TheArtOf9x9Go/hhMet

Sub-page of TheArtOf9x9Go

Accompanying materials of The Art of 9x9 Go:

MONTEO BEAT 4 DAN HHMET (2140)

White resigned at Move 45, komi 7.

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This is the last game before I stop playing 9x9 go in 2017. I hold one principle of go: Solidity, not territory, is my top priority, which is the reason why I can beat this 4 dan player. Before the game, he won four players in a row (one 2 dan & three 4 dan guys). He was at peak, and one of the top 500 - 600 9x9 go players in the world.

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As usual, I opened with the Darksniper's opening, B1, my most favorite first move. White answered with W2, which is a balancing or symmetrical play--a usual response of White players in high dan games.

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The Unusual Attack. B3 was intended to interfere White's base. It makes White unable to form two eyes with ease. White cannot occupy a large space around here, because of B3 and B1. I said B1 is unusual because GoQuest has never named the shape formed by B1, W2, and B3, as it is not common in high dan games.

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B5 is solid. Black can further extend to a or b, and live. White is not yet well settled.

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The Exchange. After B7, there is the exchange between White's bottom zone and Black's top zone. Things go as Black predicted.

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Greater Potential. White was not satisfied with the exchange, as Black seems to have much greater potential or influence over the northern and the eastern regions. W8 wants to split Black's big army.

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Urgent Task. Black played a solid defense with B9, leaving no room for White to attack. B9 is more urgent than any move to help black+circle, because this big black group is the military target in White's strategy. White is so close that Black should not play elsewhere, or this big black group will get killed. black+circle has many ways to go and will be able to manage to live.

[Diagram]
 

White played a cut-off move with W10; the west and the east Black's armies are now completely separated. Kyu players may play a territory-oriented move by extending from black+circle, which is not urgent in my opinion because there are a lot of free points around black+circle, and if attacked, it can survive without difficulty. I am more concerned with the security of my big black group.

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So, I haned with B11. As mentioned above, black+circle remains strong. It is needless to help black+circle at this moment. B11 is to ensure the security of this big Black group. White is a strong player, who can destroy our big group that seems already strong but actually not yet. B11 may be regarded as overplay by kyu players. That's true but I wanted to make sure this group is much stronger than the nearby White army.

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White keeps pressing the big black group. He might wish to possess the two corners, and expect Black's response at a.

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Yes, I did response with B13, an implementation of my solidity policy. Now, White is free to initiate an attack. He saw the vast space behind black+circle and wanted to occupy there.

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White attacked with W14, which is hard to be killed. black+circle was squeezed and in need of help.

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Contact move, like B15, is a good weapon in a tiny battle field. The previous overplay of Black caused black+circle in hardship. Black wants to hane at a as his next move, but this plan is too simple to put into practice. White also wants to play there.

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W17 made a claim in the southern free land.

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Black attacked White with B17 rather than guard his group with a defensive move in the north east region. The position of B17 was conceived as the shared weak point of the two White armies. Black attacked both of them at once, although this black unit has not yet well formed.

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White planed to squeeze the middle black army. His global strategy was simple: To occupy the three corners for victory.

Black visualized the future of local battle: If White moves deeper to a, disaster will happen to the black+triangle city.

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So, Black blocked White with B19, expecting White to reply at a.

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But White is a dan player, who has a habit of attacking before defending. He attacked with W20 instead of defending at a. White expected Black to defend at b, and then he will cut at c to weaken the middle black group.

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Correctly, Black played in White's game, with B21. Now Black was cut into three groups, which would lost, according to Alexander's Law for 9x9.

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The law was falsified, as Black will successfully manage to kill the bottom white group, starting from B23 that empowers the east black group.

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White enjoyed with W24 as he will get a sente move after Black's capture at a.

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White initiated a violent war with W26, although his south city has not yet been well walled. He planed to kill the whole black+square group. Black needs to attack at the back of the white+square city, to set a fire and create uncertainty. The chance of Black's success is fifty-fifty, or less, but he has no choices. He must invade the narrow hillside near black+circle, guarded by the two big white armies of the mastermind of 4 dan.

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Black haned with B27, to empower this black group before attacking the adjacent white group. If White answers with a, Black will stand at b and become a strong army.However, this strategy will come up with a very few points for Black. He needs a more complex scheme.

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Black B29 introduced a space racing between the bottom white group and the south black groups. It is not clear to Black yet which side will win.

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White though the white+square army is strong enough to support his attack from the west, with W30, which pushes the black+square group near to the cliff of death. Black needs to lengthen the lifetime of the black+square group and attack the white+square army as soon as possible. After W30, it is a matter of life and death, which higher dan players tend to have higher ability to deal with it.

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Black B31 is making sure that these three black stones are strong enough before attacking the bottom white group. Black wants to play next at a to be in good shape.

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White knew where Black wants to attack, so he prevented it with W32, which forced Black to defend at a. The fighting was indirectly weakening the bottom right group of White.

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White was trying to destroy Black's space, with forcing moves W34, although this action reduced White's liberties from 4 to 3 points.

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White was looking for sequential moves that will lead to the death of the bottom black group. Simply forcing at a is not only ineffective, but also allows Black to kill the bottom right group.

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White finally used a filling tactic to kill this black group. Black still had confidence in the good fate of this his group.

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Capturing with B37 is a must. Fighting in a narrow space, he who has more liberties left will win. They were trying to reduce each other's liberties.

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This is a complex fighting. Wrong sequences of play can lead to doom. White still believed he can protect the bottom left group, according to his standing with W40.

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Black was counting the liberties of both sides. He had THREE liberties, two of which are shared liberties (cross). White had FOUR liberties. Black seems to follow White a bit, based on liberty, but his group is stronger than White's in terms of location: White cannot destroy Black's liberties within two moves.

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Black's strategy is to reduced the liberty of this white group in an efficient way. So, he played B41. Now, Black can kill this white group in one move, at a, while White cannot.

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White read the board deeply, and found that he has no way to kill the bottom black group. So, he defended with W42. Kyu players might try to kill the black group by playing at a instead of W42. But that is not effective (see variation below).

[Diagram]
47 at 43  

VARIATION of Move 42. White failed.

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B43 is a must, or the middle black group will get killed. This is a very big move, equal to the number of white dead stones plus the points Black surrounds and plus the number of rescued black stones and the points they occupy. Very very big.

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If I were 4 dan or above, White would have resigned after B43. But I am 1 dan, and White is 4 dan; he expected I did mistakes while solving the life-and-death problem at the top left corner, so he invaded with W44. However, I am a shodan who has gained the basic knowledge of capturing the enemy along the edge.

[Diagram]
 

White resigned after B51.


TheArtOf9x9Go/hhMet last edited by 115.87.238.223 on January 5, 2017 - 16:59
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