That's where I wanted to play
A cry often heard in handicap play. The strange thing about it though, is that it mostly reflects a certain disappointment, whereas it should reflect pride and joy.
Surely, if you found a great move but your (considerably stronger) opponent played it just when you wanted to play it, that shows you are not that far away.
BountyHunterSAx? Really? To my understanding this would only reflect the distance between you and the better player. Sure, you were able to recognize their move as a good move, this is a good thing, but your sense of timing is clearly *not* so good, as if it was you would have made that move instead of them (assuming sente/gote is not the issue).
Sandra But sente/gote is often the issue.
cliftut My philosophy is that every situation (particularly "mistakes") is a learning opportunity. My points would be these:
1. Rather than dwelling on that move, it is important to immediately begin considering your next move. 2. Once the game is finished, you might be able to review (with you opponent or on your own time, depending on the situation) and find out why your opponent got there first. Perhaps a change in your strategy would have allowed you a better result? If so, remember it for next time.
The big question is whether the player learns from the experience.
Sandra: My reaction was similar to Dieter's. When I was very new (the very first couple of games) the go board was a jungle and the fact that the opponent valued the same spot as me was something that I was proud of--a sign that I was getting better at seeing what was urgent or good to play. And higher level play is often about good use of sente and gote, something that's a little beyond the reach of absolute beginners.