Life In 19x19

For the first game, I think at move 102, white could just defend his weakness on the top, and then use the central thickness he build to greatly reduce or invade black's bottom side moyo. If black extends with that lone stone, white should be able to sacrifice the 5 stones to get forcing moves pushing white further into black's moyo. Running with those stones leaves white with a heavy and weak group that doesn't have a lot of prospects for eyespace in black's area.

In the second game, a pincer is ideal for black, so you can consider approaching the corner with an ogeima or one-space jump instead of the wedge, to make that less helpful for black. The result was, as you noticed, a disaster. The pushing seemed good for white, but once black invades with the keima approach and plays K17, you can aim to keep white on the second line instead of splitting. As you noticed, this game was won on endgame, which white was much stronger at than black. I think black could have reduced the center much better by extending with L10. There is so much aji there that black should be able to capture something.

In the second game, the upper right corner group is a common living shape. The continuation after the W placement (T18) is worth studying. In the game, both sides made many mistakes, allowing W several opportunities to start ko for the life of the entire group.

I don't know if any of you saw my Game Analysis post about trying to beat the Fuego AI, but I have still had that as a goal to beat Fuego straight up without undos or tricks. I wasn't really posting about it in this journal because I wanted to keep the two seperate, but I realize that this is actually a more accurate place to be posting an ongoing thing rather than in Game Analysis. (No kidding.)

I've beaten GnuGo straight up before, but even when I couldn't Fuego was always the program I was trying to beat. It's been my comptuer AI rival. It would best me at every turn and I would need to undo so many things to get the game close. I used to play it at 5 stones to get an even game! (He said Fuego was his rival. A computer program he's never beaten as a rival. Can you believe that? )

Yet tonight. For the first time ever. I beat Fuego in an even game. (What? Pics or it didn't happen! )



This is a big milestone for me. A proof positive that I have gotten stronger in my play over the past few months. To go from having trouble at 5 stones against this program to a solid win by resignation is unbelievable to me. (It's not even a strong program. Why are you even making a big deal out of this?)

What is even more: the game felt easy. Once I got past the fear of all the influence black had I was able to relax. It seemed black was ahead, sure, but his area was reducible. Another key thing was that I didn't make life and death mistakes. I didn't fail to win on bad reading. My shapes worked. I took advantage of mistakes. It was just a win, straight up. I am a bit concerned that Fuego made more mistakes than usual - or perhaps it has always made this many mistakes and I just never knew how to punish. (So it was a free win then? I guess Fuego was trying to make you feel better. )

The most important thing I learned from this game was to always keep my eye on the center, but to not rush to reduce it. That has been a problem in most of my games against people and so is something I should remember at all times. I hope I can remember this in future games and that I will continue to have wins against Fuego. It is still a challenge for me, but not an unbeatable one. Who knows? Maybe someday Fuego will need 5 stones against me. (You just went there? Seriously? )

Don't downplay it, Fuego is a decently strong AI. Kudos for sticking to it, and now look for a bigger target

moyoaji wrote:

http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/download/file.php?id=3794

The game started okay, but went south as soon as I got greedy - as usual. I foolishly cut at trying to preserve my side points and keep black split.

The game headed south earlier, when White played the knight's move (H-05) for instead of the diagonal play (H-04), which prevents the underneath attachment.

New game tonight. Tragic misreads everywhere. (Oooo, my favorite! )

I lost in fights. That is all there was to this game near as I can tell. I also messed up the 3-4 joseki in the corners. I don't know high approach, low pincer variations very well and I completely forgot my avalanche joseki variations that I had learned from watching Clossius on YouTube. (So that's why you wanted to play "simply" in your Malkovich game against hailthorn. )



I think I should study some 3-4 joseki. I often feel lost when my opponent deviates from the few that I know. Does anyone know a good resource, either online or a book, that discusses 3-4 joseki variations? Not just what the moves are, but why they are played. I also think I'll rewatch that Clossius lecture just so I know for future reference. (So your new strategy is "Buy book, win game" eh? How about you continue reading the couple that you have?)

By some miracle I have not fallen to 4k yet. I'm sure that's more where I belong. These 1k and 2k players have been devastating me. (Let's hope you don't fall too fast. After all, you do learn more when you lose. )

Well I'm back to 4k now as I feel I should be. (I was gonna be sad, but I'm sure you'll still get plenty of losses at 4k. )



This game was upsetting in several ways. The first was how I fell behind at the start. I didn't see the move my opponent made and gut-reacted by trying to save my corner only to realize he had attached to me instead of playing 1 away like I thought he would. (Oh, wow. That's a new excuse. I couldn't see the move. Were you blindfolded or something? )

My counting was an important factor again. I figured that I could still win after I invaded his corner but he resisted in a way I am not familiar with. I think I saw the slide under the approaching stone in a pro game once, but I'm sure it was a special situation and I have no idea how I should have reacted in this case. No one has ever played this against me before. I wanted to simply cut, but that didn't seem to work right away and white could get into my side otherwise. So I resisted strongly - too strongly - and resigned when I couldn't win the capturing race. (So basically a lack of knowledge and experience was why you couldn't win... I think that's just called losing. )

That move at the end is the one I would really like help with. Also how I responded to the corner invasion in the top right doesn't seem very good. I wanted to preserve the side but I don't think I did it right. (Giving the guy an 11 point corner when you had an enclosure? No, I should say that's not good.)

From your last game everything to 17 was fine. 18 was a mistake, an extension to c8 would have stabilized your vulnerable group and also threaten an invasion at c12. If your opponent went to kakari your upper right stone you could have easily squeezed it and begun to attack it taking the initiative.

As you mentioned your opponent attached to your bottom left stone so you shouldn't have gone down but extended from that stone and move into the center and you would have been fine.

When your opponent invaded top right the standard move is to move down and attach at r16. You would have gotten some thickness and could make a nice moyo on top.

After that you weren't in the best of shape but I think you became too desperate too early.

We all have bad games though so don't worry about it, best of luck next time.

moyoaji wrote:This game was upsetting in several ways. The first was how I fell behind at the start. I didn't see the move my opponent made and gut-reacted by trying to save my corner only to realize he had attached to me instead of playing 1 away like I thought he would. (Oh, wow. That's a new excuse. I couldn't see the move. Were you blindfolded or something? )

Just curious, but has your first ego ever replied to your second ego?

karaklis wrote:Just curious, but has your first ego ever replied to your second ego?

No, I have yet to directly respond to my internal critic. He is getting a bit frustrated by it, though. Maybe I will at some point. (Don't talk about me like I'm not here. )

moyoaji wrote:In response black was able to kill my group, but not without giving me a few free moves as ko threats. My choice - build outside influence and play the san-ren-sei. (But you hate playing for influence and you hate that fuseki!?! ) I hate playing for influence and I really hate the san-ren-sei, but I felt that was my best bet if I wanted to win after that. (I just told them that... you know, you really should listen to me from time to time. )

Another big fighting game today. One that I could have won 4 times... (Oh my. That's an academy record. )

Thanks to skydyr and oren for helping me review the game online. I'll post it with the comments and whatnot. They'll be a bit sporadic but it should be fine. (Too lazy to clean it up. Well, I guess we get to see your misreads either way.)



So yeah, not too much more to say about the game other than it turned into a huge life and death puzzle that I could have solved in my favor several times but did not. (You just don't want to give me more space to make fun of you ) You don't need to look too hard at the move after the ko loss at 135. I saw how far behind I was and was trying to actually kill white's entire right side - the only way I could see a win at that point. (So basically you were, as they say, "Looking for a place to resign" )

I think I may be getting stronger even from these losses though. When playing at the West Michigan Go Club tonight I was able to win both games by winning fights. One of the fights was close to the scale of this one. (Congrats, you won fights against people who need 5+ stones against you. Clearly that means you are getting better. )

I have also been keeping up with my reading. I'm currently half way through the tesuji chapter of Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go and hope to finish it either over the Thanksgiving break or shortly thereafter.

Well pal, you achieved your goal! Congratulations! You must be very happy now.

Stefany93 wrote:Well pal, you achieved your goal! Congratulations! You must be very happy now.

I was going to post a simple thank you, but your post here has caused me to self-reflect. I'm glad it did, I've needed to process my feelings on my go progress for a while now. (I thought that was the point of all your ramblings here...) I'm afraid my answer is not altogether joyous, but it is honest.

I am glad that I was able to reach my goal. I do feel like my go playing has improved a lot and I feel more deserving of being the best player at the 2 clubs I attend. (The best kyu player in a bunch of kyu players is still a kyu player )

The thing is, I got this rank quite abruptly, so I didn't take much time to prepare or celebrate. Perhaps I should have spent more time feeling a sense of accomplishment considering that I not only got to my goal but I achieved it sooner than I thought I would. Celebration is sometimes a discipline that I lack. ("Celebration is a discipline" - where did you hear that one?)

Yeah, I want to move on to 1 dan as quickly as I can, but I think being a 5-1 kyu player is still pretty good. It means that I can beat basically any amateur that hasn't taken time to seriously study. In karate terms I'm around a blue belt - which is a much cooler way to explain my kyu rank to people that don't know much about go. Why am I so rushed to become a black belt? Who will I ever face in real life that will require me to have that rank? (Assuming you never go to tournaments and just hang out with West Michigan players... I suppose you have a point. )

The main reason I haven't been more pleased is that I getting strong has made me realize how much farther I have to go. With every stone I gain I see how weak I am. It is disconcerting and discouraging. I know I'm getting better, but as I do I seem to feel like my play is worse. I'm playing an OGS game with a friend and I just made a direction of play mistake. Forget the fact that I managed to kill a group of his earlier - I feel like a complete idiot for not recognizing my mistake before it happened. The only reason I'm upset is because I realize it was a mistake. If I was weaker I would still think I was doing fine. (Ignorance is bliss, as they say. )

So yes, I am happy when I take time to look at where I am compared to where I was. If I continue to progress at about 1 rank a month I will hit 1 dan in March - a nice birthday present for myself. However, what I if I don't gain them that quickly? Or what if I fall back to 5k or 6k? What then? To be honest, gaining ranks has made me fearful of losing them.

And if I do want to achieve 1 dan by March it will require more discipline, but it is hard to find energy to put in more discipline when I am not finding reaching my goal of 5 kyu as fulfilling as I had hoped. I was just about to start another game on the KGS and I find myself putting it off as I fear I may lose again. I don't want to have straight losses like this, but I also know I can't just have my rank sit at 4k so that I don't feel bad about losing. Losses happen and each loss will add something to my game.

In fact, if I have any advice or wisdom from my journey to 5k, it is that I gain more from losses than wins. I know people say that, but it is absolutely true. My wins simply show my current strength. My losses prepare me for being stronger in the future. And that is truly my goal, so I should not fear losses, but welcome them. I need to find the opponents that expose my weakness so I can learn and become a better player. After all, my goal is now 1 dan. I'll need all the help I can get to reach that. (Well, then, what are you waiting for? )

I'll have a new game later tonight to post. Now the question is: am I hoping for a win or a loss? (Uh... that's the spirit? )

1 dan by march hmmm... it is possible. I am in the same boat as you finishing up the sdk ranks. I have heard that a lot of people hit a wall at 1-2k that can last years or indefinitely. Well I hope that both of us can break down that wall. See you on the other side, best of luck.

And it was a win. Where I won a big fight.

I knew those games with fights were helping me. Black resigned when he realized he'd lost the capturing race. (No snarky comments for now. Congrats, moyo! )



So maybe I didn't learn much from this game, but, as they say, a win is a win is a win is a win. ( Alright, who ever says that?!)

How did I do on playing tenuki? I did quite a bit more of that this game than I usually do. Particularly , , and , although you could argue wasn't a tenuki. I was sort of doing that in response to black's move, but I also tried not to respond directly to it. Perhaps a half tenuki? Maybe only a fivenuku? (Making up words? Seriously? Why was I being nice to you earlier?)