Go

I will occasionally post Go games. I started out with Go in the beginning of 2011 and, after a rapid rise to about 9kyu, I gained 4kyu a year up to 2013. A chess player have some skills that can be transferred to go, so this “fast” improvement for a 40+ year old guy, is not too strange. From 1kyu in 2014, it has taken me another 8 years to get to approximately 2dan (European ranking). I can really recommend chess players to try out Gofor a number of reasons. First, if you are too tactically inclined a player, then by playing Go you will be forced to think about things like “structure” and “plans”, and you will improve your ability to hold multiple aspects in your mind at the same time (if you are able to improve, that is). Second, if you work as a coach, reliving the struggle of being a beginner at a difficult game (like Chess – or Go) will definitely improve your understanding of those you are coaching. Third, there are few things that let you appreciate the “nature” of what you have learned as a chess player and learning Go will make it obvious that you know stuff that transcends the chess board. I can make the list much longer, but let’s call it there. My current Go rating of 2 dan, is comparable to a chess player rated around 2200, so I am by no account a very strong player, and you should not take what I write on go too seriously 😉 If you feel like visiting a more serious Go-site then… you are in for a disappointment. There are no sites for go comparable to chessbase or chees.com, but instead there are plenty of good apps for go. I recommend Go Books, Tsumego Pro and – if you get more serious about the game – SmartGo (which I use extensively). There many good channels on Youtube dealing with Go, but they come and go, and it depends quite a lot on your strength what will benefit you most.

Solving Go problems is a great source of learning (and joy), and in my case, since I have lost my passion for Chess problems, it is good way for me to keep my ability to calculate alive. If you find my vocabulary in the commentary somewhat alien, it is because I sometimes use the highly specialized Go vocabulary. The majority of these expressions can be found at Sensei’s library. I teach go for beginners, up to 1 kyu, and I do coaching, but only over periods of minimum three months.

European Go Congress, Toulouse, worse results.

Since I last wrote I have played seven games, and only won one. I am not exactly happy about it, but it was not quite as bad as it sounds. On Friday I played a good game that I was proud of, leading my game against a strong 5-dan for a long time:

In this position I had the chance to play ”x”, followed by the triangle, when I would lead with about ten points. In the game I kept the lead for a few more moves before he took over, and kept a small lead for the rest of the game. It is the first game I have ever played, where neither player had a lead greater than ten points. (!)

Then came the weekend tournament. I braced myself a bit, knowing that I am significantly worse with shorter time-limits, but I expected to do ok. In the first round I was paired against the same player that I played in the first round of the Main tournament. This time, again, I got a very good position, and although my lead was not quite as big as last time, it was a lead that would have been easy to hold on to, if only I had played a solid move instead of starting a(n unnecessary) ko. I crashed and burned.

Then, in round two of the weekend, I played horribly and could have resigned after only a few moves. I felt the press on the clock and played a sharp move without reading out the consequences properly, leaving me well twenty points behind.

In round three I was out-played by a Chinese kid. I was constantly behind, and at one point I played a big point, leaving a weak group floating in the middle of the board, which he went on to kill efficiently. We played until late in the evening, and there was two more games on the Sunday, so I went to bed early.

On the Sunday I started my game well enough, and it was going my way when I lost my head:

I am playing the white side, and it is my move. In the game I played the horrible, horrible ”A”, defending my group before attack his three lone stones in the center. The second ”horrible” comes from the fact that I do not have to defend my group below if I kill those stones. Instead I should have played ”x”, which makes miai of the two points marked by triangles. Either Black’s three unconnected stones in the center will die, or Black’s four stones to the right. The result would be overwhelming for me.

Then, in the fifth round I finally won. Not a great game, but I did not crash.

In the evening, for the first time, it was not 30 degrees Celsius outdoors, and we could sit in the grass and go though the games. Parts of the Swedish contingent came and went.

Trying to come to an understanding of the corner joseki.

Not everyone could get a grip on the the situation.

Today I played better again, but my opponent was very consistent and fast. I got a decent position, but in the end my lack of time caught up with me, and I went from slightly worse to dying with one of my groups:

EGC, 6

Black: Tiger Hillarp 3d
White: Li Tianyi 4d
Date: 2024-08-05
Place: Toulouse
Rules: AGA (Area)
Komi: 7.5 points

1.Q16
2.D4
3.Q4
4.D17
5.F3
6.C6
7.D15
8.C15
9.C14
10.C16
11.D14
12.F17
13.D10
14.O3
15.K4
16.R6
17.Q6
18.Q7
19.P6
20.R3
21.R5
22.Q3
23.R7
24.R14
25.M3
26.N3
27.Q11
28.P14
29.O16
30.S16
31.R17
32.S11
33.L17
34.E3

My last move is a bit lukewarm, but I felt it had a good follow up at the marked point.

35.F4
36.F2
37.C8
38.G2
39.H17
40.S6
41.S5
42.R8
43.S7
44.S8
45.T6
46.P9
47.E18
48.E17
49.F18
50.D18
51.G17
52.B14
53.B13
54.B15
55.N14
56.N13
57.M13
58.O13
59.M12
60.F15
61.B6
62.B5
63.G14
64.B12
65.C12
66.A13
67.O11
68.C13
69.N9

69.Q13

70.F12

At this stage of the game, it is super close. According to AI sensei, I am leading with one point, which is basically ignorable at our level. However, I like where I have taken the game, and my only regrets were that I had already used up most of my main time. From here and on it went slowly worse. She played very consistently, with only small mistakes, and in the end I could not my position together.

71.G12

71.Q13

72.G11
73.H12
74.F10
75.M4
76.F14
77.M2
78.S4
79.B7
80.D7
81.D8
82.F7
83.B4
84.A5
85.C5
86.C4
87.G9
88.F9
89.B10
90.C11
91.C10
92.H11
93.J12
94.G15
95.H14
96.H15
97.J15
98.H4
99.G7
100.G6
101.F6
102.E6
103.F5
104.G8
105.H7
106.H8
107.E8
108.H6
109.J7
110.F8
111.H5
112.J6
113.K6

113.K7
114.K6
115.L6
116.L7
117.K8
118.L5
119.M6
120.J4
121.J5
122.G5
123.K5
124.G4
125.G3
126.K3
127.L4
128.H2

114.K7
115.J8
116.K5
117.J4

117.J5
118.L6
119.G5
120.K6
121.J4
122.K9

121.K9
122.J4
123.M6
124.M7

Black's marked stones will die.

118.L6
119.J9
120.L9
121.K10
122.G4
123.G5
124.J5
125.L5
126.K6
127.M6
128.L8
129.E2

Objectively speaking, this is a very bad move, but I knew I was losing, and I saw a last trick.

130.D2

Would be a horrible mistake!

130.G3
131.C3
132.B3
133.B2
134.A4
135.D12
136.B11
137.D11
138.E9

131.G3
132.H3
133.H2
134.J3
135.G1
136.E1
137.K3
138.J2
139.J1
140.H1
141.T4

And White must choose between losing the ko, or let the group in the bottom right corner die.

maxiGos 6.64

I am aiming higher than I did last year, long term, and the main thing for me is to play good games, against strong players, and then get to go thorough them with friends. There are two weaknesses in my game that are a bit mysterious to me. What I mean is, that most weaknesses are easy to pin-point, and can therefore be fixed, but I have two where I don’t even know what they are, ergo the ”mystery”. But, I am starting to sense what it is about, and my two bad losses in the weekend provided further clues. One of the mysteries is also part of my current issues with playing chess. To be continued…

Posted in go

European Go Congress, Toulouse, first two rounds.

II have not yet heard it confirmed, but 1400 participants and relatives/hanger-ons/supporters (with access to the playing area), with 750+ attending the open, surely must be some kind of record. The weather is going to be splendid, with temperatures above 30C all through the first week, and I brace myself a bit, as I stay at a hotel situated a half hour walk from the playing hall, with little to no shade on the way.

In the first round I got a very, very good position, but went on a self-destructive spree during the last third of the game:

EGC, 1

Black: Tiger Hillarp 3dan
White: Robin Bonjean 3dan
Date: 2024-07-28
Place: Toulouse
Rules: AGA (Area)
Komi: 6.5 points

1.Q16
2.D4
3.Q4
4.D17
5.F3
6.C7
7.D15

7.C3

…is usually the right way to continue for Black. I guessed my opponent wanted to get into that joseki, so I decided to avoid it for the moment.

8.D3
9.C4
10.D5
11.D2
12.E2
13.C2
14.R17

8.C13

8.E3

This kick is not so dangerous in combination with the marked stone, since there will be more bad aji in the corner than usual.

9.F4

9.C17
10.C18
11.C16
12.G17
13.E14

13.D13

Recommended by AI-sensei.

14.D12
15.E13

14.D11
15.E18
16.D18
17.E17
18.E16
19.D16
20.E19
21.F16
22.F18

This was new to me. I had only seen "a" before.

22.F17
23.E15
24.F18

23.F17
24.H18
25.B18

A slight mistake, but I get out of it with a minimal loss.

25.J17
26.G16
27.F15

26.B19
27.A17

…so I had to back off. The result is that White is leading with about three points.

27.A18

Here I realized that this move does not work for me, since White can end in sente:

28.B17
29.B16

The throw in at the marked point does not work anymore, since I am unable to bend in the corner:

30.O17
31.D19
32.C19
33.A19
34.A17

28.H15
29.G16

29.F15

Is better.

30.H16
31.G14
32.O17
33.J17
34.H17
35.O16
36.N16
37.O15
38.Q17
39.R17

39.N17
40.P17
41.M17

Was a fraction better, but it looks chaotic, and I thought it was a good idea to have the corner.

40.P17
41.R16
42.N15
43.N14
44.R6
45.Q10
46.S4

I had never seen this move, but it is quite all right. Now, since it is not forcing I wanted to take sente somewhere else…

47.L15

47.R8

This was my first instict, and indeed it was perhaps the best move.

48.L17
49.C3
50.D3
51.C4
52.D5
53.D2
54.E2
55.C2
56.E3

I was very happy White connected here.

56.Q3

57.B6

I have regained some of what was lost, but I am still somewhat worse off.

58.O3
59.M17
60.N17
61.M14

The strongest move, and I might have been more proud about it if I had not missed the best follow-up.

62.P5
63.R7
64.S6

This is very passive. If White was leading with 10 points or more, then it would make sense to play like this.

64.Q7

65.N3

It worked once, so why not twice_

66.O2

I have gained almost 5 points with the two last moves, but with my next move I give it all back.

66.N2

67.Q7
68.J4
69.N7
70.R12

This is not good, but it is not half as bad as I thought. If white had calmly protected the lower side, then I would have been behind with about komi. (I was never behind with more than komi, until the turnaround.) Now I get an attack on White's stone and can gain some in the process.

70.N5

71.P6

I have a decious plan to resurrect my marked stone from the dead

71.L18

…is again, and again, the best move, but it is too complicated to explain the ins and outs here.

72.Q6

72.Q5

73.S7

The AI still wants to play the marked point at the top, but my plan is pretty devious too. If White protects the cut just below 72, then I can attack White's lonely stone without worrying about White connecting under on the side.

74.R14
75.S15
76.R10
77.R9

Big mistake. I learnt a lot from studying this position.

77.Q11
78.R11

…and I get sente to play

79.Q5

78.Q11
79.S10
80.R11
81.P10
82.P11
83.O10
84.S11
85.S9

Here I am behind with 7 points. It is a low point for me in this part of the game.

86.N12
87.P13

Bad, bad, bad. I do not even end in sente!

88.Q13
89.P14
90.P12

A mistake. Now I get back into the game.

90.O5

91.Q5
92.P4
93.R3
94.S3
95.S2
96.Q2
97.R2
98.T2
99.T6
100.S5

This is a huge mistake (10 points according to the AI), and I will give the best line for comparison:

100.Q3
101.S5
102.R4
103.R5

…and in this poisition, the AI does not even want to try to save the three stones in the corner!

104.S14

…and the game is about even. Crazy stuff. Hard to imagine that the last move is so big.

101.Q3
102.P3
103.T3
104.T4
105.Q1
106.P2
107.N5
108.M3
109.M4

109.N2
110.N4
111.M4
112.O4
113.M2

110.M2
111.C9

An overplay. I am leading now, but we both miss the most important points.

112.D9
113.D10
114.C10
115.E10
116.B9
117.C11
118.C8
119.B10
120.D12

A big mistake. I have so many ko-threats that White cannot expact to win the ko. Now I am leading by a lot.

121.C9
122.B5
123.C5
124.C10
125.M18
126.M16
127.L16
128.L18
129.C9
130.C6
131.B7
132.C10
133.K17
134.N18
135.C9
136.B4
137.B3

137.B8

Hard to understand how I could miss this, which is significantly stronger than what I played.

138.C10
139.K18
140.M19

Now White has two groups (marked) that are not completely alive, and a ko to keep track of. It does not bode well.

141.C9
142.B8
143.A4
144.C10
145.K13
146.S14
147.C9
148.A7
149.A5
150.C10
151.K16
152.H14
153.G13
154.H13
155.H12
156.K19
157.J19
158.J18
159.L19
160.J12
161.J13
162.K19
163.C9
164.F12
165.G12
166.F11
167.E9
168.H19
169.D8
170.G10

Here my lead is about 30 points, but I managed to self destruct spectacularily. The rest of the game I have commented on sparingly.

171.G8

171.F7

172.E7
173.E8
174.F7
175.J11

175.G9
176.H6
177.H10

176.H10
177.H6

176.F8
177.G9
178.F9
179.F10
180.G11
181.B12

A pretty big mistake. i should have pressed first.

181.D7
182.D6
183.B12

182.H9
183.H8
184.J8
185.J9
186.H10
187.J7
188.K8
189.G6
190.K7
191.J6

Another big mistake. If I had just taken the stones on the side I was ahead by more than 10 points.

191.D7
192.G7
193.D6

192.D6
193.E6
194.F6
195.F5
196.E5
197.G7
198.E6
199.G5
200.F2
201.G3
202.G2
203.J6
204.K6
205.J5
206.K5
207.H4

192.K6
193.J5
194.K5
195.H5
196.H4
197.G4
198.F5
199.G5
200.G7
201.H7
202.G2
203.D7
204.D6
205.F2
206.F1
207.H2
208.G3
209.F4
210.F6
211.H3
212.G1
213.K4
214.J3
215.K3
216.J2
217.K2
218.H1
219.L4
220.K1
221.L1
222.L2
223.J1
224.N2
225.N4
226.K1
227.F19
228.M1
229.G18
230.O6
231.P7
232.N6
233.M6
234.O5
235.M8
236.R18
237.S18
238.R19
239.B13

In the end I lost by 8,5.

maxiGos 6.64

In the second round I played a young german boy who evaluated the position better than I did: I though I was behind most of the game, but he informed me that such was not the case. And he was right:

EGC, 2

Black: Qiao Jing-Xian 2dan
White: Tiger Hillarp 3dan
Date: 2024-07-29
Place: Toulouse
Rules: AGA (Area)
Komi: 6.5 points

1.C4
2.Q16
3.Q4
4.D16
5.R17
6.R16
7.Q17
8.P16
9.P17
10.O17
11.O18
12.E4
13.G3
14.C3
15.D3
16.D4
17.E3
18.F3
19.F2
20.F4
21.C5

21.C2
22.B3
23.B4
24.G2

22.G2
23.E2
24.H3
25.C2

I thought I had misplayed the joseki, but in fact I am ahead by a point more than at the start.

26.O3
27.R6
28.Q3
29.R3
30.R2
31.P3
32.Q2
33.P4
34.P2
35.S3

35.O4

Taking sente, was better.

36.O4
37.Q11
38.G4
39.O16
40.N17
41.N16

41.N18
42.O15
43.N16
44.M17

42.N18
43.P18
44.L17
45.O13
46.O6

This was born from thinking that Black is unable to kill my three stones at the top with one move, but it was better to save them outright.

46.R12

47.Q9
48.M16
49.N14
50.L14

I really do not want to save those stones… :)

51.C14
52.F16
53.C16
54.C17
55.B17
56.D17

56.C15
57.B16
58.D15
59.B15
60.R12

And, according to AI-sensei, I am ahead by 11 points. I had no idea that the game was already that favourable for me.

57.B16
58.P12

So, at last I lost my sense of what is proper. I wanted to complicate the game, and managed to trick myself instead of my opponent.

59.R13
60.Q12

60.Q13

…is better, and still keeps a significant lead.

61.R12
62.P11
63.P10
64.N12
65.Q13

There are too many mistakes around here, for me to bother to point them out.

66.P8
67.J14
68.E14
69.L13
70.M14
71.M13
72.N13
73.O14
74.O12
75.P13

75.K13
76.P13
77.P14
78.Q14
79.Q15
80.P15
81.R14
82.N15
83.N11
84.O15
85.Q14

76.O10
77.K13
78.J16

78.R7

My move in the game is horrible. I had planned to continue with this move, and it is far, far better.

79.Q8

Now I thought for a while, and became very pessimistic. There is no aji left on the right side. My shape in the center is awful, and I am behind on points. I was very surprised that the AI never evaluated my position as worse than -2, during all of the game!

80.L11
81.J11
82.P9
83.Q10
84.H13
85.M11
86.N10
87.M10
88.M9
89.L10
90.L9
91.K9
92.M12

This gives me an opportunity to complicate matters!

93.L12
94.K10
95.K11
96.J10
97.H10
98.J9
99.H16
100.H15
101.J15
102.J17
103.H9
104.J8
105.H8
106.N11
107.L11
108.H11
109.H7

Here I missed a chance to end the game.

110.K8

110.G11
111.K8
112.J7
113.N9
114.N8
115.M8
116.O9
117.L8
118.J6
119.N9
120.M9

And the marked Black stones cannot live!

111.H12
112.G11
113.G12
114.F11
115.H14
116.G15
117.G13
118.F9

118.E8

119.F7
120.D6
121.D7
122.C6
123.E10
124.G9
125.E8
126.E11
127.D11
128.D12
129.D10

129.C11

And I am only leading with 13 points.

130.C13

I found the strongest move. Veeery proud of that. I am not absolutely sure about the order of the moves from here and on, but I managed to find them all in some way.

131.E13
132.F13
133.F14
134.D14
135.C18
136.D18
137.C19
138.C11
139.B8
140.B6
141.B10
142.B14
143.A18
144.B3
145.B4
146.B2
147.B1
148.A2
149.A4
150.D5
151.A3
152.G6
153.F8
154.C9
155.C10
156.C8
157.C7

157.B11
158.B9
159.C12
160.B13
161.E12
162.F12

158.C7
159.C12
160.E9
161.D9
162.D8
163.E12
164.F12
165.F10
166.G10
167.G8

158.B11
159.B7
160.B5

I could have killed the bigger group here, but my experience from the first round told me to play it safely. In the end I managed to kill both the group in the upper left, and in the bottom left.

161.E9
162.E12
163.F6
164.E6
165.H6
166.H5
167.A7
168.A5
169.K6
170.J5
171.N8
172.N9
173.P7
174.O7
175.L7
176.L8
177.J6
178.L5
179.N19
180.M18
181.D19
182.F18
183.F19
184.G19
185.E19
186.G18
187.K5
188.K4
189.N2
190.O2
191.M5
192.L4
193.L6
194.A10
195.A9
196.A11
197.M4
198.M6
199.N6
200.M7
201.O5
202.P5
203.N5
204.N7
205.M3
206.P6
207.S2
208.L2
209.M2
210.L3
211.R1
212.O1
213.Q1
214.M1
215.N1
216.L1
217.S1
218.N3
219.E18
220.E17
221.K16
222.K17
223.L15
224.B19
maxiGos 6.64
Posted in go

European Go Congress, Toulouse, arrival.

I wrote the last entry five days before it was published, and in hindsight I would have done it differently. It sounded pessimistically upbeat, but when the moment of travel arrived, I felt no such thing. My wonderful friend Jörgen, who loved Go as much as I do, my travel partner to many tournaments, and one of the most curious and thoughtful people I have known, left the world of the living only a day before I went here. He was very ill for a long time, and although he was quite open about it, it was easy to miss for those who were not close to him. He did not complain. Only a week before he passed, he, his brother and I, spent a whole evening playing and discussing Go. He popped a painkiller halfway through the evening, stating ”I am with you again soon”. Perhaps I was the one who got tired first.

Jörgen had a special jörgenesque way to approach problems, of all sorts; holding them up to the light and slowly turning them around, then keeping the problem fixed and moving the light, thus finding sides and aspects that one might otherwise have missed. And, without ever descending to conspiracies. Speaking of conspiracies, and people who hold them, I have had this theory for a long time, that (especially) men who were considered intelligent and capable in their teens and early twenties, have the potential to become the most stupid of all. (An insight born partly from introspection) That a combination of intellectual pride, high self esteem, not accepting that which they have not checked the details of themselves, excellent rhetorical skills, general arrogance, and a fear of becoming irrelevant, or appearing conventional, turns sour later on. Jörgen had nothing of that. He invented and shed ideas at an incredible rate, seemingly without becoming truly emotionally attached to any single one of them. He was at home in the world of ideas. I am no longer able to think about anything for long, before I wonder what Jörgen would have said about it.

When I asked him about his profession, he preferred to be seen as a ”förtydliggörare”, as someone who makes the picture sharper; the obscure clearer. And, as far as I can tell, this was a fair description of what he actually did, at work. However, privately, I think he was better at making the complex even more complex until the moment where you completely lost your direction. He excelled at both ends of that spectrum.

I wish more people had known him as I did. I will sorely miss him.

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On my way to European Go Congress, Toulouse.

Last year, the European Go Congress was played in Markleeberg, and I scored far better than I had imagined, starting with 7/7 in the main group (but losing the last two). I woke up twice every night longing for the morning so I would get to play again. Since then I have continued to use my coaching system on myself. I felt I had gotten too comfortable with my openings, and that I was in danger of only learning that which came easy to me, so for the last year I have been focusing on stuff that I am uncomfortable with, and I have also worked on my counting skills (the ability to count how many points you and your opponent have on the board, before the game ends). I have improved in that I have a wider understanding of the game, but whether that will mean better play is not sure. To learn is to unlearn, and perhaps my newfound knowledge will produce more doubts than answers. I have not played a tournament in a year, and the games I played for Sweden in the Pandanet European Team Go A-league were not impressive. My expectations are therefore lower, but I still look forward to playing, like nothing else.

The main tournament starts on Sunday, and I will share all my games here on bagofcats.

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