Life In 19x19

Hi there,

I recently played this game on Dragon, and although I won, I felt horribly lost through most of the game. Around move 87 I made a poor choice, where I thought my ko threat had to be answered. After that, I lost direction, and wasn't quite sure any more where I should be focusing my attention. I think that's pretty obvious looking at the play, as I dart around the board.

Although DGS has me as 6 kyu, I'm closer to 9 or 10 - the longer time settings mean I can go mad trying out variations before playing.

Any comments, and especially criticisms, welcome! I'm aware my opening play leaves a lot to be desired...

I made some stupid moves this game ^^ Most of the time I don't read stuff out carefully but play fast (since I am at work for most of it, I usually just look a few seconds and pick a move).

54 - probably too deep, I was trying to exploit the gab between O6 and L3
70 - this move was asking for trouble, I shouldn't have gotten away in the end
84 - is there a better threat anywhere?
89 - I really should have reevaluated the corner now (or better, I don't remember)

after I settled the lower left corner I felt ahead and tried to keep things simple, until ryan figured out that the bottom right corner is his to take :/

Any help is appreciated

bleep69, is unthinkable -- very basic broken shape for B; blocking at S5 is the only move.
Then, (bad wedge) ... make another broken shape for B.
And ... -- again broken shape for B.

See also http://senseis.xmp.net/?LameDuGo
http://senseis.xmp.net/?SmallGaps
http://senseis.xmp.net/?SqueezingOutTheToothpaste

is already a somewhat unpleasant move, because if W invades the corner at this point, B will look somewhat overconcentrated (i.e., too many stones guarding too little territory) no matter which way he blocks. Arguably, B would be better off defending the corner. But after , this is definitely the case.

OTOH, because you've invested so many stones in the corner-periphery without actually blocking the corner, C3 is a bad ko threat. Winning the ko with is huge (affects the life of S17, S14, R11, Q9, and puts q16 and n17 under some pressure), and all W gets is a slightly bigger corner than the invasion would have resulted in anyway.

16: Something went wrong for black. I don't know this joseki, but when white plays S5, he is way ahead in the corner. Someboidy could profit from reading a joseki book ( maybe me too ).

20: This is gote. You don't mind if he plays O2 himself, you'll just play N3 and thank him.

21: Interesting decision to sac the corner. I like it. ( But you have to play S6 first to do it properly )

22: Also gote. True, it kills the corner, but at this stage of the game the corner may not be worth two gote moves - especially considering the wall that black gets.
White can connect at S6, then black does not get the compensation of an outside wall for losing his corner.

25: Aji keshi. White can't spare the time to play there himself, for it is 1-point gote. So save it until you need it. If a ko shows up someplace else on the board, Q5 is an approximately 40-point ko threat.

27: If you must play the risky pincer, this feels just a tad too small. I think that you can play R11 here. Q9 would not be bad either, and it looks safer.

31: Aji keshi. White has a weak group between two black groups. Strengthen your own with R13 or R14. ( If you are not willing to support R10, why did you play it in the first place? And if you intend to sacrifice it to get influence, why not just play 27 at Q9? )

41: Good large-scale move. But maybe a bit thin. He can play M4 and connect out ( W:M4, B:N4, W:N3, B:M3, W:N5 ) Better would be M4. It has the same goal, and it is much harder for him to push through.

45: Again, aji keshi. Read it out, determine for sure that you are dead, and then save moves like this for ko threats.

54: Way overplayed. If you (white) learn anything from this review, let it be to stop making such grotesque overplays. You have the right idea of pushing though. Just execute it properly ( with M4 ) and you have an easy win.

55: Good move.

56: Suicidal.

57: Good move. Make territory while chasing. And push him toward your strength.

58: An interesting choice. I'm not sure if it is best. It may be better to reduce with O12 than to invade.
Also, something like J9 really hurts. Or in a different dirrection, you can start building strength on the left with E10 or D11 or D12 - in preparation for a cap of K10.

66: This feels too thin. Q17 may be better. Let him live small in the corner in gote, and then you can start saving the center stones with something like H4 or G7.

70: The problem that you face at move 70 is a direct result of the iffy choice made at 66.

87: I like this. Kill the corner and maintain outside strength. An elegant ko threat. ( But, of course, you would not have to go to such lengths if you had left the simple ko threat of Q5 )

95: Aji keshi again. Leave the aji, and play the honte move at C4. IMHO, this move is the most important move for black in this review. If you (black) come away from this review with nothing else, at least try to understand why C4 is so important.

Thanks for the feedback.

Joaz Banbeck wrote:87: I like this. Kill the corner and maintain outside strength. An elegant ko threat. ( But, of course, you would not have to go to such lengths if you had left the simple ko threat of Q5 )

Is 87 really a threat? I thought it didn't affect the corner status at all - 89 was sente though which I missed (should have played R1 at once I guess). Maybe I'm wrong?

p2501 wrote:Thanks for the feedback.

Joaz Banbeck wrote:87: I like this. Kill the corner and maintain outside strength. An elegant ko threat. ( But, of course, you would not have to go to such lengths if you had left the simple ko threat of Q5 )

Is 87 really a threat? I thought it didn't affect the corner status at all - 89 was sente though which I missed (should have played R1 at once I guess). Maybe I'm wrong?

If white tenukis, next black captures and then white can't win the race.

Oh god how could I miss this >.< Thanks alot ^^

Many thanks for the feedback, it is much appreciated. The missed C4 at around move 95/97 was due to a massive and embarrassingly obvious reading glitch on my behalf. I thought I was going to save the R13 group, and got so caught up in the top half of the group I failed to notice the lack of liberties looming below. To say I was startled when I next saw the board and all my stones were gone would be an understatement!

MY opening play definitely needs attention.

Cheers,

Ryan