Life In 19x19

This was a short game. I played not that serious and used the handicap as an opportunity to try new thins against a stronger player.
The first 3 moves are the ones I spent most time on, but just because I was surprised by White's moves.
Still are there some moves I should avoid making or did I play some small points? Truth to be told I felt like I was outplaying White but I guess it's because of the big handicap.



it is strange I know, it was just a test how he responds, without handicap wouldn't have played that
Was that too close? I have the advantage so I played more solid.
White gets a really large side+corner so I felt that tak a part away is the best for now and after I have stolen the corner.
Ok I don't even need to think about it, this is 1 weak stone sourrounded and can be easyly cut of from his friend.
I successfully killed it and got a very large top. Here my opponent escaped, since this wasn't his first time I got a message saying White resigned.

20: Correct locally, but it's nonsensical to play 16-18 and then abandon them.

22-24: Really bad; those are now garbage stones, why are you making them into a heavy, weak group?

26: Even worse, you make more garbage stones while reducing your liberties! D11 does nothing for the invasion sequence, and if it did, you could have played it at any time. So there's no reason to start off with it, when it hurts your own stones!

daniel_the_smith wrote:20: Correct locally, but it's nonsensical to play 16-18 and then abandon them.

22-24: Really bad; those are now garbage stones, why are you making them into a heavy, weak group?

26: Even worse, you make more garbage stones while reducing your liberties! D11 does nothing for the invasion sequence, and if it did, you could have played it at any time. So there's no reason to start off with it, when it hurts your own stones!

Thanks for your reply daniel_the_smith!
Yeah, thought they were bad moves. I really should stop making them but that is a lot harder then I expected
I abandoned 16 and 18 because I wasn't sure myself what I wanted to do with them, but in the end I couldn't bear to let them die.

Now I feel really stupid for making these moves but this is also why I will never forget why they are so bad, I really appreciate your honest thoughts!
The next game I will post will be a 25 minutes game in which I hopefully didn't play such moves, but that could take a while to eliminate that bad habit.

blade90 wrote:Are there some moves I should avoid making or did I play some small points?

Daniel covered the problems with your play on the left side, which should be the main lesson from this game. If you really get this, you will become a few stones stronger. Just to reinforce the lesson, with slightly different emphasis:

Your first move (D9 shoulder hit) was fine. As you mention, you can view this as a probe. W had several choices in response to this probe -- push up at D10, jump to F6, connect under at C9. The first two choices would be aggressive and would commit you to a running fight with the D9 stone. However, W chose a submissive move, playing beneath your stones to make a small territory. Because W answered submissively, you can treat your initial probes as useful forcing moves, which have already served their purpose and do not require further investment. So I disagree a little with Daniel here; tenuki at move 20 is not necessarily bad. Still, it would be more consistent to complete your wall by adding stones at D7 (sente) and E6 (gote), and I think that would actually be the best continuation in this game.

The real problem comes just one move later, when W adds a reinforcing stone at D7. This thick move handcuffs your two stones, leaving them no future prosepects for useful development, either for attack or to make thickness or to make territory. W apparently thought this result was worth a full move, and he may have been correct. Now here comes the lesson: your first reaction to this move should not be "how can I rescue these poor stones" but rather "how can I sacrifice these now worthless stones". You might even secretly be pleased that W has saved you from the difficult decision of how to develop these stones.

Jumping out to F9 is not the worst move in this game, but it deserves the most criticism, since it is a mistake in strategy and direction. You have just created a group which is too large to sacrifice, still makes no thickness or territory for you, and is likely to become a burden for the rest of the game. While W attacks from the E11 direction, he will make territory; while W attacks from the F6 direction, he will erase potential B territory. Meanwhile, your center stones will be doing nothing but surviving.

Contrast this with a strategy of giving up the two stones, maybe even actively forcing W to capture them on a small scale. For example, you might have an opportunity to play moves like F6 or G7, building up a moyo in the right center. If W responds by completing the capture of your two stones, that would be a good exchange.

Thank you mitsun!
That sounds a bit difficult but I think I understand what you mean.

and are terrible shapes for you -- broken shape for B.
See http://senseis.xmp.net/?SqueezingOutTheToothpaste

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Broken shape for B
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$$ . . . . X . . . .
$$ . . . O O O . . .
$$ . . . . X . . . .
$$ . . . . . . . . .[/go]