The goal was to work on defense

And I didn’t get murdered as much as i commited a bunch of suicides :frowning: Explain why i died everywhere

defensive check.sgf (5.1 KB)

I think black’s explanations are pretty clear :slight_smile: What were you thinking playing P1?

The goal was to work on defense

Some principles to think about:

  • run to the center
  • keep your groups connected
  • play light

Examples:
Move 106: connect!
At move 128, play O8 rather than P8.
At move 132, play P9 rather than R10.
At move 160: working on defense, or just starting another weak group? There’s a straightforward move at N4 instead.

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at 160 i was trying to run away for some reason but it looks more like a weak group than anything. Thanks :smiley:

I see. Well, that was an ambitious jump :slight_smile: Black is already strong in the area.

Connection looks like a huge issue, here. When your opponent attaches and you hane, you’re inviting a crosscut. When you double hane, your opponent will almost definitely cut. If you don’t already know how you’re going to deal with the cuts, don’t give your opponent the chance to cut! Solid, strong, connected shapes go a long way towards defending.

Examples:
Move 8: if you play C3 instead of E5, you gain a base, control the corner, and you defend the cut.
Move 10: just descend and the cut is protected. The double hane is unreasonable, here.
Move 20: the hane is a fine move to play, but be ready for the cut! In this case, you’re fine if you play C17. If you want to be defensive, though, there’s nothing wrong with playing C16. White either goes into the standard corner invasion sequence, or else gives black most of the corner in exchange for something on the top.

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yeah sandwiched myself in there a bit :slight_smile:

Essentially you need to learn life and death. Train it by solving life and death problems, there are many programs, websites and apps for that nowadays.

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