18kyu brilliant blunders!

[Ian Butler]

Another game where I feel like I got some good moves, but also some real blunders. I'm finding that, in Go, it's really hard to play your best game. If you study a lot from books, you get a lot stronger, but much of that knowledge is hard to put in your game immediately.

Still, this made for a nice game, with blunders on both sides and the game going back and forth, I think.





Things I think I did right:
- stay cool on the top right corner when he cuts, to catch him in a ladder.
- looks very cool.
- The upper left corner up until was fairly good.
- is big.
- Move 119 is big.
- keeping my calm after White 142
- sacrafice to gain strength/territory elsewhere or to avoid getting in more trouble. (Black 177)
- using my 3 dead stones (G7-8-9) to catch the cutting stones.
- not follow my opponent around all the time.

Things I think I did wrong:
- would've been better at M5, I think.
- That entire sequence with me losing my group was completely misread with that ko.
- getting thrown off-beat with his strange opening.
- Maybe was too nice of me. Then again, I was thinking of that moyo on the bottom side.
- Getting hane'd at move and not responding.
- Moves 80-91: valuing the center too much and making my lower group weaker.
- Black 135, just go with M9 and you're out!
- Black 147 I felt scared to atari at H10 and was too lazy to read out if it was possible, because too many variations. Still, I believe it was the better side for me, but I should read it better anyway.


So anyway, any criticism is very much appreciated, as always.

[EdLee]

An empty corner is big.

B is happy to reply at M17.

, wasting ko threats.

Take.

Tenuki.

C5 direction.

D6.

[Joaz Banbeck]

39: This is probably conceding too much to white in the lower left corner in return for an extension from your lower right corner. If you had a stone around K4, then maybe it works.

41: Your opponent wasted a move with 40 because he is playing too close to your strength. By replying too close to your own stones, you are almost wasting a move too. See https://senseis.xmp.net/?PlayAwayFromThickness
If you want to attack, think bigger - and multi-purpose - with something like O10 or R8.
Tenukiing is good too.

47: White has added more stones to his group without making eyes. R8 looks very profitable now.
However, if you are determined to tenuki, play more sharply with something like C5.

49: Hane at D6 is probably better here.

51: You MUST hane. See https://senseis.xmp.net/?HaneAtTheHeadOfTwoStones

65: You have a shiny new wall in the lower right, and he has a vulnerable group on the right side. Play O10. Drive him toward your wall.
( This BTW, is the same idea as the commments on move 41: playing near your strength is bad for him. So force him to do it. )
Also, the hane at D6 is still huge.

My wife wants me to do some work around the house, so I'm going to stop here. Take the time to look at both of those Sensei's Library links.