Life In 19x19

Hi,

This is a game between me (black) and a stronger player who generously gave two stones handicap and still crushed me
It ended in a messy ko fight. I don't have a great deal of experience with ko fights.

Right now I'm trying to play many 9x9 games to work on my tactical skills. Mostly I know what my mistakes are, but this game leaves me a little confused...

Any comments?

10, connect the bottom. By jumping you are inviting the cut. Being cut is not a good thing, especially on 9x9.

playing good ko threats can be hard for beginners

I like to think of it as..."if I lose the ko here, then I get to play 2 moves in a row there -- else if I win the ko here, my opponent gets to play 2 moves in a row there"

now, with that in mind, I think it becomes a little easier to judge the value of winning/losing the ko verses playing 2 moves in a row elsewhere.

it may be an oversimplification, but hopefully, it should set you on the right track

CarlJung wrote:10, connect the bottom. By jumping you are inviting the cut. Being cut is not a good thing, especially on 9x9.

This is good advice. If you carry it a step further, it suggests that you should cut him. I like move 8 at the center star point.

To borrow from Harleqin's method of showing errors in play:

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Also, Joaz's suggestion is good too.

Thank you for your advice. I thought I had made a mistake after move 10, I didn't think the error was before that.

Maere wrote:Thank you for your advice. I thought I had made a mistake after move 10, I didn't think the error was before that.

That is often the case. If you find yourself in a difficult situation where you need to come up with very clever play in order to live, chances are you made a mistake earlier that led to that situation.