dan level on that site. (Well done, you now have the go problem solving skills of a slightly not bad player. )

Not only that, I proceeded to solve problems successfully and it eventually set me to 3 dan! I've been able to maintain that level over about a dozen problems. I even bounced up to 4 dan at one point, but the 5 dan problem that met me there was too much. (Uh huh... )

Obviously this problem website is not a true indicator of my playing strength, but I feel that hitting the dan levels there is an accomplishment. Working to solve higher level problems helps to improving reading and being able to reach the 3 dan level on GoProblems.com is a sign of just how much better my reading has become over the last few months.

I remember not long ago I was ashamed of my life and death reading. To see that I now am able to solve problems of this level is amazing to me. I suppose that post was made in June of last year, but I still remember writing it. (And I still remember laughing at how you were faking your reading ability into the SDK ranks. )

At one point I hit a 6 dan problem and that stumped me. I think I did pretty well even if I didn't find the solution. I found a favorable ko for black - one step for him, two step for white, where black took first. In a game I would probably be happy with finding this result. But there was a better solution that I missed. (Don't try to give yourself partial credit like that! Failure is failure! )

The problem is very interesting. So I'll post it here and show you guys my 3 dan level. (Show off... )

This is one more piece of the puzzle. Perhaps a year from now I'll look back on this post and again be surprised by how far I've come... (Wow, you haven't gotten that sappy in a while. )

Black to move, link to problem.

Edit: without reading, I got the correct first move, but instinct made me pick a wrong second move. Doesn't seem like a particularly though problem, though.

I have returned. (You left? ) I was up north for a week long retreat at the start of May and for the week before and after that I haven't really put much effort into studying go.

A part of me was worried that the three week hiatus would ruin my game. Thankfully, it hasn't. I was able to attend the West Michigan club tonight and played the 2 kyu player again. (And you improved enough to finally beat him?) I lost, but only by 3.5 points. (Well, I suppose that's no worse than you were doing before. )

I've looked at a couple more go problems now and then, I played a 13x13 game against my computer, and I did review one of the games from The Chinese Opening, but that's all I've done for three weeks. This is less than I'd been doing before and much less than I'd planned to do once the summer got started. (Way to get lazy as soon as you have the free time to actually stick to your schedule... )

Honestly, I've lost a lot of my motivation. I'm not sure where it went, but I'm hoping to get it back soon. I'm actually going to be starting a study group with a couple of weaker players from the West Michigan Go Club so perhaps some of their motivation can rub off on me. Basically, I need someone to push me. (And my amazing motivational talks are not enough for you?! )

Sadly I did not record my game with Nate, so I have no game for you guys. But hopefully I will have more to say soon.

EDIT: Here, I'll post a game I played against Fuego tonight. I'm going to play it to figure out what handicap it needs against me now. First game was even where I gave Fuego black. (Yeah, because beating up on your computer'll make you stronger... )

moyoaji wrote:the West Michigan Go Club

Are you familiar with the Kalamazoo Go club by any chance ?

A few thoughts:
For move 8, is a classic response when black tenukis from the magic sword pincer, and is the reason it's usually not abandoned. Playing into that by transposition seems like a fine line too. You'll have 3 stones in the area, so you can play closer, which is to say, more severely, without trouble.

At 73, I don't think connecting under is gote is any good at all. Black has no eyeshape, just got heavier, removed aji in white's position, AND gave up sente so that white can take the vital point while making a corner enclosure.

Regarding the all out fight at the end, based on my experience in our series, at least, I get the impression that you start looking for this all-out finish when it isn't warranted, which is to say, when the game is relatively even or you are ahead by a bit. It can be a hard habit to break, but careful counting before you embark on such a measure is not a bad idea.

EdLee wrote:Are you familiar with the Kalamazoo Go club by any chance ?

I have heard of them. I attended the Two Cities United Tournament at the Kalamazoo Club last year. However, their usual meeting times haven't really worked well for me in the past. I'm busy on Thursday nights. I hope to go to one of their meetings at some point. Perhaps I'll simply have to cancel my usual Thursday night plans and head down there. (You complain on here that there are no go players in your area, but there are three clubs within driving distance of you... )

skydyr wrote:For move 8, is a classic response when black tenukis from the magic sword pincer, and is the reason it's usually not abandoned. Playing into that by transposition seems like a fine line too. You'll have 3 stones in the area, so you can play closer, which is to say, more severely, without trouble.

I did that in one of our games. In general that would be my response to a tenuki there. However, I wanted to do something besides that and, considering how poor was I don't think I needed to be that severe. (What? Do you feel bad for you computer or something? )

skydyr wrote:At 73, I don't think connecting under is gote is any good at all. Black has no eyeshape, just got heavier, removed aji in white's position, AND gave up sente so that white can take the vital point while making a corner enclosure.

I agree. I just noticed that black could have connected under during the game and wanted to make note of that. I realized after doing it that the pattern ended in gote. If the connect under was sente then I think it might be worth it, but definitely not in gote. (So you noted that in your game for nothing. )

skydyr wrote:Regarding the all out fight at the end, based on my experience in our series, at least, I get the impression that you start looking for this all-out finish when it isn't warranted, which is to say, when the game is relatively even or you are ahead by a bit. It can be a hard habit to break, but careful counting before you embark on such a measure is not a bad idea.

Yes, I agree. And when I do count and find that I am ahead by a decent amount I tend to back off. The problem is when I continue the game blind without counting and I see something that looks like an overplay by my opponent. So many times I try to go for the jugular. I need to make counting a habit again. Whenever I count I do much better than when I don't. (So you again come to the conclusion that counting is important. You've come to that conclusion how many times now? )

moyoaji wrote:

skydyr wrote:At 73, I don't think connecting under is gote is any good at all. Black has no eyeshape, just got heavier, removed aji in white's position, AND gave up sente so that white can take the vital point while making a corner enclosure.

I agree. I just noticed that black could have connected under during the game and wanted to make note of that. I realized after doing it that the pattern ended in gote. If the connect under was sente then I think it might be worth it, but definitely not in gote. (So you noted that in your game for nothing. )

I'm not sure it's worth doing before black lives with that group. It's decently sized endgame, and hypothetically in sente, for sure. On the other hand, once black connects, the group is still heavier, which makes any attack on it that white attempts that much more sente. It would certainly be way too slow for white to play another move to prevent it, so black should hold off until just before that point, assuming it were sente. A corner approach from the 3 stones would be much nicer, for example.

So I'm slowly getting back into things. I watched the last two Nick Sibicky lectures and I appreciated both of them greatly. (Of course you did. He makes his lectures for DDK players. That ways you have a chance of understanding him. ) His 4-4 joseki workshop was mostly review for me, but I still enjoyed the problems. What I want to talk about is his lecture on the first Gu Li vs. Li Zhe Longxing final match. Here is the game.


This game was very interesting to me for a number of reasons, but the biggest one was the sacrifice of black's "stick" in the lower left. looked like a game-breaking tesuji to me. I would be mortified if my opponent ever played a move like that. (You've been mortified by your opponents playing 9k moves let alone 9p moves... ) At first it looks like Li Zhe is going to save his stones - that may have been his original intention even. Yet from it is clear that his intention now is a bold sacrifice. It works because he can see what he will get from it. He can see that white's group in the center has just become weak. White is clearly committed to killing the black stones, so he must save it. And that allows black to gain a monstrous territory on the right. Everything lined up for black to do this, but it took strong reading and a great understanding of the game to find this sequence and best one of the greatest go players of our time.

I think this game allowed me to see the wall that has formed in front of me. The reason I struggle with attack and defense - the reason I struggle with anything beyond the opening really - is that I can't read on a large scale. Locally my reading has improved greatly. Yet even when I play a move that has global implications - however good it might be - I don't read what is going to happen as a result. Whenever I make territory from attacking or gain a box in the center it always surprises me. A part of me sees profiting as a sort of magic. If you just attack well you'll naturally form points, right? (We're back to this nonsense again? Did you even write an essay about the importance of reading? Have you just been pretending to read your whole go career? ) There may be some truth to the idea of points forming naturally from attacking, but it is certainly not magic. I need to understand how attacking profits.

So this is what I must work on; I must see how the magic works. I must piece together all of the parts of the board and understand how they interact. I must truly think globally. I must read how my opponent and I will develop our territories and try to picture how the board will look, not in 4 or 5 moves, but in 40 or 50 moves. (You want to read 40 moves? You? You don't even have the right to sit at the same board as someone who can accurately read 40 moves let alone doing it yourself... )

I want to start with this game. I want to use this game as a way of examining global thinking and how to profit from attacking. Considering that this game showed me where the fault lies it seems like a good place to start. (All well and good, but you're gonna forget these lessons in a week.)

And so that I don't forget these things, I intend to memorize this game. ( ) I have never done this before, but I think this game is a good one for me to do that with. I'm not looking for a parlor trick where I can just play out this game. I want to understand the moves. I want to burn into my memory the ideas that make this game interesting to me. The idea that attacking is not magic. The idea that you can feel free to sacrifice something for the sake of something better. The idea that sente matters. All of the things that the game shows are things I need to work on. So I'm going to take this step. (I'm not sure how I feel about this... )

It is time for me to start thinking differently in my go. I need to let go of my kyu reading and start trying to read like a dan.

Seems like you and I share a similar wall for progress.

I like the game you posted, especially the way black plays. Black's moves are in a style that I tend towards as well, which makes it a prime candidate for me to memorize as well. Thanks for sharing!

I'm always looking for more opponents, so if you see me on KGS and want a game, let me know. Maybe we'll figure this global stuff out that way ...

So yesterday I had an interesting experience. (That's a first. ) I was spending time with a friend of mine going to a coffee house in downtown Grand Rapids where they play chess. (Really? A chess story? ) We mentioned to the other players that we were from Grand Valley's Go and Chess Club. Most of them had heard of go and one of them had dabbled in it. He said he had a friend who moved to San Fransisco and was a 3 dan. We had just started to talk about the culture of go clubs - the idea that most strong players are willing to help weaker players with their game - when something crazy happened.

AT that moment two guys walked into the coffee house. One was carrying a Yellow Mountain Imports stone bag and the other carried a go board. (What?! )

I have never run into other go players in Grand Rapids like this. I immediately abandoned the chess games and struck up a conversation with them. The players were 12k and 15k, but they were both eager to play a stronger player. I played a game with each, giving them handicaps and reviewing afterwards.

Surprisingly, they were both players with my style. The 12k apparently decided to study the opening heavily and primarily needed to work on reading. I gave the 15k a 100 point reverse komi and he proceeded to open with the Low Chinese! He didn't know all of its intricacies, but it was surprising to meet a 15k that played this opening. Meeting these players was like running into myself a year and a half ago.

So my evening went from moderately interesting chess matches to an exciting evening of playing go. (Huh. And here you always complain about how there are no go players in your area. ) Of course I told them both about the West Michigan Go Club and with any luck they will attend sometime this summer.

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As for my studies I'm still working to memorize the Li Zhe-Gu Li game. So far I've got the first 60 moves or so memorized and then smatterings after that. I keep forgetting the move order and just how many stones black adds to his sacrifice in the lower right. He gives up an additional seven stones beyond the four that he started with. He potentially gave up nine additional if he hadn't saved the couple on the bottom.

I also counted during the game and the finish was actually much closer than I'd thought. White is only down by about 6 or 7 points after komi and he has the first move. But I suppose that is just too much. I don't see any great sente moves for him and black's massive moyo is all but irreducible. (Are you surprised the Gu Li kept the game close to the end? It's Gu Li. )

This game between Ichiriki Ryo and Nakane Naoyuki also features an impressive sacrifice. The position is much more advanced than in Gu Li's game so it's maybe less global, still I find this kind of decision impressive

Shenoute wrote:This game between Ichiriki Ryo and Nakane Naoyuki also features an impressive sacrifice. The position is much more advanced than in Gu Li's game so it's maybe less global, still I find this kind of decision impressive

That is impressive. The scale of this sacrifice is also much larger than Li Zhe's, and the position is way more complicated, but it's a great game nonetheless. I think I'll take time to review this one while I'm memorizing the other. (Won't that just hurt your ability to memorize the Li Zhe-Gu Li game? ) The games are dissimilar enough that it shouldn't hurt my memorization and I think it might be worth my time trying to understand the global implications of the moves as it does seem like a game where the professionals are intensely focused on the whole board situation. (Are there professional games where the players aren't thinking about the whole board? )

I haven't been posting to my journal, so I want to rectify that. (Good. How has your progress been?)

I haven't studied much go the last couple of days. ( ) I did read some in "Attack and Defense" and I have done some more work on memorizing that Li Zhe game. I currently have it up until around move 170, but I haven't advanced in that because I haven't been practicing. (So you aren't improving because you aren't practicing. Discovery of the century right here, folks. ) The ko is fairly straight forward, but the exact order of the moves in it and right before it are eluding me.

But I do have something to say, even if it is brief. The only thing about go I really learned today was something I already knew: the fundamentals matter. I was doing more go problems and I came across this one: http://goproblems.com/8151 It's rated 1 dan and I was struggling to get it right. Then I remembered something that was in "Lessons" - the chapter on life and death.

Sure enough, Kageyama was right. Eye space before vital points. (Wow. You just spoiled the problem for them. Way to go...)

This principle also applies to what leads up to the ko in that game. If I remember correctly, the professional's moves follow this pattern. Black and white first work to maximize their own eye space while minimizing their opponent's. In fact, that's basically all the fight comes down to. I should make sure that in my next time through the game I see if there are any vital points that one might be eager to play. Then I can better understand why the professionals ignored them. (They ignored them because they know what they are doing when they play this game. )

Perhaps the time has truly come for me to give "Lessons" another read. I skimmed it again after my first time through, but considering that I want motivation, and that I seem to have hit a wall in my whole board thinking work, it could be time again for that book. (Do you think this book is magic? )

Hope you all have a great weekend.