I was reviewing my 3rd NAOL match and after my opponent’s move 50, guess where the AI wanted me to play: that’s right – S19. What sense is there in playing S19 when the response is a casual S3 or T2? White’s left is getting big and the White group in the lower right deserves […]
In today’s episode of “man I wish I knew more life and death” …
I was playing someone 4 stones stronger than me and we reached this position: The correct move in this position is based on the Clossi approach “remove the base” principle. I wont say what it is though. After failing to get that kill, I had another one in this position: Here, let’s work through the […]
Spirit Animal (9k) vs me (7k)
Interesting game versus another redditor-youtuber. Move 31 – the fearsome power of influence We reach our first crucial position. White has 44 points of “cash” and Black has maybe half that in cash. But Black’s influence is fearsome. If he puts down a stone at 9, he locks up 20 more points.. sort of… I […]
Massive kills: Notes from the Homicide Files
Remove base, reduce eyespace (to a Bulky 5), play the vital point It was a back-and-forth affair with eric128 until I set my sights on the group in the lower left: It looks like a fairly large group. Didnt look possible to kill. But the clossi approach has a clear set of steps to deal […]
Someone call homicide. A filthy murder is about to be committed in the Southeast Corner of the Goban
In this game, two Strong SDK players locked horns on Mikito’s Twitch Stream last night. On move 86, a ‘187’ could have been commited: Do you see the homicide about to be committed in the southeast corner of the goban? 22 Moves Later, the predator still did not smell blood: Every AI in the world […]
Don’t let anyone tell you need to improve your reading skill in Baduk
I think that it is misleading to use the term “reading” in Baduk. Why? Let’s take what you’ve done so far in this article: You did not look at each sentence to see if each letter “i” was dotted. You did not look at the sentences forwards and backwards. You did not see if the […]
Life and Death Galore in this 8k bloodfest
I just lost a game I was winning the whole time. But even so there were many opportunities to play even stronger. Position 1 – You need 3 corners to make that eye… I hate how obvious these L&D problems are after the game. But suffice to say that Black must have both points 1 […]
The Edge Crush in Baduk
In his “Go Dojo” software Bruce Wilcox refers to this shape as an edge-crush: a third-line stone surrounded with the shape White has here is a sure kill however… the crushing stones must have enough liberties during the ensuing fight If the White stones cannot handle Black’s efforts to fight back then the edge-crush does […]
I deserved to be sent to the showers not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES against a 10k on OGS
I’m currently rated 7k on OGS and I like to play people between 10k and 7k. I always learn something in all of my games. However, my opponent should’ve deep-sixed me on 2 or 3 occasions in our game. Ultimately I only won by komi, so if he had found any of these 1-stone kills, […]
The Baduk Homicide Files
The “bye-bye 2 eyes” murder Approximate time of homicide – February 11, 2023 4:35 PM – March 10, 2023 3:24 PM Named in honor of one of my favorite Columbo episodes, this kill spanned a vertical column that was sky high. The murder sequence began on move 151. It only took me 100 moves to leverage […]