Game 23: Bonaparte(11k) vs Yuuki (12k)

Game 23: Bonaparte(11k) vs Yuuki (12k)

It's been awhile since I made another post. I've been taking a break from playing serious games, and did not review many games for awhile. I played a couple of 9x9 games. Those are always fun. I think this might be a good way to introduce people into the game of go, but I think they might lose interest in it after they see a 19x19 board.

This game was reviewed by Ian Davis (Javaness). I think it wasn't urgent for me for me to have this game reviewed, but it did give some key examples of how to play. I was concerned with three things. Invading a double wing formation, when I should tenuki, and shape. Even though I won this game, I wanted to improve by playing correct moves so that I can come away without playing overly optimistic moves.

I think so far I'm doing well for coming back from a break. I think what I am afraid of is not losing, but rather making big mistakes that I should've been able to see. Anyway, I hope to analyze professional games so I have more feel for how the game should come about.

David Dang

Game 22: 6 Stone Handicap Me(12k) vs Javaness(2d)

Game 22: 6 Stone Handicap Me(12k) vs Javaness(2d)

So this is my first teaching game with Javaness. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but boy, I got whooped in this handicap game. I usually win or at least put up a good fight in handicap games, but this game I was far too aggressive. I think one thing I enjoyed learning about is handling the bottom left corner. My instinct was to cut, but unfortunately I didn't cut his stones.

I will go back into the comments he made, and will come back stronger than ever.

David Dang

38 Games So Far

KGS Analytics
I think this will make things easier for me, so I don't have to comment on every single game I play. KGS Analytics allows you to look at your game, and brings up a bunch of useful stats. So far I'm using this to record how many games I've been playing for the past few days. So, I added up December and January, and I found out I played 38 games in a little under two weeks. That's amazing. I never thought it would add up to that. I can't wait to reach 1000 games!

David Dang

Game 21: 2 Stone Handicap Me(12k) vs Jabuzar(8k)

Game 21: 2 Stone Handicap Me(12k) vs Jabuzar(8k)

I lost a lot of ground in the beginning of the game. I started to become behind after giving up my groups on my left side. I'm starting to become a definite fan of shoving weak groups into walls. Through fighting I was able to save my group and kill another group.

Also through this game, I'm starting to understand moves that both defend and attack. I was able to save my group by attacking another group.

This was my first game falling behind early in a handicap game and coming back to win it in the end. So, yay!

David Dang

Game 20: Me(12k) vs gojoe(12k)

Game 20: Me(12k) vs gojoe(12k)

I think I'm becoming much stronger than a 12k. This game was relatively pretty easy, because I leveraged my stones and learned to sacrifice. However, if black did not make two of his mistakes. I probably would've lost. The link above includes some of my lines of thoughts and comments.

David Dang

Game 19: Me(12k) vs Suai(6k)

Game 19: Me(12k) vs Suai(6k)

What a great game. I think I did pretty well against someone who is 6 stones stronger than I am. This is the best game I've ever done with shapes. I made correct shapes, but I think my fighting game flagged.

Go is a hard game...

David Dang

Game 18: Me(12k) vs KIRI (11k)

Game 18: Me(12k) vs KIRI (11k)

This was a game where I was clearly outplayed. I made poor choices, and instead of trying to push my opponent into a position where it is my advantage, my opponent pushed me into disadvantage position. I think I will look this game over closely. I think there is much to learn from this game.

A couple of questions would be.
Did I finish the joseki on the top left?
Should I have taken the bottom left corner?
Is there a way not to split my upper right group?
Is it possible to choose a different joseki for me in order to defend while attacking in the upper right?

I haven't played a game where I was outplayed so much. Well, I should probably study harder.

David Dang