Point Out Opponent's Mistakes After A Lucky Win

   

So you win. But it's a lucky win. You could as well have lost. But the triumph gives you the right to point out your opponent's mistakes and give him good advice. Bad habit.

Instead, go over the game and say, "Here I made a mistake," and, "But this one may be a mistake of yours, what do you think?"

The same goes for a win in a handicap game against a stronger player. He's still stronger, you take his advice.

Skelley It's a bad habit to (try to) point out your opponent's mistakes whether you win or lose. You can analyze the game, but then ask a strong player to point out the mistakes.

Andre Engels: I don't think I agree with that, Skelley. Exactly the big mistakes one can often find without asking a stronger player, or even doing a real analysis. After a game, the first remark my opponent or I make is often one specifying what were the main game-deciding issues. That can be "This area got too large," but also "If you had played that one there, you would have been ahead," or "My move here was a great blunder." I think it's a good habit, not a bad one. Of course it depends on how you do it, but in general pointing out the main mistakes will only be a help in improving one another's game.

I'm even not agreeing with the more specific case. A 'lucky' win usually means one where the opponent made a grave mistake. Often he will already know it, so there's no point in specifying it, and it's better to look at how his lead before that came into being, but there are also cases where pointing out would do no harm at all. For example, if the opponent lost a group in a difficult fight, pointing out that he would have been clearly ahead if he had avoided the fight. Or if the opponent suddenly found a group without two eyes, one can point out that making an eye would have been sente. It all depends on the exact situation, and on the tone used in saying it.

Dieter: Of course. When I first raised the issue, what I really meant was merely taking advantage of the win to lay your authority upon your opponent. Analyzing the game may be the best habit there is.


Michael Richter: I'm not sure I understand what a "lucky win" is in a game that has no luck at all. Could someone please elucidate?

The discussion on this question was moved to the Luck in Go page.

See also Fate in go.


Point Out Opponent's Mistakes After A Lucky Win last edited by OneWeirdDude on June 2, 2010 - 06:29
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