Anders Vs. Kns1472 250923

(;FF[4]CA[UTF-8]GM[1]DT[2025-09-21]GN[]PC[https://online-go.com/review/1542254]PB[Anders]PW[Kns1472]OT[Error: time control missing]RE[Resignation]SZ[13]KM[0.5]RU[Japanese]C[Commentary by Dr_Leadfoot.

Unless otherwise specified:

'X' denotes moves that shouldn't have happened where they did.
'Δ' denotes where a move should have happened, or possible alternatives.
'Δ' also denotes a possible offensive move.
'▢' denotes a possible defensive move.]AP[Sabaki:0.52.2];B[jj]TR[cc][dc][jc][kc][cd][dd][jd][kd][cj][dj][ck][dk]C[A solid opening move. Theoretically, White should respond by taking one of the marked points.

Direction of play in the opening is: corners first, then sides. On larger boards, the center is for later.];W[jk]C[This is very aggressive overplay by White, but it does start a contact fight.

A good rule of thumb is: If you have less than five liberties, you MUST respond to the contact. This is the Rule of Urgency™.

When both sides involved have 5 or 6 liberties, that's your signal to find a Big Move elsewhere.];B[ik];W[kk];B[kj];W[il](;B[hk];W[hl]SQ[ii][gk](;B[ij]TR[ii][gk]MA[ij]C[The idea here is good but this makes an empty triangle, which is bad shape. Try one of the marked points instead.

See
https://senseis.xmp.net/?EmptyTriangle

];W[gk]SQ[hj];B[gj]C[Black has 5 liberties, but that empty triangle can be a problem later on so blocking at G4 was fine here.];W[fk];B[fj];W[ek]TR[cc][dc][jc][kc][cd][dd][jd][kd]C[Weak vs. Strong and Big vs. Urgent are concepts that will come up a lot when thinking about direction of play. For our purposes, both groups here are strong (think: settled) and therefore not Urgent.

You want to look for a Big Move.];B[ej]TR[cc][dc][jc][kc][cd][dd][jd][kd]MA[ej]C[No.

At this point, your wall has more than 5 liberties. The other corners are very big now, so play one of them.

This wall isn't going to die anytime soon.];W[dj];B[di];W[cj];B[ci];W[bj];B[bi];W[ai];B[ah];W[aj];B[bh]C[This contact fight gave White two corners and now he gets to play the next Big Move.

Black got a very impressive wall, but that only helps if you know how to use the thickness.];W[jd](;B[eh]TR[cc][dc][cd][dd]MA[eh]C[No. Technically, White can cut here, but you should be fine if you take that other corner.

Ideally, you would have played the corners before getting to this point but that's a whole different game from what we see here.](;W[id]C[This is a mistake by White. Black took advantage of it nicely.

];B[cc]C[Yes!

You almost always want to claim the corners much much sooner than this, though.];W[dc];B[dd];W[ec];B[ed];W[fd];B[fe];W[gd];B[ge];W[he];B[hf];W[if];B[hg];W[ig];B[ih];W[jh];B[ji]MA[cd][ee][gf][hh]C[This is one of the drawbacks of prolonged pushing battles. You tend to leave a lot of cutting points, and those can bite you.

Play the fights out to 5 or 6 liberties, then either fix whatever cut you think is Urgent (to settle the group) or tenuki and get the next big move in.];W[hh]C[ Just remember: Corners are Big Moves in the opening, and when the local fight stops being Urgent it's time to play a Big Move!];B[ii]C[If you have trouble reading out cuts, familiarize yourself with nets and ladders. That will help a lot!

https://senseis.xmp.net/?Ladder

https://senseis.xmp.net/?Geta];W[gh]C[The rest will come with practice. Play lots of games, make some mistakes, and have fun!

];B[jg]C[*** END OF REVIEW ***];W[jf];B[kh];W[gf];B[ff];W[gg];B[fg];W[fh];B[fi];W[ee];B[ef];W[de];B[ce];W[cd];B[df];W[bd];B[bc];W[cf];B[be];W[bf];B[af];W[ae];B[ag];W[ac];B[cb];W[db];B[da];W[ca];B[ba];W[ea];B[ca];W[ab];B[kc];W[kd];B[jc];W[ic];B[lc];W[ld];B[jb];W[ib];B[mc];W[ja];B[ka];W[la];B[ia];W[ha];B[lb];W[ja];B[ma];W[md];B[ia];W[kg];B[hb];W[ja];B[ga];W[ia];B[kf];W[jh];B[lh];W[lg];B[mh];W[mg];B[li];W[lf];B[lk];W[ll];B[mk];W[ml];B[kl];W[jl];B[lm];W[km];B[lj];W[dl];B[hi];W[gi];B[jg];W[cg];B[le];W[ke];B[dh];W[ch];B[dg];W[bb];B[fc];W[aa];B[gc];W[fa];B[hc];W[gb];B[];W[fb])(;W[dd]C[What if White had taken this corner instead of J10?]))(;B[cd];W[ei];B[eh];W[fi];B[gi]C[I'll admit it might look a bit scary, but Black is strong enough on both sides to survive this fight. That's one benefit of having overbuilt your initial wall.]))(;B[gk]C[If Black plays here, White can't cut unless he plays more supporting stones first. Otherwise, he's caught in a net.];W[ij];B[ii];W[hj];B[gi]C[Try playing this out on a real board if you have one. Can White save the cutting group?])(;B[ii]SQ[gk]C[I wouldn't play this one just yet because W can now hane at G3. It DOES protect the cut you're worried about, though.

Shape matters. Try to avoid making the empty triangle before late middlegame. There's almost always a better way to fix your cuts.]))(;B[ij]C[Not the best choice, but Black can connect here as well if he's worried about the cut.]))