Life In 19x19

Would you feel comfortable posting one of your games? Perhaps the one that you feel you played best.

This is the game where I felt I played my best but I know I made a ton of really stupid mistakes.

Hello

Black 9 is a big mistake I feel. Keeping your stones connected is very important. Connected stones form bigger groups, bigger groups are less subject to dying and can enclose more territory.

By playing 9 black allows white to cut him into two groups. If 9 is played at 10 instead black's groups will be connected and safe. As a bonus, the bottom becomes black's territory.

I hope this helps

Black 9 is a big mistake I feel. Keeping your stones connected is very important. Connected stones form bigger groups, bigger groups are less subject to dying and can enclose more territory.

By playing 9 black allows white to cut him into two groups. If 9 is played at 10 instead black's groups will be connected and safe. As a bonus, the bottom becomes black's territory.

I can see how you could play that and work it out. My problem is that I can't see what moves are helpful and which are not. I try to play things out in my head and I'm just wrong. It doesn't matter if its a problem or a game, I just don't understand the why this move is better than another. It might just be I have to lose 1000000 games, but I feel as thought I'm missing a key component that would help me understand what makes a move have more impact than another.

Jeansburger wrote:

Black 9 is a big mistake I feel. Keeping your stones connected is very important. Connected stones form bigger groups, bigger groups are less subject to dying and can enclose more territory.

By playing 9 black allows white to cut him into two groups. If 9 is played at 10 instead black's groups will be connected and safe. As a bonus, the bottom becomes black's territory.

I can see how you could play that and work it out. My problem is that I can't see what moves are helpful and which are not. I try to play things out in my head and I'm just wrong. It doesn't matter if its a problem or a game, I just don't understand the why this move is better than another. It might just be I have to lose 1000000 games, but I feel as thought I'm missing a key component that would help me understand what makes a move have more impact than another.

Are you saying that you don't see how at 10 is better than in the actual game?

Are you saying that you don't see how at 10 is better than in the actual game?

I see why it is better, it stops white from completing a capture of a stone and it also allows black to cut white apart. My problem is why I don't see those moves unless it's way after the fact.

Jeansburger wrote:This is the game where I felt I played my best but I know I made a ton of really stupid mistakes.

I think you might be better than you think. I see the following in your game:

1. You did recognize the need to defend your main group of stones and did a solid job of that. That is an important skill! Don't undervalue it.

2. To me, it seems like the major issue with the loss of the other two groups is the limited space on the board.

I can't help but wonder if part of the issue is that you are playing on the 9x9 board. Other than a handful of games, I don't have much experience with it. So, I'll happily defer to others on this. But to me, this kind of game is deceptively technical despite the fact that the small size makes the game look "simpler". The more limited the space, the more precisely one must play and the less space available to recover from mistakes. Lack of space makes seeing connections (like 9 at 10) more critical. It also makes creating two eyes to ensure that a group is alive much harder.

Have you tried playing on a larger board? Maybe 19x19 or even just 13x13? At your level, games on these larger boards -- particularly the 19x19 -- usually involve both players making and recovering from many mistakes. As a friend of mine once said when he was at your level, if you mess up in one area -- just start playing in another!

Have you tried playing on a larger board? Maybe 19x19 or even just 13x13? At your level, games on these larger boards -- particularly the 19x19 -- usually involve both players making and recovering from many mistakes. As a friend of mine once said when he was at your level, if you mess up in one area -- just start playing in another!

I was told by one of the 1d that were at my local go group to not bother playing a bigger board until I'm about 5k (or until my handicap was no stones on a 9x9 against him). It didn't sound right to me but even when I asked for game reviews on the Baduk subreddit I was told I'm not ready to play on a larger board.

Jeansburger wrote:I was told by one of the 1d that were at my local go group to not bother playing a bigger board until I'm about 5k (or until my handicap was no stones on a 9x9 against him). It didn't sound right to me but even when I asked for game reviews on the Baduk subreddit I was told I'm not ready to play on a larger board.

I could be wrong, but that sound like bad advice. I started playing for the first time on 13x13 and shifted shortly there after to 19x19. That said, why not just try a game on a larger board and see how it goes? There isn't much downside to the risk and it might work well.

Jeansburger wrote:I was told by one of the 1d that were at my local go group to not bother playing a bigger board until I'm about 5k (or until my handicap was no stones on a 9x9 against him).

I say b.s.

jeansburger wrote:It didn't sound right to me but even when I asked for game reviews on the Baduk subreddit I was told I'm not ready to play on a larger board.

I say b.s.

for me, the most painful part of the game is move 12. Seeing the two black stones get separated when they could have connected feels like losing a limb. Part of learning go is learning what hurts and preventing it from happening. Obviously, what hurts most is to see stones die, and the most basic way to prevent that is to keep them connected to each other. If they can't connect, they will have to live independently which can be particularly difficult in a 9x9 game if you have more than one group. If they are connected, they also often have the power to surround and quash an enemy group, which is what white did to you in this game. Also, the game is won by getting more territory, and at move 23 you didn't have enough, so I would have wanted to get some of that empty space on the top, perhaps reducing his left side as well. I would have played D7 and hoped either to connect back or to fight for life if I got cut off.

As to the advice not to play on bigger boards, I agree that they can feel overwhelming at first, so be prepared for that so try to take it in stride, and take a moment after the game to think about how it was won.

Jeansburger wrote:

Are you saying that you don't see how at 10 is better than in the actual game?

I see why it is better, it stops white from completing a capture of a stone and it also allows black to cut white apart. My problem is why I don't see those moves unless it's way after the fact.

Well, Black can't cut White apart, but the underneath hane does allow Black to save his stone.

Excuse me, you are a beginner. Sure, there are things that you don't see. But the fact that you learn them quickly, as you did in this case, means that you can advance rapidly. Some people are slow starters, that's all.

sybob wrote:

Jeansburger wrote:I was told by one of the 1d that were at my local go group to not bother playing a bigger board until I'm about 5k (or until my handicap was no stones on a 9x9 against him).

I say b.s.

I say double BS. And those are my initials!

sybob wrote:

jeansburger wrote:It didn't sound right to me but even when I asked for game reviews on the Baduk subreddit I was told I'm not ready to play on a larger board.

I say b.s.

I say double BS, again. Play on whatever size board you want to.

Edit: And play with a proper handicap, one that gives you around a 50-50 chance of winning.

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That said, I am a fan of small boards and the capture game, where the first player to capture a stone wins. I have a friend who I would have to give many, many stones to on the 19x19, but the capture game on a 7x7 board makes a good game for us.

Hi,
Seeing that Black 3 and 5 could have been connected is maybe a bit technical for your level.

The biggest mistakes in my eyes are moves 21 to 27. You are defending a small amount of points while a much larger amount are at stakes on the top side of the board. You should let White take the small and play on the middle top star point in order to take the big.

Move 29 is locally very good. You didn't make the mistake of playing the hane just above it, that could not work.

Moves 31,33, 35 are correct for your level.

Then, with move 37, it is better to play on the 3-3 point instead of the 3-4. It secures the corner more effectively.