27th
Mar
This image and download represent my game with Pete this afternoon. Feel free to criticize it. Although I resigned after move 100, there is still a fight if I had played at R8. My biggest mistake in this game was to aggressively fight a stronger player. I might have done better if I had not started the fight at move 5. It was also unreasonable to continue fighting at the bottom of the board with three weak groups. I should have cut my losses and moved on.
Pete is in good form :).
Here’s a review:
9: Strange. This moves says “give me the middle.” Black needs a very consistent and specific strategy to make this work. Joseki would be to connect or make the tigers mouth.
12: W H18 is big and guaranteed. Black will have to back away to J17 or suffer horrible shape consequences. I would play it almost immediately.
17: The kick is a mistake. White gains strength to reduce the bottom and extend along the right side. Black has not secured the corner territory. If I am white, I will feel completely relaxed after this move. The game will go in my favor.
19: The only local continuations are the 3rd-line knight’s move and the one-point jump. It is good to experiment though.
22: White can also invade on the 3rd line or solidify the right side group with the one-point jump out. Securing the bottom side is difficult for black.
31: This is pretty bold. Black should be satisfied with the connection. White will still owe a move and black will be able to invade whites now-thin right side group (as well as the thin lower-left corner).
38: Pete is confident. White could also capture the cutting stone P5,P4,L6.
43: If black wants to deal with these stones, he should play P5. White can save the 3 stones but will have difficulty doing so with good shape. The situation on the right side will become very dangerous for him.
47: Giving your opponent a clean cut through a knights move or one point jump is worse than making an empty triangle.
51: Very bad time to play away. Black can just extend to L9 (white is “pushing from behind.”). Also, the game move is slow.
58: White is attacking while taking points. Black has 3.5 weak groups. It has become a very difficult game.
67: “Check my strength before I attack.” Is black really strong enough to win this crosscut? His groups are weaker than white’s.
75: This exchange gave white sente and a free point.
76: And now black has 4 weak groups (really 3, the right side group is already dead). Dealing with this many problem groups is not possible. A weak group is worth maybe 20 points for your opponent. If you give your opponent 3 groups to attack assume 60 points of damage – **and that’s if your groups survive.**
85: Black should consider K12 to create complications.
86: Removes K12 aji.
100: Good game.
Summary: White takes the lead after an abnormal play in the top left corner. The lead increases after black chooses the wrong joseki in the bottom right. White invades the bottom and black allows white to destroy his shape. White gains momentum, launching a counter attack on the left. After an unwise black crosscut, white destabilizes black’s topside group. A large black group dies and the game ends.
Takeaways:
1. Pay attention to shape.
2. Check strength before the attack.
Best,
David
Ah Also!
101: R8 is black’s shot, but white S6 is a sharp response.
If black plays to separate white (Q8 for example), White destroys the corner with P4,P3,O3,O2,N3,M3,Q3,P2,R3 and can give up the two stones on the left side for sente on the top.
If black plays to protect the corner (S5), white kills the inside with S9,S8,P9.
Yup, that shuold defo do the trick!
Nice review! I knew this one was full of blunders on my part, but it’s good to see another perspective as well.
I have been so bewdliered in the past but now it all makes sense!