10k vs 11k game - questions are in the game comments

[thequietcenter]

It's me again with more questions on certain positions in the game

[EdLee]

Only 1 note about the broken shape from :

[jts]

As always, take my advice with a grain of salt.

Move 12: While your instinct to strengthen before attacking is good, this is too far away to strengthen K16. Something like J17 starts to steal B's base while strengthening K16. Then if B starts to get away, you will have 017 later.

Move 16: First, you have a half hour of main time. Always try to read, even if it means you spend ten minutes making your move! Second, your tactical goal was to strengthen K16. Shouldn't "playing it safe" mean "making sure K16 is safe"?

Move 32: It's always good to tenuki; even if the tenuki is a mistake, it builds up your fighting spirit and your whole-board thinking. But why did you play here? Are you making a threat you expect him to respond to? Is this the biggest point on the board?

Move 54: I actually think this is a good move. It threatens both a double atari and a connect-and-die, so it's pretty much sente. This is a forcing move. The goal of the forcing move isn't to play the biggest point on the board - it's to get a free stone somewhere useful. Later if B hanes at H12, you can atari him at H11.

Move 60: One author calls this kind of move a "family feud." Note that you're strengthening E12, but at the same time hugely weakening B10. It's better to avoid this kind of move for as long as possible, to leave open the possibility of threatening a cut form the other side.

Move 62: I think this is too thin. Your upper left group has several huge cutting points, and now you're making a large knight's move which invites your opponent to rope off the bottom? I'm interested to see if this worked well for you.

Move 64: What inspired this move? You have a great local move to reduce B's territory (R17), and a solid local move to get out into the center (o14). Not sure what this move does.

Move 80: The elephant's eye can be deceptive. When your main strategic goal is to separate the enemy into two groups, the elephant eye is brilliant. But here, B can be very happy with the line of stones he got; unless you use this wall to kill E9, you're unlikely to get the 3pts per stone that B got.

Move 106: No, you want F7. If you can surround E9, you can afford to sacrifice G5.

Move 110: You still had the option to sacrifice in exchange for a nice thick wall...

Move 112: Why hane? Did you read out the cross-cut this time?

Move 118: Here I think H9 is a good forcing move. You're basically saying to B, "Okay, you can have that stone if I get to cut you." If he connects, you're in a much stronger position.

Move 126: Great tesuji you set up here. If B plays K5, though, do you have anything?

Move 138: OMG no! What strategy are you following? You only have one move, and you have to play it!

Move 178: L1 is ko... B has tons of threats to live on the left, of course.

Move 180: Why?

[thequietcenter]

Move 80: The elephant's eye can be deceptive. When your main strategic goal is to separate the enemy into two groups, the elephant eye is brilliant. But here, B can be very happy with the line of stones he got; unless you use this wall to kill E9, you're unlikely to get the 3pts per stone that B got.

What is an elephant's eye? I looked around on sensei's for an answer but didnt see one.

[emeraldemon]

http://senseis.xmp.net/?ElephantEye

[Joaz Banbeck]

Move 58 should be at E12. He has an eyeless group. There is no need to give yourself one also by letting him get E12 first. Stay strong, make him worry about dying. ( Moves 52 and 56 may have been ok because you can probably kill him if he cuts, but once he is out, it is time to connect )