Introduction

Before this game, I had been getting white in most of my even games and had trouble playing properly. Games were often very rushed and I could hardly play a good game as White. However, after listening to Inseong talk about his views on playing White, I gave it a lot of thought and tried to get in a similar mindset.

This game is the first game that I felt successful when playing White. Not only was my game not rushed and ill-conceived, but I felt like I was able to maintain control for most of the game. Hopefully you’ll agree! Enjoy the game.

Game Summary

no,Category,Good,Bad
1,Opening,Move 20 - I liked this extension in regards to the whole board since it seems like a proactive move., Move 9 - I am unfamiliar with this position. Need to learn more about it in the future.
2,Middle Game, Move 44 - The cap started a sequence that allowed me to take the initiative in the middle game.,Move 104 - Bad move that could have cost me the game.
3,Fighting, Move 112 - Ignoring Black to play here showed good fighting spirit., Can’t say that any of the fighting was bad for me this game. Correct me if I’m wrong though!
4,Endgame, Not Applicable, Not Applicable
5,Overall Reading, “Move 106 - Though the reading is relatively simple, I was happy that I could read it out instantly with no doubt in my mind.”,Move 104 - Worth mentioning twice. This was an overplay. I am lucky Black let me off the hook and made life instead.

Weekly Go Wednesday: Issue #43

For Game 5 of this epic jubango between Lee Sedol (9P) and Gu Li (9P), we are at an exciting point in this match as the record stands at 2-2! So for this fifth game, this will serve as the tiebreaker for who takes the lead into the second half of the jubango!

In case you don’t follow the professional scene, up to this point, Gu Li (9p) has been doing very well against Lee Sedol (9p) and was considered the favorite to win this match since he also won the last two jubango matches as well.

With that said, buckle in for one of the most exciting games they’ve played to date! Hope you enjoy the review!

For more advanced reviews, be sure to keep an eye out on World Go Online and GoGameGuru since I’m sure they will have their own in the near future.

Fun Trivia: This game was played in Shangri-La, Yunnan, China which is 10,000 ft above the sea! As a result, oxygen was rather thin and both players had to deal with having less oxygen than normal which may have affected their performance more than anticipated.

Introduction

I recently had a conversation regarding the importance of ladders. And while the topic of ladders will probably cause many people to roll their eyes at the topic time and time again, it’s simply one of those things that you keep having a deeper and deeper respect for as you dive into the abyss of go. Today’s game is short, but it illustrates the severity of not being able to perfectly read out a ladder.

So whether you like it or not, you need to make your peace with ladders and make them your best friend. It’s the only way to climb to the top!

Game Summary

no,Category,Good,Bad
1,Opening, Move 10 - I’m proud of experimenting with a new joseki move I learned., Move 34 - This seems questionable to me; but perhaps it was a necessary defense.
2,Middle Game, Move 36 - The sequence around here worked out really well in my favor., Move 52 - This was rather small in regards to the whole board.
3,Fighting, Move 48 - My confidence in believing I could figure out the upper right corner was a good sign of healthy kiai., “Move 54 - Though I was successful locally, this was small in regards to the whole board.”
4,Endgame, Not Applicable, Not Applicable
5,Overall Reading, Move 74 - Being able to confidently read out this ladder was awesome., Move 58 - The sequence around here didn’t quite work out the way I expected. Didn’t realize I needed a ladder to be able to really gain a foothold in this area.

Introduction

Before playing this game, I had been studying one of Seo Bong Soo’s games from Master Play: The Fighting Styles of Kato Masao and Seo Bong Soo. And as I was replaying his game against Otake Hideo, I couldn’t help but wonder whether or not I had been wrong about my style of go this entire time. After all, I always thought I had a fighting style; but perhaps that is not really the case.

Anyways, inspired by his game, I decided to try and imitate that same feeling in this game. And though I end up collapsing in on myself with a really basic reading mistake, I hope you’ll still find this game entertaining.

Game Summary

no,Category,Good,Bad
1,Opening,Overall it felt okay considering it was a non-traditional opening; but nothing spectacular.,Move 28: This may have been too slow. Giving Black the initiative on the lower left was rough.
2,Middle Game,It felt more or less in my favor; but a bit risky.,Black got a big left side which sort of forced me to try and kill his group.
3,Fighting,Move 38: I was proud of starting this fight since I had an advantage in this area.,Move 98: This is probably my losing move. Letting my stones get weakened like that was bad.
4,Endgame,Not Applicable,Not Applicable
5,Overall Reading,Move 74-97: Felt proud for being able to continually harass this group / almost killing it.,Move 106: No excuses for this move. Complete misread.

Introduction

And we’re back for the second week of Thursday Go Tygem! Unfortunately since the last game, I was demoted to 2d. No matter though! The opponents are still dans, so we march onwards!

This game I take White against a 2d. The opening starts out with a terrible exchange on my part, and then a crazy fight for supremacy in the middle game breaks out after he makes a mistake in trying to cut apart my groups. Definitely a game that demonstrates how kiai (i.e., fighting spirit) can make a big difference in a position where you are initially at a disadvantage.

As always, please let me know if there is anything I can do to improve this series for you guys!

Game Summary

no,Category,Good,Bad
1,Opening,Moves 44: Was proud to find this move to resist Black’s attempt to get an overwhelming advantage in the opening.,Move 18+: The push cut exchange made me over-concentrated and in bad position.
2,Middle Game,Overall it felt like the middle game was in my favor and I outplayed my opponent.,Move 168: Avoiding the ko was so indescribably bad because there was no ko. hangs head in shame Could have been such an easy game…
3,Fighting,Move 122+: I was quite proud to be able to fight on even grounds in such close proximity here.,Move 168: So shameful it gets restated twice. Just so bad.
4,Endgame,Move 212: I was proud to find this attachment quickly to reduce Black’s area., Can’t say I was great at identifying the biggest value on the board; but tried to use sente/gote moves as my points of reference.
5,Overall Reading,Move 80: Outreading Black by knowing the cut didn’t work was very satisfying.,Move 188: This should have been at R3 to make life in the corner and would have changed the result of the game.