Life In 19x19

So I thought I would start a thread to log down some of the mistakes I make as I play. I make a lot of them, and I seem to make the same mistakes over and over. By logging them down and discussing them, hopefully it will help me to understand why they are mistakes and start to stop making them.

Most likely these will all be pretty obvious to most people here. I am very much in the completely new and uneducated phase of my Go playing. Hopefully as time goes on my mistakes will become more complex and less obvious!

Many of the mistakes I make involve playing on diagonals. This one annoyed me.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc
$$ . . . . . . . |
$$ . . b X O . . |
$$ . c a O . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------+[/go]

I was Black and played at a, trying to block my opponent from moving to the left. Silly idea. White just played an b, putting me into Atari. I saved this atari, and then White played c, effectively killing my stone at a. Doh!

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc
$$ . . . X . . . |
$$ . . O X O . . |
$$ . O X O . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------+[/go]

Hi mongus,

This is good what you're doing.

Too many diagonals. This is a terrible place to get into :

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . , . . . X .
$$ . . . . a X O .
$$ . . . . X O O .
$$ . . . X O . . .
$$ . . , . . . , .[/go]

White can just play at a and I am in double Atari. I find it a very easy shape to get into. White keeps pushing a little to the left and I keep trying to block it, and then suddenly I am in double Atari and largely doomed..

Thanks EdLee.

Probably my most frequent one, not counting liberties.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ ------------+
$$ . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . O X |
$$ a O O O O . |
$$ b X O X . . |
$$ . c X . X . |
$$ . . . . . . |[/go]

I am attacking white in the top left corner. I have a choice between placing at a or b. I think placing at a would be better as it would take one point away from white. Bad move. It meant white could place at c and put my stone in Atari - I forgot to count how many liberties that stone had. White can then escape from my grasp.

This is actually also a problem of playing too many diagonals. A stone that is only covered on its diagonal is not really that well covered. All its liberties are exposed.

mongus wrote:not counting liberties.

Hi mongus, yes, this is an underlying theme.

mongus wrote:

$$B
$$ ------------+
$$ . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . O X |
$$ a O O O O . |
$$ b X O X . . |
$$ . c X . X . |
$$ . . . . . . |

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ ------------+
$$ . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . O X |
$$ a O O O O . |
$$ b X O X . . |
$$ . c X . X . |
$$ . . . . . . |[/go]

It could be beneficial to study how you got into the above situation in the first place.
Do you remember the local sequence ?

EdLee wrote:Do you remember the local sequence ?

Unfortunately not. I just pulled that one from my notes, and I didn't write down which game it came from. In future I will note down the game as well.

Heres a mistake I've just stopped myself from making.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ | . . . . , .
$$ | a b . . . .
$$ | X O O O . .
$$ | X . . . . .[/go]

I am white. Black tries to poke through a gap at the left. I am tempted to block at a. But if I did, Black can just atari me at b. The following scenario could ensue :

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ +----------
$$ | 7 8 , . .
$$ | 5 6 . . .
$$ | 3 4 . . ,
$$ | 1 2 . . .
$$ | X O O O .
$$ | X . . . .[/go]

I would be dead and Black has brutally invaded my territory.

I'm not actually sure what the best response would be. I played

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ | . . . . .
$$ | 3 1 . . ,
$$ | 2 4 5 . .
$$ | X O O O .
$$ | X . . . .[/go]

which at least stopped the invasion.

mongus wrote:

$$B
$$ | . . . . , .
$$ | a b . . . .
$$ | X O O O . .
$$ | X . . . . .

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ | . . . . , .
$$ | a b . . . .
$$ | X O O O . .
$$ | X . . . . .[/go]

Hi mongus,

Your above position depends on the whole board.
For example, your original (a) could work here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ -------------
$$ | . . . . O .
$$ | O O O O O .
$$ | . . . . . .
$$ | . . . , . .
$$ | a . . . . .
$$ | X O O O O .
$$ | X . . . . .[/go]

You have to be aware how you isolate your shape situation.

mongus wrote:I'm not actually sure what the best response would be. I played

$$W
$$ | . . . . .
$$ | 3 1 . . ,
$$ | 2 4 5 . .
$$ | X O O O .
$$ | X . . . .

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ | . . . . .
$$ | 3 1 . . ,
$$ | 2 4 5 . .
$$ | X O O O .
$$ | X . . . .[/go]

Hi mongus,

Again, the best reply depends on the whole board (it could be tenuki).
But locally, your jump is good to limit B's push:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ? . . . . . . . . ?
$$ ? . O . . , . . . ?
$$ ? . O . . . . . . ?
$$ ? . O . 1 . . . . ?
$$ ? X X . . . . . . ?
$$ ------------------[/go]

If B continues, this is one continuation:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ? . . . . . . . . ?
$$ ? . O . . , . . . ?
$$ ? . O . . . . . . ?
$$ ? . O . 1 5 . . . ?
$$ ? X X 4 2 3 . . . ?
$$ ------------------[/go]

Good point. In this case I had nothing above.

Here's another one - messing up my Joseki. My corner gets attacked and I follow through a joseki perfectly until I get to this :

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . X . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . O O X . . .
$$ | . a b X O X . .
$$ | . . . X O O . .
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ +----------------[/go]

The Joseki says I should play at a. Instead I panic and play at b. I end up in this mess and my stones are dead :

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . X . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . O O X . . .
$$ | . O X X O X . .
$$ | . . . X O O . .
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ +----------------[/go]

This highlights another error I often make. I am afraid to make jumps to protect my stones. I haven't learned when it is better to protect by spacing stones out than clumping them together. In this case, keeping them together meant they died together.

mongus wrote:

$$B
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . X . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . O O X . . .
$$ | . a b X O X . .
$$ | . . . X O O . .
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ +----------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . X . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . O O X . . .
$$ | . a b X O X . .
$$ | . . . X O O . .
$$ | . . . . . . . .
$$ +----------------[/go]

Hi mongus,

This is a good one to study some basic shapes.
If you play (b), you make a bad shape here,
which you found out in your game.

The jump to (a) is better.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B An empty triangle
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . X . . . .
$$ . . . X X . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . .
$$[/go]

If we look at an empty triangle in isolation,
we can talk about some of its properties.
For example, its liberties.

Whether it's a bad, neutral, or good shape depends on the particular situation.
In your case, the jump is better.

mongus wrote:I haven't learned when it is better
to (do something) than (do something else).

This is determined by your reading.
You read each individual situation and you evaluate.

mongus, this is a great idea for a study journal. Keep up the good work!

mongus wrote:Many of the mistakes I make involve playing on diagonals. This one annoyed me.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc
$$ . . . X . . . |
$$ . . O X O 3 . |
$$ . O X O 1 . . |
$$ . . 2 . . . . |
$$ ---------------+[/go]

Losing the stone at a may be annoying, but in the continuation you can force white to capture and ladder the r3 stone in return. Depending on where this happens on the board this can be even good for b (e.g. if this happened in the lower left corner instead, w would be forced to capture a stone in the corner and b gets the full outside strength in return).