Take-aways from my teaching game with lloyd

Some of you might have had a teaching game with lloyd on Kiseido Go Server. I had been told that he's a good teacher and I got an opportunity to discover that in my first game with him (SGF link) yesterday evening.

Much of what he taught me were concepts that I had known about, but are better learned in an actual game.

The tsuke-nobi joseki in a handicap game.

• In handicap games, White will try to create complications. Black should keep things simple and go for solid profit. White wins because Black makes mistakes.

An example of this is the application of the tsuke-nobi joseki as illustrated above. If you know this joseki and its variants very well, then Black has little to fear by playing A or (in a non-handicap game) as far away as R10. But B is solid and profitable.

• Recognize opportunities for furikawari (an exchange of territories).

The sequence to 5 confused me but it was, in fact, an opportunity to exchange territory. P3 is the correct response (I played Q3). White would get the corner and Black would capture the two stones to the left.

White attacks the two Black stones on K.

• Make a fist before you attack (or build thickness and push your opponent against it).

Here, the Black stones on the K line look like they might be endangered. But the invading White stone on G4 is potentially weak. I originally approached it with F3 as my next move.

lloyd showed me that Black can, and should, build-up thickness to the right. Then F3 becomes a very powerful attack. I applied this concept in my third game of the night, which was played on Internet Go Server (and, yes, I won that match).

Other take-aways were:

• Unreasonable invasion? Just seal it in and build your outward-facing influence (or a moyo).
• Remember the Clamp tesuji. This could have saved a key group that I needed but I neglected to read it out.
• Mind your cuts.
• The empty triangle is sometimes alright.

Butting Heads


No, this isn't a about Zinedine Zidane. It's about a tactic in Go.

Butting Heads is what Bruce Wilcox describes the triangled moves illustrated at the top. They are generally inefficient at a beginner's level of play. This is pushing on a link in the hope that maybe your opponent won't defend against the cut. The move could be better spent elsewhere.

I've noted that this is a bad habit that I have so I'm trying to be more conscious of it. UTDEspy told me once that I have a lot of bad habits.


YMI gaining clout with manufacturers?

Yellow Mountain Imports must be gaining some influence over their manufacturers. It's only a small cosmetic change but their new bags for Go bowls now sport the YMI logo instead of the Yunzi logo.

Pong Yen has headed back to China. He mentioned that YMI will be looking for new items for the Christmas season. I passed-on some product suggestions that some of you had written to me about.


Second Hikaru No Go Music Video

I featured one of the music videos of the themse from Hikaru No Go in an earlier post. Here's the second.

This music video is Days by Shela. It was the fourth ending song from the series and one of my favorites.

Can somebody please find me a music video of Fantasy (the third opening theme) by Nana Katase?


Fuseki Quiz 17/20

White to move and get back the lead. I'm waffling between B
and C. Move B constructs a moyo but does nothing to Black.
Move C does a similar action but also puts pressure on
Black's stone; so I'll go with that.

Scoring of last weekend's Fuseki Quiz 16/20
(Jump to the last quiz!)

• A = 4
• B = 6
• C = 10, This move strikes at the weak point of the irregular corner enclosure. If White defends per Diagram 1, then Black can regard 1 as a forcing move and map out territory on the right with 3. If White ignores, then Black slides in with a move to P18; leaving the two White stones floating.
  
• D = 2
• E = 8