Life In 19x19

Posted: **Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:50 am**

General remark:

You diligently play games and post them for review, but I'm still missing something in your "deliberate practice": what is it you are deliberately practicing?

When I'm reading a lament like

I'm not sure exactly why, but I simply wasn't in the right mindset to play in game 42. Despite reasonable time limits, I played as though it were a blitz game, not bothering to read at all, and barely using any of my time. Even though it remained close, eventually I made enough errors that I needed to resign.

I'm getting the impression that you've lost track. You mention a couple of issues here which I have discussed at my Sensei's blog:
- play games with the right attitude
- don't resign out of emotion but because the game is truly lost
- manage your time

Most importantly, these are things you can practice and in my opinion should be practiced before practicing anything else. This will train your mind to play all future games with the right attitude, make time management a second nature and save you from emotional measures like resigning out of disappointment with yourself.

This is of course my opinion and you can choose to practice whatever you want in whichever order, but right now I'm under the impression you are not really deliberately practicing anything at all.

Incidentally, game 41 contained an interesting notion of "thickness". Moves 64 through 72.

Cheers

Posted: **Sun Jul 19, 2015 4:44 am**

@Loons: Yes, you've posted the most common joseki in response to White's attachment. Recently, I've been playing the joseki you saw in the game because it felt like a nearly identical shape, except that White's corner is slightly smaller. Either way, my struggle is always how to deal with the left side after White plays out this sequence. It ends up feeling to me like sanrensei, except that White also has the corner territory.

@Knotwilg: Thanks again for the comments. My goal with deliberate practice had been to change how I respond to my games (especially losses). Previously, I had simply dismissed them, or quickly hit the button to start another game to try to redeem myself. Now, with the review, I'm at least trying to learn a bit more about why I lost, in order to (hopefully) avoid repeating mistakes.

There is a separate aspect that you rightly highlight, which is the self-discipline aspect of playing deliberately as opposed to instinctively. There is probably some confirmation bias going on here, but I do think that the reviews are also assisting with that. In reviewing the game, I have the chance to experiment with some additional lines of play, and (with the exception of Game 42), I'd like to think that this is translating into more deliberate play and reading during games as well. Before this project, I think I played many more games like Game 42, but now they thankfully seem more rare.

Posted: **Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:25 pm**

@Studying

The difference being the push through and cut big, bad ko aji v the less crazy common invasion point at C6, right? Takao's joseki dictionary vol 2 covers this pretty well.

Posted: **Sun Jul 19, 2015 3:14 pm**

studying wrote:My goal with deliberate practice had been to change how I respond to my games (especially losses). Previously, I had simply dismissed them, or quickly hit the button to start another game to try to redeem myself. Now, with the review, I'm at least trying to learn a bit more about why I lost, in order to (hopefully) avoid repeating mistakes. (...) Before this project, I think I played many more games like Game 42, but now they thankfully seem more rare.

So you're practicing the rhythm of playing decent games. All right. That's good progress then. Your project is interesting to watch. Do well!

Posted: **Sat Aug 01, 2015 1:21 pm**

Game 44
I hadn't had a chance to play any go in the last two weeks, since I was preoccupied with moving to a new house. Now that things are settled down a bit, I was happy to have the chance to play another game.

This was a no-komi game against an IGS 4d+. I made a few misreads/blunders, but was pretty happy with how I developed and defended the moyo. Here's the review:
https://gokibitz.com/kifu/Vkxj_zL9

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[GoPanda2.5.0]ST[1]SZ[19]HA[0]KM[0.5]PW[studying]WR[5d]PB[IGS Player]BR[4d+]RE[W+3.5]DT[2015-08-01]PC[IGS-PandaNet];B[pp];W[dp];B[pc];W[cd];B[pi]C[I don't know much about the high Chinese.];W[fc];B[jp];W[dj];B[fq];W[qn];B[qo];W[pn];B[np];W[pk];B[qk]C[This move surprised me.](;W[qj]C[R8 is probably the honte response, but it seemed too submissive to me.];B[pj];W[rk];B[ql];W[rl](;B[pl]C[I think Black missed an opportunity here.];W[qi];B[ok];W[qg]C[Black has good thickness and shape, but I wasn't too upset with the result either.];B[rn];W[rm];B[ro](;W[md]C[In retrospect, I don't like this move. It makes more sense before White has settled on the side. At this point, with R13 present and solid, O17 makes more sense.];B[qe];W[jd];B[dn];W[fp];B[gp];W[fo];B[eq];W[do];B[dl];W[dq];B[cn];W[fm];B[ek];W[ej];B[gk];W[fj];B[fk];W[hn];B[ho](;W[ik]C[The idea here was to try and make it so that I could play R7 in sente and threaten the Q8 stones, but that may have been a bit overly ambitious.

The variation seems better.];B[hj];W[ij];B[hi]C[This felt a bit awkward, because I am chasing Black into the White moyo.];W[gh];B[ii];W[ig];B[in];W[hm];B[im];W[hl];B[ki];W[lk];B[bd];W[ce]C[I thought hard about this move, and I'm pretty pleased with the choice still. Letting Black live small turns the moyo into something much closer to solid territory, and it should be enough to win.];B[cc];W[dc];B[cb];W[be];B[ac];W[mi];B[ck];W[cj];B[bk];W[bj];B[db];W[eb];B[dd];W[ec];B[jg];W[jf];B[kg];W[kf]C[I'm not sure about this move. It's too easy for Black to fix the weak group.];B[ih];W[hg];B[go]C[This was painful. I should have taken this awhile ago. It would have made the game much simpler.];W[en];B[gn];W[gm];B[ep];W[eo];B[kk];W[kl];B[kj];W[il];B[hq];W[jm];B[ll];W[lm];B[ml];W[mm];B[nl];W[lp];B[lo];W[oq];B[op];W[ko];B[kp];W[mo];B[lq];W[pq]SQ[go]C[Because of the marked stone, White's group isn't completely alive, which means this doesn't actually work.];B[mp];W[bo];B[rq];W[pb];B[ob];W[oc](;B[qb]C[I think this was a mistake.];W[pd];B[pa];W[qc];B[pb];W[qd];B[nc];W[mb];B[od];W[pe];B[mc];W[lb];B[ld];W[me];B[oe];W[pf];B[lc];W[kc];B[kd];W[lf]C[This was a critical misread for me, and I should have lost the game because of it.];B[jc];W[kb];B[id];W[je];B[ib];W[jb];B[ic];W[hb](;B[ia];W[hc];B[nb];W[hd];B[rc];W[rd];B[rb];W[mj];B[mk];W[ae];B[ba];W[bn];B[em];W[fn];B[mh];W[nh];B[mg];W[oi]C[Another misread.];B[og]C[Now the game is much closer];W[ph];B[oh];W[dr];B[ma];W[ha];B[sd];W[fs];B[gr];W[se];B[sc];W[re];B[kn];W[jn];B[io];W[jo];B[mf];W[of];B[ng]C[O14 is slightly better.];W[nf];B[qm];W[on];B[ln];W[mn];B[lp];W[km];B[nm];W[nn];B[bm];W[co];B[gi];W[fi];B[aj];W[ai];B[al];W[er];B[sm];W[fr];B[gq];W[gs];B[hs];W[an];B[bi];W[ak];B[la];W[ie];B[aj];W[ah];B[bh];W[ak];B[rj];W[ri];B[aj];W[ag];B[pg];W[qh];B[da];W[ak];B[ea];W[fa];B[aj];W[rr];B[qq];W[ak];B[sl];W[sj];B[aj];W[qr];B[nr];W[ak];B[jk];W[jl];B[aj];W[jj];B[ji];W[ak];B[dk];W[aj];B[om];W[lg];B[lh];W[ad];B[bc];W[fl];B[nd];W[na];B[oa];W[el];B[dm];W[am];B[bl];W[sk];B[sn];W[pm];B[oj];W[hh];B[na];W[ja];B[];W[];B[]C[W+3.5])(;B[hc];W[gb];B[ia](;W[gc];B[gd];W[he];B[hd];W[ge];B[fd];W[fe];B[ed];W[ee];B[fa];W[ea];B[da])(;W[ie];B[gd]C[Black has too many liberties.])))(;B[od]C[Normally Black plays this atari first.];W[nc];B[qb];W[pd];B[qc];W[pe]))(;W[hi];B[ik];W[go];B[io];W[hl];B[hk];W[ji]))(;W[nc];B[qe];W[oe]))(;B[rj];W[qi];B[qh];W[ri];B[rh];W[sj];B[ok];W[pl];B[ol];W[qm];B[oh]C[Black has excellent thickness now.]))(;W[ql];B[qj];W[rm]C[White can settle here, with later potential to reduce the corner.]))

Posted: **Sun Aug 02, 2015 8:03 am**

Game 45
I played another game on Tygem today, and was reasonably happy with my play. My opponent played moves that could have easily derailed me into another garbage game, but I was able to keep calm and play deliberate moves. That said, I felt I got lucky in the main fight. Here is the review: https://gokibitz.com/kifu/VyeCyXDq

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]SZ[19]PW[studying]WR[5d]PB[Tygem player]BR[5d]KM[6.5]RE[W+Resign]DT[2015-08-02];B[qd];W[dc];B[cp];W[pp];B[fp]C[I've hardly ever seen this corner enclosure before. It was a bit intimidating.];W[cj];B[de]C[This seems like the wrong direction. I expected O3.];W[ce];B[cf];W[cd];B[df];W[fc];B[cl];W[ej]C[Maybe C12 is more interesting?];B[ch];W[bi];B[el];W[gj];B[gf];W[gl]C[At this point, I used to have a bad habit of playing tenuki, but I've now started appreciating more the importance of playing an extra move in these kinds of running battles.

That said, the shape here is a bit thin, as Black points out.];B[fk];W[fj];B[gk];W[hk];B[gd];W[gc];B[hd](;W[ic]C[This was a tough decision, and I'm not sure that I made the correct choice between J17 and J10.];B[hj];W[hi];B[ij];W[fg];B[ed];W[ii];B[jj];W[ji];B[kj];W[id];B[ec];W[eb];B[fb];W[db];B[hc];W[gb];B[ie];W[je];B[if];W[jf];B[hb];W[ib];B[fd];W[fa];B[bg];W[dg]C[This was probably a mistake, but I was now in byoyomi. I think White is better to just play K8 without this exchange.];B[eg];W[eh];B[ef];W[il];B[km];W[hp];B[kp]C[This seemed like an overplay, as Black's shape is incredibly thin everywhere, but I'm not sure I handled it as well as I should have (even though I got a good result).];W[fq];B[eq];W[gq];B[ep];W[kl];B[ll];W[lm](;B[jl]C[This seemed like a mistake.](;W[kn]C[This was a move order mistake I think, but Black didn't take advantage of it.](;B[kk];W[jm](;B[kl]C[This seemed incredibly timid, especially after the aggressive moves at L7 and L4. I think Black should have played the variation.];W[jn];B[mm];W[ln]C[This is a great result for White. The previously weak stones at H9 are now strong, and Black is left trying to juggle both the L4 stone and the central stones.];B[op]C[A very strange move.];W[pq];B[on];W[mp](;B[oq]C[I had expected Black to sacrifice L4 and try to build the right side.];W[po];B[oo];W[qm];B[mq];W[lq];B[lp];W[kq];B[mo];W[mr]C[This may have been an overplay.](;B[pr];W[nq];B[pn];W[qn];B[qq];W[rp];B[rq];W[qp];B[nr];W[qj]C[I thought this would threaten the N8 cut.];B[qh];W[ml];B[mk];W[nl];B[nk];W[ol];B[pk];W[ok];B[oj];W[pl];B[np];W[mq];B[mn];W[ns];B[or](;W[pj]C[I'm not sure about this move.];B[oi](;W[mi]C[Maybe cutting was more interesting?];B[lh];W[mh];B[mj];W[lg];B[og];W[od];B[oc];W[nc];B[ob];W[qf];B[li];W[bl];B[cm];W[rd];B[re];W[qe];B[rc];W[pd];B[qc];W[rf];B[sd];W[ng]C[This was a mistake. I missed that M11 made the Black group alive, so I thought that this was a sente attack.];B[of];W[bm];B[bn];W[ck];B[nf];W[mf];B[nh];W[mg];B[kg];W[me];B[ni];W[nb]C[In retrospect, I think this should be M5. I didn't realize how much trouble Black can cause there.];B[lo](;W[jp]C[I didn't like what I read in the variation.];B[am];W[ak];B[jq];W[iq];B[jo](;W[jr]C[Maybe the variation is better?];B[io];W[hn];B[ho];W[go];B[ip];W[gp];B[jq];W[fn]C[I figured I had enough local ko threats that this was ok.];B[ir];W[jp];B[rh];W[jq];B[pe];W[rr];B[qr];W[sq];B[sr];W[ss];B[qs];W[er];B[dr];W[fs];B[dn];W[oa];B[pb];W[ri];B[qi];W[rj];B[ia];W[ja];B[ha];W[kb];B[be];W[bd];B[ad];W[ac];B[ae];W[bb];B[ga]C[Too small.];W[ds];B[cs]C[Since I felt i was winning, I opted against playing the ko.];W[es];B[cr];W[ko];B[jg];W[dh];B[kf];W[ke];B[le];W[ld];B[lf];W[ne];B[oe](;W[lc]C[It turns out this was overly cautious, but I didn't have time to read perfectly.];B[hg];W[gh]C[Black resigns.])(;W[aa];B[lc](;W[md];B[kd];W[jd];B[kc];W[jb];B[lb])(;W[kd];B[md];W[nd];B[mc];W[kc];B[mb];W[ma])))(;W[ip];B[io](;W[ho];B[in];W[im];B[hn];W[gn];B[hm];W[gm];B[ko];W[fo])(;W[hn];B[ho];W[go];B[ko];W[gp];B[in];W[hm])))(;W[jq];B[io];W[hn];B[ho];W[go];B[gp]))(;W[ph];B[pi];W[qi];B[qg];W[oh]))(;W[oi]C[I couldn't read this out fully during the game, so I played the safe move.];B[pj];W[nj](;B[ni];W[mj];B[mi];W[lk];B[li];W[pi])(;B[mj];W[ni];B[qk];W[lh];B[ik];W[hl];B[mi];W[mh];B[rl])))(;B[jq];W[jr];B[kr];W[lr];B[ir](;W[ks];B[ip])(;W[jp];B[iq];W[ip];B[js];W[nq];B[lo];W[or];B[hq];W[gp];B[gr])))(;B[po];W[oq];B[kh]))(;B[ln](;W[mm];B[jn])(;W[kl];B[mm];W[km];B[ml])))(;B[jm];W[jn];B[ln];W[mm];B[in]))(;W[jm];B[kk];W[kn]C[White should play like this instead.]))(;B[kn];W[lk];B[ml];W[kk];B[ik];W[hl];B[jl];W[jk];B[jm]C[The ladder doesn't work for White, and Black can aim at the H6 cut.]))(;W[ij];B[hc]C[Letting Black have this turn is painful, but White at least has better shape in the center.]))

Posted: **Sun Aug 02, 2015 8:40 am**

Some low-level-kibitz ; )

Posted: **Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:23 am**

Overall, good decision making it seems, good time management and according choices of moves (cautious or daring). Perhaps a little too eager to fight, first on the left, then in the centre. Interesting question around :w28:

. Great counter at :w38:

- would never have thought of that.

Posted: **Mon Aug 03, 2015 8:17 am**

The direction of 20 ('a' below) feels wrong to me. What if White plays :w1:

, making territory at the top? Black is too thin at the top to cap at 3 with 2. So if :b2:

, then

.

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

When White plays :w1:

below (22 in the game), I would have an irresistible urge as Black to turn at :b2:

even if I lost some stones. White's four stones end up suffering from a shortage of liberties and meanwhile the gaps at 'a' and 'b' mean that Black will pick up the marked stone. If White can't push immediately at 2 with 22, then I think the simple hanging connection is necessary here.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O a O O b W . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O 9 6 8 X X . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . O X 5 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X 7 3 X . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . O . . . . . O 2 . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , O O O X X , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X , . X . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Posted: **Mon Aug 03, 2015 8:35 am**

ez4u wrote:The direction of 20 ('a' below) feels wrong to me. What if White plays , making territory at the top? Black is too thin at the top to cap at 3 with 2. So if , then .
$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . 1 . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . X . 2 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , O . O . 3 , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . a . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . X . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

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

When White plays below (22 in the game), I would have an irresistible urge as Black to turn at even if I lost some stones. White's four stones end up suffering from a shortage of liberties and meanwhile the gaps at 'a' and 'b' mean that Black will pick up the marked stone. If White can't push immediately at 2 with 22, then I think the simple hanging connection is necessary here.

$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O a O O b W . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 9 6 8 X X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . O X 5 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X 7 3 X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . O 2 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , O O O X X , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . X . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O a O O b W . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O 9 6 8 X X . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . O X 5 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X 7 3 X . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . O . . . . . O 2 . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , O O O X X , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X , . X . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Concerning the first suggestion, I agree White's turn is thin but I'd tenuki for the right or bottom. I don't think the development at the top is urgent or big. White's head is already sticking out.

About the second one, I had the same urge but felt uncomfortable with the sacrifice. Still it looks more than playable in your diagram.

Posted: **Mon Aug 03, 2015 9:03 am**

Hm, interesting.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$W $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 1 , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X , . X . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

I don't think :w1:

is a natural extension because it has no connection to White's corner stone. If at 'a', I could see the connection (pincering an approach move by Black) but then it would be a lukewarm extension not really countering Black's wide Shimari. I guess, you can even make a point that with such a wide Shimari the extension loses value because you have considerable less strength to back it up - though, that's probably above my head (or wrong?) ; )

For me, this just denies Black a good extension but the prospects for a good White development look slim - meaning, this move has no good follow-up in my opinion. If White takes his Shimari then :w1:

ends on the wrong side. If White plays something like Keima from the 3-4-stone, then there is a lot of room for Black to enter.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$W $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . a . . . . 2 . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . b , . . . . . , . . . . . , 1 . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X , . X . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

If we imagine that play goes like this, then I guess I erred on saying the top and the left are Miai since now the right side seems more important for both. Now :w1:

is a natural extension, countering Black's Shimari. But after this I find it quite complicated to say which moves are now biggest. 'a' or 'b'? And what about the bottom?

Posted: **Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:10 am**

Incidentally, in game 44, you are aware that instead of move 152, white could play at the 1-2 point and force ko for life, since black played the ill-advised D18 exchange?

Posted: **Sat Sep 26, 2015 5:44 pm**

Game 46
I haven't been able to play go for about the last 2 months due to various other obligations. (It turns out that planning a wedding takes a lot of time!) Looking back at what I missed, I'm really grateful for everyone's helpful comments on my last few games, they're really insightful and I plan to give them more careful study in the coming days.

However, tonight I wanted to dive back into getting the rust cleaned up off my game. I decided to try my luck on KGS, even though the rating system there tends to stress me out. On servers like IGS and Tygem, I can more easily convince myself to shake off a loss because a win balances things out pretty well. On KGS, the ranks seem to get sticky so quickly that any loss feels like a bigger deal because I know it will take several wins to put me back on the upward trajectory that I think most go players want to be on.

In any case, here is tonight's game. I felt I played reasonably well, although I can tell I'm still not back completely to where I was over the summer: https://gokibitz.com/kifu/Ekdftmlyx

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2]RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[0.50]TM[1500]OT[5x30 byo-yomi]PW[studying]PB[ddUsopp]BR[2k]DT[2015-09-26]PC[The KGS Go Server at http://www.gokgs.com/]C[ddUsopp [2k\]: hi gg
studying [?\]: Hi
studying [?\]: have fun
]RE[W+Resign];B[pd]BL[1493.37];W[dd]WL[1496.997];B[pq]BL[1487.732];W[cp]WL[1486.385];B[ep]BL[1484.15];W[po]WL[1465.949];B[np]BL[1466.37];W[qq]WL[1459.045];B[qr]BL[1464.6];W[qp]WL[1454.934];B[or]BL[1463.014];W[qk]WL[1447.557];B[cq]BL[1459.19];W[bq]WL[1422.81];B[dq]BL[1456.959];W[bo]WL[1407.676]C[I also considered C7, but I was worried Black would jump ahead in territory too fast.];B[iq]BL[1454.924]C[I expected this to be on the fourth line (either H4 or J4).];W[dm]WL[1394.371];B[qi]BL[1450.364];W[ok]WL[1383.944]C[I didn't want to respond initially, but I realized I needed a strong group if I was going to reduce the bottom.];B[nn]BL[1447.325]C[This seemed a bit strange after already provoking P9.];W[nc]WL[1368.051];B[qf]BL[1439.032];W[jd]WL[1364.604];B[qm]BL[1435.91];W[pm]WL[1361.516];B[pc]BL[1431.941];W[ql]WL[1318.138]C[In retrospect, I think this was too slow. C14 looks more interesting. At the time, I was worried that Black would play M17 and leave White with weak groups everywhere, but I think White can play lightly and be ok.];B[cf]BL[1428.654](;W[fc]WL[1269.413]C[I strongly considered the variation, but was worried about ending up with enough territory.];B[bd]BL[1424.656];W[cg]WL[1259.112];B[dg]BL[1421.62];W[ch]WL[1255.887];B[dh]BL[1419.22];W[bf]WL[1237.28];B[ce]BL[1417.401];W[cj]WL[1226.175];B[cc]BL[1414.841];W[dc]WL[1190.046];B[ef]BL[1382.96];W[cd]WL[1177.486]C[This may have been too early. The overall sequence is gote and not that many points.];B[be]BL[1380.598];W[bc]WL[1175.669];B[cb]BL[1378.422]C[I think this is a mistake. Without it, Black can later play B18.];W[bb]WL[1173.39];B[bg]BL[1375.075];W[bh]WL[1171.692];B[af]BL[1372.348];W[jp]WL[1134.866];B[jq]BL[1365.605]C[I was surprised by this. It feels submissive.];W[lp]WL[1130.254];B[ln]BL[1348.799];W[gp]WL[1093.654]C[Since Black is trying to seal White in, I felt this move gave me a nice way of getting out further.];B[dn]BL[1341.07]C[I did not expect this move at all. It's the first of a number of questionable attachment moves by Black.];W[eo]WL[1060.102];B[fo]BL[1327.228](;W[en]WL[1018.441]C[This may have been too greedy. D5 is better shape. I also considered the variation, but my reading is rusty and I couldn't see clearly enough that it would work out ok.];B[fp]BL[1319.016];W[ip]WL[1006.839];B[gq]BL[1305.641];W[hq]WL[992.505];B[hr]BL[1300.34];W[hp]WL[990.676];B[ir]BL[1292.912];W[fn]WL[973.614];B[gn]BL[1289.884];W[im]WL[937.66];B[ko]BL[1270.67];W[kp]WL[898.678];B[go]BL[1241.481];W[jn]WL[889.641];B[dl]BL[1234.7]C[Another surprising attachment play by Black.];W[cm]WL[874.629];B[cl]BL[1230.598];W[el]WL[859.065];B[dk]BL[1218.202];W[dj]WL[839.086];B[ek]BL[1216.604];W[ej]WL[833.229];B[fk]BL[1206.476];W[bk]WL[813.019];B[bm]BL[1188.956]C[I think this was a misread by Black.];W[bl]WL[783.057];B[fl]BL[1156.564];W[em]WL[778.07];B[kl]BL[1145.813];W[ik]WL[768.991];B[id]BL[1104.282]C[Yet another attachment play.];W[ic]WL[746.316];B[jj]BL[1091.515];W[ij]WL[737.147];B[lc]BL[1082.291]C[Black is jumping all around the board, and I was puzzled about how to handle it.];W[ld]WL[721.795];B[do]BL[1079.258];W[cn]WL[713.549];B[hl]BL[1066.894]C[The cut is problematic for Black, but after this point, it becomes a hard game.];W[jk]WL[699.538];B[kk]BL[1056.233];W[mo]WL[684.376]C[This was an asking move that I was pretty pleased I came up with. I couldn't decide which side to atari K10 from, and this move made it clear which way I should play.];B[no]BL[1031.522];W[mn]WL[665.975];B[mm]BL[1029.592];W[nm]WL[650.416];B[lm]BL[1014.046];W[kj]WL[643.26]C[Because the M7 stones are now cut off, Black will have a much more difficult time saving both that group and K10, so this atari makes sense now.];B[ji]BL[1003.266];W[lj]WL[636.579];B[mj]BL[997.906]C[By now, I should have guessed the attachment would be coming. I was more worried about how to answer P7 though.];W[mi]WL[620.815];B[nj]BL[995.005];W[nl]WL[597.679]C[This eliminates the P7 issue.];B[mk]BL[971.355];W[pi]WL[585.275]C[Now both Black and White each have two running groups, but I feel confident about this fight because I like my shape better and White has support at the top.];B[ni]BL[962.951];W[lh]WL[575.668];B[mh]BL[952.749];W[li]WL[564.905];B[ii]BL[951.191];W[gj]WL[559.228](;B[fj]BL[948.355]C[I expected the variation instead.];W[hi]WL[555.26];B[fi]BL[923.538];W[ih]WL[527.425];B[jh]BL[921.812];W[jg]WL[525.427];B[ig]BL[918.617];W[hh]WL[522.826];B[kg]BL[917.01];W[jf]WL[519.797];B[kh]BL[914.342];W[mg]WL[507.566]C[studying [1d?\]: Thanks
ddUsopp [2k\]: /...
])(;B[hi];W[gk];B[gl];W[gi];B[gh]))(;W[fp];B[do];W[dp](;B[en];W[eq];B[er];W[fq];B[bn];W[br](;B[cr])(;B[co];W[bp]))(;B[eq];W[en];B[fn];W[em];B[ho])))(;W[ch];B[cc];W[dc];B[cd];W[de];B[bf];W[eg];B[lc]))

Posted: **Sat Sep 26, 2015 9:15 pm**

studying wrote:I haven't been able to play go for about the last 2 months due to various other obligations. (It turns out that planning a wedding takes a lot of time!) Looking back at what I missed, I'm really grateful for everyone's helpful comments on my last few games, they're really insightful and I plan to give them more careful study in the coming days.

However, tonight I wanted to dive back into getting the rust cleaned up off my game. I decided to try my luck on KGS, even though the rating system there tends to stress me out. On servers like IGS and Tygem, I can more easily convince myself to shake off a loss because a win balances things out pretty well. On KGS, the ranks seem to get sticky so quickly that any loss feels like a bigger deal because I know it will take several wins to put me back on the upward trajectory that I think most go players want to be on.

In any case, here is tonight's game. I felt I played reasonably well, although I can tell I'm still not back completely to where I was over the summer: https://gokibitz.com/kifu/Ekdftmlyx

Some thoughts:
Move 21: Seems fine to me. Black's looking for a submissive response, since there's still a lot of aji.
Move 27: Very slow on black's part. His group already has the extension down the side and is safe. Black should cause trouble for white with the stone he used to invade.
Move 30: I like the pincer, personally. You can block to build prospects on the left instead, you know, and still have a decently strong position on top.
Move 32: I'm not sure I like this variation. Perhaps a looser pincer is better, though the corner is good too.
Move 50: Seems a bit deep. :b51:

is indeed submissive.
Move 55: Without looking too deeply, this seems like the right direction, though maybe the one-space jump is better.
Move 73: Seems fine. 83 should just be a descent.
Move 91: Weird timing and wrong direction. Black needs to help his group on the left more if he means to save them, and really should respond to the hane. Trying to save this stone later too was a mistake

Posted: **Sun Sep 27, 2015 1:37 pm**

Game 47
I played another game on KGS today. Still not my best play, and I think there was a critical error ( :w38:

) that my opponent fortunately failed to capitalize on. That said, this game turned into a pretty intense reading battle, and I feel like those skills are coming back more. And, I'm enjoying experimenting with this opening for the time being, even if it's a bit different from what I would usually play.

@skydyr: Thanks for the comments on Game 46. I think I generally agree with your analysis of Black's play. I want to think a bit more about your proposal to pincer and build thickness along the left after :w30:

.

Here is game 47: https://gokibitz.com/kifu/VJFwMrbkg

Life In 19x19

Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

Re: Deliberate Practice

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