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BQM 21
Keywords: Question
After the wonderful responses I got from the my post at BQM20, I decided to post again. The following is a position from one of my games, I was playing Black. I seemed to make a critical error in the lower left corner and it was a major turning point in the game. I went on to lose by 11.5 points, the cost of the mistake locally being easily far more then that. I have included the sequences leading up to the turning point, as well as the immediate aftermath, and as much of my thinking at the time as possible.
I am wondering where exactly I screwed up, and if I took sufficient measures to stop the bleeding after it becomes obvious that something has gone seriously wrong in the lower left corner, or maybe even if I my play leading up to the turning point was faulty on a whole board scale. Any and all comments will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. :-) --BlueWyvern
When the marked white stone was played, I thought the threat of a cut at a was not sente, because I guessed it could only be worth a couple of points, so I decide to shift my attention to strengthening my position in the upper right with the marked black stone. White slid into the corner with 1 and I decided with White's more secure position it would be a good point at which to play 2, preventing White from jumping in and taking over the upper side. White then got out with 3 and I played 4 to strengthen the right side which seemed to me to be performing an important function by keeping the fairly large white enclosure in the lower right corner in check, which in the end turned out to be the lion's share of White's territory. For the life of me I don't know why White decided to attach with 5; and 6 seemed the natural follow up because it kept White from pressing my position on top down, and it aimed at b. When White played 7, jumping out to 8 seemed the natural move, keeping White's now fairly stable corner group from jumping out and gaining influence, as well as expanding my moyo on the upper side. White then shifted to the left by trying to connect with 9. Rather then attempt to cut at c, I played the cap with 10, in accord with my strategy of denying White influence, as well as building my moyo on the top. By my best estimation (the estimation of an approxomately 9 kyu AGA amateur) White is maybe a few points ahead in settled territory, largly thanks to Black's position on the right being open at the bottom); however Black's positions seem much more influential and appear to have much more potential. And on the bottom, where Black is weak on influence, White still has to worry about the lone stone under the center hoshi point which has plenty of space to live and has a lot of reduction potential. At this point White shifts attention to the lower left corner. Side note, to me, I cannot find fault with the way I played the fuseki preceding where the numbers start, although I'm sure there probably is. If anything jumps out at you, please tell me. :-)
Allow me to defend my move of Black 2 at BQM21UpperSide --BlueWyvern
Black 4 is quiet, but not bad. White 5 and 7 are moves one does not want to make. White is strengthening Black a lot for just a little bit of space. White 7 is especially bad: White f would work much better. Black 8 feels good. White 9 is a strange move, for Black playing c before 10 seems like a good idea - Black should be interested to know what aji White is leaving for him, and furthermore it's a big move - you don't want to be so busy fighting all the time that in some strange way White gets the time to take it... Black 10 is OK.
White jumps up with 1 and I respond with 2, thinking White really can't afford to let me play at 3, because of the marked stone. I figured the push was forced, and the influence White's wall was building up did not bother me much because of my marked stone, so I continued to push gleefully upwards, thinking of connecting to my moyo at the top and invading at a. White apparently catches my thinking and plays 5. I eagerly play the turning move with 6, thinking it would be disaster for White to play the hane at b because the cut at c would be very promising because of the marked black stone. I looked forward to pushing White along for a little while and building up a wall of influence facing my moyo on the upper side. Then disaster struck.
White plays 1 and I automatically respond with 2. Then White plays 3 and I do a double-take. I feel a little worried at this point but not overly panicked as the sequence continues up to 8.
With the cut of 1 I realize I've got a serious problem on my hands and try to escape with 2. When I am blocked at 3, I think the cut at 4 could give me a chance, but immediately after I played 6, I knew I had screwed up somewhere and figured 7 was coming.
I tried my best to make the most of the situation in attempt to compensate for the devastation of an enormous chunk of (what I thought was) my secure territory. I played the sequence up to 8 to build a wall of influence which I hoped I could use to aid me in a fight over the lower right quadrant, where White has the most potential for growth. I thought I would end in sente, but luckily I caught the connection at 9. A cut there would have nailed the coffin shut on my defeat and I probably would have resigned at that point.
Here is the general aftermath. Now that White has sente, he first plays the sequence of four marked stones in the upper right, threatening to push through the one-point jump. This doesn't seem like much of a threat, so instead of closing, I block her from the center, which suddenly seems very important due to the turn of events in the lower left. White then plays the sequence of the two marked stones on the left. (Forgive me for not splitting up the board.) Now comes a forcing move of 1. I was pleased when White jumped to 3, allowing me to connect my one-eyed group on the left with my wall in sente, giving it a better chance of survival. In retrospect Black 6 seemed like a waste of sente, but I'm not sure what I should have played instead. White plays a forcing move at 7 followed by the extension at 9, pretty much eliminating my possibility for making an eye along the edge. Perhaps I should have played 4 here. The best move I think I have at this point is the cap at 10. A white play here would expand the corner to mammoth proportions. :; Comments (Andre Engels): The marked moves in the upper right were not well done by Black. You are right that closing White off from the center was important, but you didn't do that. You should have played somewhere around a for that - that looks much more useful than the stones you played. Answering White 1 at 2 is doubtful too. Your territory is not above, but to the right of these stones. Immediately playing 4 to try to stop White coming in that direction seems better. It might not work though, in which case playing at 3 yourself is best (makes a a huge move, by the way). Don't answer your opponent just because he is threatening, but check what (and how much!) he is threatening first. If you're pleased with White jumping to 3, I think it shows bad judgement.... White 5 is a mistake: White should make the bamboo joint at b instead. You say you don't know where else you should have played 6. I think White gives the answer: at c. Black c is sente, and by answering White 7 at 8 you are allowing White to get rid of it in sente. And this move is huge. I think that by allowing this move, you give away as much as you would by passing at this stage of the game... By the way, other big moves are an invasion at e or f, or making territory while at the same time making territory at g (playing at 9 has the same idea, but g looks bigger). Black 10 is a serious case of wrong direction. In the first place, g is simply (a lot) bigger. In the second place, if you are behind (which you seem to be), the better course to take is to fight. How? Invade at f now. There's a good chance that you will live. And if you do, suddenly the game has turned in your favour. If you die, you will probably lose the game, but you were on your way to doing that anyway, so that is not a big problem. You should try something on the left side too, by the way. In the game, White seems to have connected there rather easily. There's a lot of aji (and bad white shape) left there - use it.
Here is the final board position, in case you are curious. White has five prisoners, and Black one, not counting dead stones. White has 80.5 points (komi of .5, White had a stronger rating), and Black 69. A sparkling example of why it sucks when your opponent has all four corners. This is a copy of the living page "BQM 21" at Sensei's Library. ![]() |