I played a game today that started off pretty well and then went south pretty fast. I think my biggest mistakes were making weak shape, although ultimately, I lost the game due to some reading errors. Time for more life and death!
(Edit: New comments from gludion[3d])
Wow, some really interesting situations here. My feeling is that move 41 was crucial for black, because dealing with the side group well would make dealing with the bottom group easier. I'm not certain what the best move is, especially after white got O5 (I was thinking that O4 would be a good move for black before then). This ended up being a bit long-winded, but I hope it's interesting enough to justify bearing with me.
ReplyDeleteQ5 at 41 is an interesting option, I think. It makes cutting black apart much more difficult, and it leaves a lot of aji for white to deal with later.
The second option (maybe the better one) is connecting at R7. I'd be interested in people reading this out, but I don't think white's cut at R5 is good:
black extends at S5, white cuts at S6,
black throw-in at T8, white captures with T7,
black atari at R4, and if white connects,
black extends down with S3. White extends,
black throws-in at T10.
Black can now extend to s2 to threaten to live in sente, but if white tries to stop him with s1, R12 captures the entire white side. White must defend the upper right, and then black can live in the corner with S5, S1.
(R12 would also have saved the black corner at the end of the game, before all of the group's liberties were gone--maybe at move 99? I'd appreciate it if someone else took a look at this too, in case I'm reading it wrong.)
White's side group is still unsettled, as is the bottom white group. Back also has two groups to worry about.
If white doesn't cut and jumps out (as he did in 42), black is in a better position to attack, as his right side is no longer as weak. S12 seems like the sharpest move to me, or maybe a peep at white's group at the bottom.
Maybe not your best game, Josh, but your opponent was really on his game. Check out move 34, attacking your group and setting up the ladder break for 36. There weren't too many mistakes to take advantage of. Thanks for sharing, though--I'll try to get a game in this week so I can put something up.
Cool! Thanks for the comments. I hadn't thought about better options for dealing my group on the right. I didn't even notice that w34 is a ladder breaker! Nice, you picked up on some good details
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