KGS 8k vs 8k

[Jozefk]

Hello everybody,
First time poster in this forum so nice to meet you all.

This is a KGS game of mine playing white. Normally, because at my level I think they are easier to handle, I prefer playing territorial games, so I almost never played a san-ren-sei opening. This game I thought "let's try something different". I'm wondering what kind of commentary the more (or equal) experienced players have about my game.

Thanks,
Jozef K.

[Unusedname]

Just some ideas.

- why haven't you played D4?

You've probably heard to push towards your thickness/walls. While usually yes this is the case, your wall is very weak. I think it isn't good to push black this way but in the game i suppose it worked out.

Black is easy on you. But it's good you know to let go of the three stones instead of clinging to them.

black is very thick around here. It might be better to kick at E17 and start an attack on black's new stone. you have a very strong wall in the area and the attack should be profitable for you.

By attaching you force black to get stronger. A kick would be normal with the K16 stone in place.

This seems strange but I don't know what to say about it.

:w126: good idea keep black separated.

:w116: :w154: you are taking points away from yourself with moves like this.

But besides that how do you like playing with influence instead of territory?

[EdLee]

[tekesta]

Black allowed himself to be locked out of the center, only invading when White was already über-thick. This is one risk of playing for territory; one gains territory, but power projection into the center is limited, especially when the opponent knows how to use influence. So countering outward influence is important for the territory-oriented player. As well, White had a relatively easy time building up a big môyô and Black's efforts to reduce were too direct. Wang Jixin's Second Golden Rule states, "Be unhurried to enter the enemy's territorial frameworks." This means a môyô is best reduced indirectly. For example, Black 14 would've been better @ q14. The same move @ j5 would've reduced White's môyô on the bottom. Black 21 @ g16 and Black 23 @ d13 are two good moves to reduce White's influence over the course of the game; of course White will attack these Black stones and gain territory in the process, but if there are Black stones nearby White's profit won't be so great as it otherwise would be. Which reminds me, Black 21 @ g16 and Black 23 at @ d13 should be followed up by Black 25 @ g13. These three moves by themselves will not win Black the game, but it would give Black something to work with when White begins to attack.

In handicap games, White will play all over the board in an effort to counter Black's whole-board influence. To win, Black need only keep White's stones from working together effectively.

Even if you are primarily a territory-oriented player, spending some time playing games using influence-oriented strategy will help you to know just how influence is used. This way, you will know how to counter effectively the strategies of the influence-oriented player - or use influence to your advantage.