Hi everyone,
I’m a beginner Go player and I recently lost several games in a row. I’m trying to understand what I’m doing wrong instead of just repeating the same mistakes.
Could someone please review this game and explain the main beginner-level problems?
86445152-047-alexanderburski1997-jlcai.sgf (646 Bytes)
https://online-go.com/game/86445152
These comments are from white’s (your) point of view.
Move 1 to 4
The goal of the game is to collect more points than your opponent. Points are easiest to collect in the corner (not in the center), so it is advisable to focus more on that in the early stages of the game.
Also, black has the advantage of the first move, so they have the initiative. White normally plays reactive, trying to outlast black’s attacks and win by komi, while looking for opportunities to counterattack.
For those reasons, I think white 4 is premature and also too aggressive.
Move 6 to 9
After black’s F7 attachment, the G6 intersection is a crucial point to decide ownership of the upper right corner, but both players miss it until black finally takes it on move 9, gaining ownership of the upper right corner and collecting quite a few points by that.
Move 10 to 15
I think white now needs to find a way to collect some points for themselves by attacking black’s weakest group (on the left side) to stay in the game.
Instead of that, white goes on a side quest trying to save their G7 stone in the upper right. It doesn’t really work (it’s too late now) and black indeed manages to fend off white’s attempt.
White loses some points with the attempt, but white may still recover if they manage to collect points from attacking black’s left side group effectively.
Move 16 to 24
Now white launches a serious attack on black’s left side group, which is good.
Move 26 to 33
From move 26 onward I feel white is trying a bit too hard to force the issue, and this backfires.
By move 33, black secured their group in the lower left, even collecting a nice amount of points in the process.
White on the other hand still has no points. Also white has no target to attack anymore and white even has a severe defect in their own shape at E6 (a serious cutting point). In essence the game is now 100% lost for white.
Takeaways
I suppose a takeaway could be to try to discern groups and their overall strength/weakness, on top of concepts that I assume you already have some familiarity with (chains, liberties, cuts, eyes, territory).
A higher level takeaway: From this game I get the impression you are an aggressive type of player. This is fine, but aggressive players can sometimes be impatient, playing too aggressively. Finding the proper balance between your natural aggression and your abilities takes time. I think you need to gain more experience to find that balance.
Thank you very much. I really appreciate
