Beginner Game Sample 4

Moves 1 to 10  

Timber:I suppose instead of preventing the enclosure in the upper right I could have played around a. But would that really have been better ? or should I have tried to attack the lower left with the backup of 3 ?

Andre Engels: Please use letters a, b, c etcetera - it is not clear to me which point you mean by R4. However, (as well as all other moves in this diagram) looks perfectly OK to me.

Bill: looks too low with regard to . Better at b, no?

Timber: I did change the references, thanks for the advice, Andre.

Moves 11 to 20  

Timber:I guess that shape in the lower left is not good for me. Also there´s suddenly that big white framework.

Joseki  

Andre Engels: used to be considered joseki in the 19th century, but now is considered too slow. would better have been left unplayed, as it helps White by inviting her to defend against a possible invasion. looks good, but is not joseki, the joseki is in the diagram to the left.

Bill: looks fine, given Black's framework on the right and White's on the bottom. - is atrocious, however, strengthening White more than Black.

Moves 21 to 30  

Timber:That cut in the upper right does not look as promising as it did then. Would at have been better ? Probably.

Andre Engels: does not look good, not doing much and also pushing the cart from behind. However, rather than at , the correct move seems to be at a. The 'cut' in the upper right simply does not work.

Bill: is horrible. is a bit slow. Better at b.

Moves 31 to 40  

Timber:This is really just bad for me, isnt it? I guess I wouldn't have given up that corner if I had played against a human (more thinking time…).

Andre Engels: Yes, it is. You could have diminished the damage by playing at , but the best thing would have been to look for a tenuki after in the previous diagram.

Moves 41 to 50  

Timber:Should Black rather defend his lower right corner or rather play somewhere around b (or somewhere else completely?)

Andre Engels: is bad shape, a looks better locally (and [[tenuki]] feels good as well). is a good move. is the good direction, but can be played at . Defending the lower right corner after looks big.

Moves 51 to 60  

Timber:I, too, thought that the lower right is big, but suddenly made the center look very white. I didnt know how to cope with it, attacking from the left seemed to only make him stronger.I´d really like to hear some opinions on how to handle this more effectively.

Moves 61 to 70  

Timber: I guess to make some territory there I would have needed to separate some stones of his. But I didnt see any good opportunity so I focused on destruction.

Moves 110 to 119  

Timber: Somewhere in between these moves I started to think again. I was sure that this group could not legitimately live...

Moves 120 to 129  

Timber: But somehow only got a ko (which I later won). How should I have played to catch them without ko ?

Andre Engels: It looks like me that your judgement that you were 'sure that this group could not legitimately live' was wrong. In fact, I wonder how White even let it become ko - if White simply captures at a for the next move, the group is alive without.

The correct way of playing would have been to play in the previous diagram at there. The black territory is then secured, and whether White lives or dies becomes a relatively unimportant question.