Best wishes, Kirby. Go may not be important in the grand scheme of things, but I hope it can be a source of joy.

I like the input / output model for study that you shared. I may try to follow a similar pattern. Life has been very busy lately, so I've mostly been playing quick games for fun, but I'd like to keep getting better at go.

In the spirit of what I said earlier, Saturday is a good day for additional review of games I played this week. This only includes the two games I've posted so far.

Furthermore, I am biased. When I read and review games, sometimes I don't see the board objectively. I see the aji I want to exploit for myself, and don't think much of my own position.

Therefore, I think it's a good idea to review for the opposite color as well. So here is the first game I played this week, where I lost against that 1d. I played as white. But this review is from black's perspective.



Maybe this will allow me to be a little more fair in my reviews, considering options for both players. And if I pretend I'm my opponent, I don't have much of a personal feel to it - just what I think works or doesn't work.

_________________
be immersed

Highlights of Game 1 from this week, from the opponent's perspective

Position 1:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 7
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . B . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think the move above is a mistake. It doesn't have the attacking potential that it would have if the top right were a 3-4 stone:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Therefore, my personal preference is to play here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . B . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Though, I know some people might prefer this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Position 2:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 9
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . B . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I don't think the marked move is ideal. To put it simply, it leaves behind aji for white to play here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . W b . a . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The weakness at 'a' makes a kick at 'b' rather ineffective.

Position 3:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 17
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . B . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think the move above is an overplay. I think it's much simpler to play this way:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 17
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . B . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Position 4:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 31
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . B . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Instead, I think it would be good to do this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 4 3 . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 6 O 5 . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think there is value in connecting.

Position 5:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 35
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . . . . . . X O B . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Instead of above, I think it would be simpler to play like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . . . . . . X O 2 . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

White can live in the corner, but it will keep white contained.

Position 6:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 45
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . B O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think the move above is too timid. Instead, maybe at least jumping on the bottom?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 45
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . B . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Position 7:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 55
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . B . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X W . . . . . . X . X . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . O . . O O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . O . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think white's last marked move misses the point, and that the group will be safe. I think it's better to make a loose connection between my groups:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 55
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X O . . . . . . X . X . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . X . B . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . O . . O O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . O . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Or maybe some sort of combo:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 55
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X O . . . . . . X . X . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . X . 3 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . O . . O O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . 2 1 . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . O . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

_________________
be immersed

And here is "re-re-review" of Game 1, where I reviewed again from my perspective.

_________________
be immersed

Highlights of Game 1, from my own perspective

Position 1:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 9
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . B . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Frankly, I don't know the best way to respond to his move. Maybe it makes his "anti-mini-Chinese" move OK. It worked against me, anyway.

The best I can think of is to keep it simple:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . 5 . X . 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Not sure who is ahead here, but at least I don't play something weird.

This also seemed like an option:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . 5 . X . 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 0 . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X 8 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . 8 . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Position 2:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 18
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W , . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Instead of above, maybe it's simpler to just keep a bit of distance:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 18
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Black has less of a follow-up than in the other variation.

Position 3:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 32
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . . . . . . . W . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think it's a bad move. First of all, it seems more natural to do 3-3 locally. Secondly, I think I need to put pressure on his stones, since there's potential to make his groups weak.

I like this better:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 32
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . . O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . W . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Position 4:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . X . O . , . X . . O O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . O . X O . O . . O X . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X O . . B . . . X X X . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . X O . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . O . . O O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . O X . , . . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . O . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

After black played the marked move, my immediate instinct was to resist. But I think it's stronger to simply go with the flow, and respond locally:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 72
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . X . O . , . X . . O O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . O . X O W O . . O X . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X O . . X . . . X X X . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . X O . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . O . . O O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . O X . , . . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . O . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

He still can't make an eye in that local area, and if he cuts, I can connect with the other group:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 72
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . X 6 O 7 9 0 X . . O O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . O 3 X O O O . . O X . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X O 4 5 X . . . X X X . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . 2 1 X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . X O . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . O . . O O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . O X . , . . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . O . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 72
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . O 1 . 2 . 8 . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . X O O X X O C 6 7 O O . O . |
$$ | . . O . . O X X O O O 4 5 C X . . . . |
$$ | . . X X X O O X X . . . X X X . X . . |
$$ | . X . . . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . O . O . X O . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . O . . O O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . O X . , . . . . X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . O . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I like that variation better.

_________________
be immersed

So to summarize things from this first game that I can try to improve on:

1. When I get confused by something new, and can't find a way that seems ideal, play something simple and move on. Playing simple, especially in the opening, will be better than playing something weird and falling way behind.

2. Don't always resist. When the opponent pushes me to play a move, don't assume that it's bad. Check first.

3. Attacking weak group > taking territory.

_________________
be immersed

Here is review of Game 2 from opponent's perspective. Basically, he could have killed me pretty simply. It's more or less the same as the first review, with less detail.

_________________
be immersed

Since the second game was so short, I won't make separate highlights for both opponents. I think I will do with just one.

Position 1:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . W . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Instead of the move above, white should just jump.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think it's simpler, and good.

Position 2:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 20
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . O . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think the marked move may not lead to a super result for black, even if white follows black's plan. White will break into the top right corner. White doesn't get many points with the wall right now, but reduces black's points significantly.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 20
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 5 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . O . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Just going with black's plan is better for white than resisting, due to the cut:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 20
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4 O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . O . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The cut was powerful, and it would have been better for white to just go along with black's plan.

Position 3:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 46
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . X X X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . W . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X O . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The marked white move doesn't do anything. Black can just block, and white still dies.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . X X X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . O . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X O . X X B |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

_________________
be immersed

From Game 2, I get the following takeaways for me to improve on:
1. Go with the opponent's flow, if it will give a good result. Don't resist when it will be ok following the opponent's plan.

2. Play in a simple way if it's good.

3. Avoid simple reading mistakes.

_________________
be immersed

This Week's Takeaways

So to summarize the entire week (only 2 games this week), I suppose the following two points stick out:

1. Play in a simple way when it will give a decent result, especially in the opening.
2. Go with the opponent's plan if it will give me a good result.

There were other points about attacking and reading, but perhaps if I keep these two in mind for my next game, it will be useful... Simple + non-resisting = OK if the resulting position is OK for me.

_________________
be immersed

When your opponent plays a slight variation on an opening you know, think: what's the difference between that and what I know? The mini-chinese is nice because (simplifying) it's annoying for White to find a good place and time to come in. In this opening, White has an obvious invasion point at 3-3. So don't make it easy for Black to cover that invasion by playing near his formation - play away from that area, maybe split the right side. Find the right time to invade and his top side stones will look really silly.

Somehow, I feel inclined to approach the top right 4-4 when black has invested more of his stones in a formation on top. It's just an intuitive feeling.

Logically, splitting the right seems to be reasonable for the reason you describe - it's always easy to invade the top right later.

The logical way is probably better than my intuition that in this case.

_________________
be immersed

Continuing the "output", I played today and lost against KGS 1k.

To summarize the game, I did recall the principle from last week about not resisting if I felt the result was good for me. So in the opening, he leaned on my stones and I thought the profit was sufficient for me. I let him make a big moyo, and I jumped in. I made mistakes throughout this process, and it became a very difficult game for me.

Here is a brief review (I'll aim to do a second review this Saturday, like I did last Saturday with those reviews).





I will give more diagrams in the review on Saturday, but one particular move that I think would have at least been more interesting was my response to black here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Position at move 127
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . O . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . X X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X X . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X O X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X B . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , . . O X O X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X X X X X X X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O O X O . O O X . X O O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . O O X X O . X . . . |
$$ | . . . O X . X O . X O O O O . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O X . X O O X X O O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O X O . X X , X O X X X , X O . |
$$ | . . . O O X X . . X O . O X . X . O . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I played here, since black doesn't get to descend in sente:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . O . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . X X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X X . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X O X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X X W |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , . . O X O X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X X X X X X X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O O X O . O O X . X O O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . O O X X O . X . . . |
$$ | . . . O X . X O . X O O O O . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O X . X O O X X O O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O X O . X X , X O X X X , X O . |
$$ | . . . O O X X . . X O . O X . X . O . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

But I think it's at least more interesting to play here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . O . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . X X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X X . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X O X O O W . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , . . O X O X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X X X X X X X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O O X O . O O X . X O O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . O O X X O . X . . . |
$$ | . . . O X . X O . X O O O O . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O X . X O O X X O O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O X O . X X , X O X X X , X O . |
$$ | . . . O O X X . . X O . O X . X . O . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Even in this review, though, I'm lacking a little bit in precision - I can feel that. I'm going based on my feeling here, and have not calculated precisely.

Maybe it's laziness. Can lazy people get stronger? Not sure.

_________________
be immersed

From this game, I can see that my reading has gone down a lot since I was studying last year.

And also, I think that I am not that good at living in the center of the board. So to fix this, I think I will challenge someone on the forum here to one of those games where black has a lot of stones around, and white just tries to live somewhere. Maybe that kind of practice will help me in a game like this one.

_________________
be immersed

You're stronger than me, but...what about just jumping in at J3 for ? Seems as if there's enough space to live inside, or to create aji to reduce from the left or top. And you're inside of black's "territory", so you're only over-concentrating black while significant reducing. If you live inside or you reduce from the left or top, it seems an easy game with the fourth line territory.

_________________
Go Books

It might be a good idea. I am really not that good at this type of invading. Whenever I play this type of a game, I feel a lot of pressure. Maybe I should avoid it in the first place.

Anyway, if I can live on the bottom without giving black too much, then it'd be better of course.

In the actual game, I broke out of his influence area, but the group was still really weak for the rest of the game. And while the group is weak, he can bank of territory if not kill me.

So living quickly, giving little to him early on would be nice, if I could achieve it.

_________________
be immersed

Just one quick thought.

How about the double keima at C-07?

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Another thought or two.

Not that I know where to play, but just seems wrong to me. Picking a fight where Black is strong. Compare that with, say, O-06.

Also, looks natural, but it plays into Black's plan, rather obviously. How about the wedge at L-03? Sacrificing one stone is no big deal.

And, OC, having approached the bottom right corner with sente, reverting to the bottom left corner with is a thought. And the three space pincer at K-03 makes look questionable, eh?

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

To be faster? Would you respond to black's D8?

_________________
be immersed

I like the wedge at L3. There is benefit in answering him - my 3 space extension gets connected. But it's only 3rd line territory and splitting on the bottom is pretty big.

_________________
be immersed