Introduction

After my third game in Yunguseng Dojang, I became a lot more comfortable playing White. Maybe it’s because I’ve started to really appreciate having komi. Either way, I’m glad to have broken away from my fear of playing White.

This game was the first one I played after being dispelled of that anxiety of playing White. And believe it or not, it was actually a rather calm game where no dramatic battles of life and death occurred. See for yourself below!

Game Summary

no,Category,Good,Bad
1,Opening,Move 30 - Using the knight’s move to gain sente from the 3-3 invasion was a big reason why I could get an advantage this game., Surprisingly I cannot find any fault with my opening. Please let me know if you spot something I missed!
2,Middle Game,”Overall it was quite peaceful and neither played created any big weak groups, but I managed to take more territory overall.”, N/A
3,Fighting,”To my surprise, there wasn’t much fighting in this game.”, N/A
4,Endgame,Move 164-175 - I was proud to find this sequence that reduced a lot of Black’s points in sente., Hard to find any big flaws in my endgame. It seemed I was stronger than my opponent in this area.
5,Overall Reading,Move 100 - Finding this preparatory move for the resulting sequence was a big step forward for me.,Move 52 - I completely missed the double atari when I played here. Shame on me.
6,Strategy,Move 78 - Realizing that it would be difficult to continue severely attacking the Black group and simply cashing in on territory is a move I used to find it impossible to do.,”Move 52 - Even if we assume this move works, there wasn’t much strategic value here since White did not have great potential in the center nor a weak group to attack.”

Introduction

This opponent was a unique one since he thought longer than I did and took his time. He actually ended up in byoyomi early on in the game and used most of his byoyomi time which is really weird for Tygem since most players I’ve encountered play pretty quickly and I’m the one usually running out of time. Overall though, I felt that I was in control for most of the game. Hopefully you’ll agree! And if I’m totally wrong, please let me know!

Game Summary

no,Category,Good,Bad
1,Opening,Move 9-11: Ignoring White in the upper left was good in that I did not unnecessarily strengthen my opponent by trying to struggle.,”Other than the inconsistency of Move 21, I don’t see any egregious errors in regards to the opening.”
2,Middle Game,Move 39-63: It felt like I did a good job attacking White while gaining nice 4th line territory on the right.,Can’t see any major mistakes at the moment.
3,Fighting,Overall the fighting seemed to be in my favor most of the game. Nothing terribly complicated.,Didn’t see any real weaknesses in my fighting this game.
4,Endgame,Move 219: Ignoring White’s atari at M1 to make an extra point showed I was not making automatic moves and trying to look for bigger plays.,Move 164: Letting what get the diagonal here first was rough.
5,Overall Reading,Move 121: I was proud to be able to read out this attachment and know it could not be cut without some loss to White.,Move 70: I could sense there was double cut aji here but failed to read it out properly.
6,Strategy,Move 81: Sacrificing the F3 group in exchange for breaking up the left side seemed to show good judgment.,”Move 21: Though successful, the 3-3 invasion seems to be contrary to my initial plan at making a moyo. So negative points for inconsistency.”

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.

Part I - Part II - Part III

Overview

_Prelude: Out of respect to Sabum-nim (i.e., In-seong), the lessons learned are kept to a minimum since it is paid content and I do not want to infringe on that in any way, shape, or form. The game reviews also only contain highlights of concise highlights instead of my normal detailed reviews since I would inadvertently write about what Sabum-nim taught in the review (which would essentially replicate his lecture). _

As a new member to the Yunguseng Dojang (YSD) during Season 9 of 2014, I was assigned to League A as my starting league (this is the highest league possible in the American division). I wasn’t sure what I was to expect, but I was excited at the prospect at being part of a formal training program.

Read More

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.