(;FF[4]GM[1]SZ[19]AP[SGFC:1.13b]

GN[AH-OldWolf(B) IGS]
PB[OldWolf]
BR[30k]
PW[AH]
WR[27k]
KM[0.5]
DT[2000-08-13]
PC[IGS:  igs.joyjoy.net 6969]
RE[B+2.5]
TM[180]
US[Brought to you by IGS]

C[Hello Alan-

My name is Barry.  I play on NNGS as bconwil.   I will try to make my comments mostly towards black.  I hope you find them helpful.   Feel free to email me directly if you have any questions regarding my comments.  I would be glad to clear up or correct any weak points (or mistakes :-) ).  I have made many comments to a true beginner and tried to bring in a few basic concepts and terminology.

Although black won this game by just a few points, a seemingly small oversight at the end cost black almost forty points.   This indicates that black played a solid game with just an expensive lapse at the end.  While its a little tough to point out tips when you could have won by almost forty points, I did the best I could.  ;-)

buckyyowza: Additional comments by Mark Fyffe (buckyyowza in most internet go circles). I am ranked 7k on igs, and 5k on nngs.  I try to focus mainly on adding to and correcting comments made by Barry, but may throw in a few others here and there.  Please take my comment lightly, as I still feel very new to the game.  Look to move 157 for a summary.]
;B[pp]C[OldWolf(b) vs AH(w)  8/12/200];W[dd];B[cp];W[pc]
(;B[pj]LB[iq:a]C[A move at "a" (j3) is a popular opening called the Chinese Opening.


Also, I have read that it is good for beginners to play openings on the star points.   This allows them to learn the josekis for those configurations and that knowledge transfers easily to handicap games.

buckyyowza: it seems, with w4 a slow move at q17, that low chinese may be a bit of a slow followup (though certainly not bad!) leading to w approach at r6 and a fairly conservative game for b (see variation on 4)... i like q10 because of its fighting spirit and the moyo it builds while making any early w effort on the lower side end up crowded.
komoku play (3-4 point) are also good for beginners because of their simplicity... though i think all joseki plays were equally complex to me as a beginner ;-)]
;W[cm];B[dn]TR[ep]CR[eq][fq]C[While I understand your wish to take advantage of whites slack move, I think d6 leaves you with poor shape when the sequence evolves.  A more typical response would have been at

buckyyowza:  this comment a bit chopped off, but i'd say b should play at e4. d6 allow w to squeeze on lower side (at e3 or f3) and build some territory there.  if b has shimari, d6 is excellent. even now, it shows that b wants an exciting game (though he is a bit eager for it)]
;W[dm]
(;B[gp]LB[co:b]CR[en]MA[cr]C[Perhaps I should have done more to secure the corner?    No, I think the corner is fine for now.  Putting another stone in the corner would lead you to be over concentrated in that area.  There are still other big points left on the board.

buckyyowza:  the corner isn't terribly secure with only a komoku stone holding it, but it isn't terribly big yet either. invasion there should be enclosed or pushed to the right making b an easy base and sente. see var. for a couple of invasions from c2 after this postion.   in my opinion, e6 is the best move for b instead of g4 since it is implied by d7.  w hane at e6 now is very strong (nice for w since c7 was fairly weak).

i agree holding the corner strong by b would be overplay, but better than g4, which accomplishes little in light of the rest of the board.]

(;W[nq];B[lq]C[M3 is a good move.  You attack the white stone while making your stones stronger.  In your opening that is a good rule of thumb.

buckyyowza: yes, m3 is an excellent move :)];W[no]
(;B[qq]CR[pq][mn]MA[pn]C[R3 is too defensive.  Q6 would be a typical response when white runs to the middle from a pincher.  (see var)  The variation is considered a joseki sequence.  While I don't recommend that you study joseki at your level, sometimes it helps me to find out what the joseki would be just to compare the final results.  You used to be able to get a free software joseki dictionary in sgf format from http://www.teleport.com/~kogo/index.htm.

buckyyowza: r3 is a bit slow, but keeps w out of the corner.  stuck between q10 and b strong lower side, w needs to run now (and there is far to go).  i like r3 better than q6 personally because it steals w's base.  there is little need to worry about the right side because of q10.  w may live there but has no base after r3.  r3 at q3 would be better to secure the corner, but i personally like a black stone at n6 to really get things moving ;)
q6 is joseki (so are r3, q3, and tenuki), but considering q10 and g4, it is overplay.  w approach at o3 is too ambitious and m3 response puts black a stone up making w need to run... n6 uses the running nature to build from b's huge lower side moyo.  protecting the corner is ok, but allows w to reduce the lower side too easy.

if no other stones on the board, q6 is by and large the best move in a pincer joseki :)]
;W[lo];B[kp];W[ko]C[White might have done better attacking with q6.  He would still be strengthening his stones and attacking yours.

buckyyowza: l5 is a good move, actually.  it builds thickness (which w now has a surprising amount of), and attacks the lower side, which is a much bigger area than the right side.]
;B[pe];W[qd];B[qe];W[rd]
(;B[re];W[nc]
(;B[ne]LB[nc:c][re:b]CR[qn]C[Would a play at c, looking for an upper center foothold been better? Was trying to balance the potential loss down the right side against the possible gain between 'c' and 'a'

"a" did not show up on my diagram; however,
S15 could have been played at k16 or k17 and when approached by white you could have extended to the other side. (see var)  I do not worry too much about the loss if white creeped along the second line.  There is a saying that the fourth line is the line of influence, the third line is the line of territory and the second line is the line of defeat.

buckyyowza: after this corner sequence, the right side has become HUGE. o15 is good because it is builds against the moyo, helps to nullify w thickness from l5 and is sente if w wants to stay big on the upper side. if b r6 now, w is in bad shape.  k16 and k17 are good to start working into w's sphere but at this point would be a bit held down by w thickness. o15 leads toward a sphere invasion a bit more safely.  see var on 22 and 20 for why k16 and k17 may be premature.  though your thinking is essentially correct, s15 is rich in right side influence and chokes w corner (forcing a response at  o17).  the upper side essentially belongs to w from the start, to take it away too early is greedy and would involve sacrificing b's rightful territory.]

(;W[gc];B[ld];W[jd];B[df]C[Black may have been better off at d12. It would have allowed a better follow up move.  White could have put a lot of pressure on the black stone at d14.

buckyyowza: d14 is nice because it uses corner approach aji and right side thickness to invade w's left side moyo. w should protect his stones at d7 now.  d12 is too far and only uses right side thickness giving w one less area to protect. w at k14 next might not be a bad idea]
;W[dj]C[White should have atacked at C12 leaving you with a choice of trying to split the groups or run for the center.

buckyyowza: attacking d14 is too aggressive, d10 is a good move since d14 makes a weakness in d7 stones. b has little room to breathe now and should approach the corner with c16, then run toward the right.]

(;B[cd];W[cc];B[ce]
(;W[de]C[White should have played at c12 to squeeze black.

buckyyowza: d15 builds from the upper side, reduces b's influence from the right and allows w to cut at c14, very big!  c12 is good, but leaves b sente with strong shape. see var on 31.]
;B[cj]C[Making a connection move here was too ambitious.  Look at how you stone is far away from its support while white is a short jump away from a nice 2 stone pillar.  C 11 would have been better.

When attacking think safety first.  Don't throw a stone in to be gobbled up unless you are trying to force your opponent into a weak shape.

buckyyowza:  right. b has been watching  too many pro games ;)  c10 is a great tsuke (attaching move) and yosu miru (testing move), but fails to notice that w can kill with c14.  b should play c12 to protect the cut and either build on the side or run to the middle. c11 is bad beacuse w still has c14 and the lower should hit does too much to help w's shape.]
;W[ci];B[di]C[This series I think I did alright with, but better moves sugestions are welcome.

While the following sequence turned out satisfactory for you, it was more because white missed some opportunities to attack.

buckyyowza: this sequence is actually played very well by both.. w choose to stay simple and take sabaki on the left side, while b gets a base and extensibility.  if c10 was a testing move, the answer would be "I am nervous and want to stay safe", so b may be confident to use his lead to play solid and build toward a strong endgame.]
;W[bj];B[ch];W[ck];B[ee]C[Following is a variation that white could have used to give you a poor compact shape.

buckyyowza: this var is unlikely, see alternative]
(;W[ed];B[ff];W[ei]C[Instead of giving black a chance to to connect with d12, white should have played there  and split your two stones.

buckyyowza: good point. if w d12 instead, b would have to sacrifice d11 or suffer being enclosed on the side. this would not be the case if b 41 at e14.]
;B[dh];W[eh];B[eg];W[bh];B[bg]C[White could have given you problems with an attack at c13.  This was a result of your over reaching move back at c10.

buckyyowza: b is perfectly safe here. w needs to protect against a cut at e10 so b has sente. see alternate on move 50 of your variation.]

(;W[fe]C[buckyyowza: i like this move];B[ef];W[ag];B[cg]LB[af:B]
C[Seems to me I didn't play this correctly but was fortunate that white did not run down the line starting at B    The move you had was ok.  I think your problems started a little earlier.  Regardless of what white did, your group was alive.

buckyyowza: b14 is better];W[gh];B[lg]C[While this extension is not necessarily a bad move (that I can tell), why not try to attack his weak group at the bottom while giving yourself some thickness.

buckyyowza: m13 is a nice thickness play. w bottom group is quite strong, in fact b has a bit to worry about from it]
;W[jg];B[li];W[ll];B[on]C[buckyyowza: nice play ;)];W[nn];B[jo]
;W[oo];B[po];W[om];B[pn];W[pm];B[qm];W[ql];B[pl]C[Good cut.  White overextended and you utilized your suport from the q10 stone

buckyyowza: agree in part. good cut, but w is not overextended... in fact he is successful in invading the side. see var.]

(;W[ol]C[buckyyowza: w is too nice ;)];B[pk];W[qn];B[rm];W[rl]
;B[rn];W[lp];B[jq];W[jn];B[io];W[in];B[ok];W[nl];B[nk];W[mk]
;B[hn];W[hm];B[gn];W[gm];B[em];W[kc];B[lc];W[kb];B[lb];W[mb]
;B[la];W[ma];B[ke];W[je];B[kf];W[jf];B[sd];W[sc]LB[se:B]C[Realized I should have filled at B instead..

Yes but it was a small loss.];B[rc];W[se];B[sf];W[sd];B[rf]
;W[od];B[mc];W[nb];B[pd];W[qc];B[oe];W[gf];B[jj]C[Good attack!  You're playing from your strong stones and jumping into white's moyo.]
;W[jl];B[bc]C[I don't think this was the best move because this group was already alive and the sequence ended in gote, i.e. white got to take the initiative.  If you would have continued your attack in the middle with h10, I think you could have done white more damage.

buckyyowza: this move is good, so is a14. b14 was overplay. h10 is good for b 119]
;W[cb]
(;B[af]C[buckyyowza: b b18 is also sente];W[ah];B[bf];W[bb]
;B[bd];W[hj];B[cn]C[Good move.  That move was worth a lot of points.]
;W[bn];B[bo];W[an];B[ao];W[bm];B[mj];W[kk];B[kj];W[ij];B[jh]
;W[ih];B[ii]C[This move could have waited.  You know how white will respond and you lose sente.  (Sente is the ability to move and control where the game is played, i.e. making your opponent respond to your moves.)

Perhaps a move at e9.

buckyyowza: e8 would be better. in endgame, it is best to play strong.  j11 is a mistake because w has l12.]
;W[hi];B[ji];W[mq];B[mr];W[lr];B[kq];W[nr];B[or];W[oq];B[pr]
;W[pq];B[qr];W[kr];B[jr];W[js];B[is];W[ms];B[ks];W[ls];B[js]
;W[fm];B[fn]C[The rest of the game are basic endgame moves on which you did fine, so I did not have anything particularly helpful to offer, until move 206.

buckyyowza: i will end review here too, your comments were very insightful and bring up good points for beginners to ponder.  they also show that you have a decent reading ability, but that you fail to consider far reaching influence on the board.  it seems too that you are a bit attached to empty board  joseki and proverbs that may limit your ability to find creative play and tesuji.
this seems reasonable for your level.. beginners tend to understand advanced strategies very well, but have no clue about tactical play or the meaning of stones near the side and corner.  once they are beat a few times too many, they learn caution and reason to advance to a more intermediate tactical level of play, but get bogged down in such things and lose their taste for adventure.  it is easy to forget that you need those bold strategies to really play a good dynamic game of go.sensible play and following the rules make you a consistent player,but to grow strong you often need to break the rules to really find out what they mean.

please, if you learn how to play more global, to be more dynamic, and how to stop being bogged down with local tactics, let me know... those concepts are hurting my games horribly ;-)

I have enjoyed giving this game a 'second opinion', as this was a new experience for me, try not to take any of my comments too harshly... i am only trying to point out where you have misread or could be thinking a bit differently.  feel free to contact me with additional questions or comments.  i am also always (and i do mean always ;) pleased to play teaching and handicap games as buckyyowza (7k* on igs) or funnelhead (5k* on nngs).  feel free to ask anytime.]
;W[jk];B[el];W[dl];B[ek];W[ej];B[fk];W[gk];B[rj];W[fj];B[nd]
;W[oc];B[kg];W[ka];B[lj];W[lk];B[fg];W[fh];B[gg];W[hf];B[hg]
;W[ig];B[hh];W[dk];B[en];W[fl];B[ab];W[aa];B[ba];W[ca];B[ac]
;W[kd];B[le];W[op];B[os];W[ns];B[fd]C[An experiment,.but I think I missed the correct sequence.]
;W[ec];B[ge];W[he];B[fc];W[fb];B[fe]C[Should have played 'a' instead of filling, Yes?

The "a" did not show up on my file but you should have played at e18, w d17 and b d19.]
;W[eb];B[gd];W[hd];B[tt];W[qp];B[qo];W[rp]LB[ro:b]C[Other than plays I needed to have made a while back not sure if there was a better way to play here, except perhaps 'b'.

Yes, you are right that b would have been better.  I think this mistake cost about forty points.  A good general rule is that one eye will beat no eyes.  So if you get into small battles and are having problems reading it out, lean towards forming an eye.

(see var.)]
(;B[rq];W[ro];B[so];W[qn];B[sp];W[sm];B[sq];W[sn];B[rk];W[qk]
;B[qj];W[sk];B[sj];W[sl];B[nj];W[rs]C[
 OldWolf 30k : now, I never even saw that coming....back to the
books...];B[qs];W[cq];B[dq];W[dr];B[cr];W[eq];B[bq];W[gq];B[er]
;W[fr];B[ds];W[fs];B[ep];W[hp];B[fq];W[go];B[hq];W[ip];B[gr]
;W[ho];B[jp];W[fo];B[eo];W[gs];B[iq];W[hr];B[fp];W[gq];B[es]
;W[aa];B[tt];W[ba]C[Black did very well in this game.  You would have had about a forty point victory if you had protected the right side of the board.  But despite this local loss you still won.  Good job.]
)
(;B[ro];W[rq];B[rr]C[White's group only has two liberties while black's two adjacent groups have four.]
))
(;B[bb];W[fc];B[af]))
(;W[pk];B[qk];W[ol];B[rl];W[rk];B[pl]C[buckyyowza: this ko is hanami for black]
)
(;W[rm];B[qn];W[pk];B[ol];W[qk];B[nm];W[ri];B[jn]C[buckyyowza: b can try to hurt w now]
))
(;W[cg];B[dg];W[bf]C[buckyyowza: b would play a13]
(;B[cf];W[ag])
(;B[ag];W[cf];B[be];W[ah];B[af];W[cf];B[bc])
(;B[ag];W[ah];B[cf];W[af];B[cg];W[bc];B[bd];W[ad];B[ae])))
(;W[cf];B[cg];W[ef];B[dg];W[be];B[bf];W[bd];B[cf];W[ed])
(;W[cf];B[bf];W[cg];B[dg];W[bg];B[bh]C[buckyyowza: this ladder would result from c14. b cannot play at b15 because of following]
;W[be];B[ag];W[bd];B[cf];W[dc]C[buckyyowza: w has to protect at d17]
;B[fh]))
(;W[ch];B[fe]))
(;B[cd];W[cc];B[ce];W[bc];B[ci];W[cj];B[bi];W[bj];B[gh]C[buckyyowza: a nice followup to d10]
))
(;AE[nc][ne][re];B[jc];W[hc];B[nd];W[nc];B[mc];W[oc];B[od]C[buckyyowza: this is not bad for b, but w is unlikely to play h17]
))
(;B[jc];W[kd];B[jd];W[ke];B[gd];W[em]TR[jq][ep][qn][ph][qh]
[qj]C[buckyyowza: b has a group in w sphere now, but w has a better game and many large invasion points]
)
(;B[jd];W[me];B[qi];W[fc]C[buckyyowza: not sure i'd like to be black here ;-)]
))
(;B[jc];W[kd];B[jd];W[ke];B[gd];W[nd]TR[qh]C[buckyyowza: b is weak on the right side now and his invasion is crowded. a white stone at r12 could hurt.]
))
(;B[pn]
(;W[lo];B[oq];W[nr];B[jq];W[nm]C[While you still had a good result in your game on the right side.  It was open to attack if white choose to do so.

buckyyowza: this sequence seems very small for w if black play to prevent r3 invasion.]
)
(;W[qq];B[pq];W[pr];B[or];W[qr];B[oq];W[ro]C[buckyyowza: since b neglected e6, w has plenty to counter b influence between o5 and d7 and is now comfortable with territory. this would be an interesting game.]
))
(;B[mn];W[po];B[qo];W[qp]C[buckyyowza: this could be fun ;)]
))
(;W[cr]
(;B[bq];W[fq];B[gq];W[gr];B[hr];W[er];B[br];W[fs]C[buckyyowza: w lives but at much cost.  not all invasions are worth while. b thickness is overwhelming]
)
(;B[dr];W[cq];B[dq];W[bp]
(;B[co];W[bo]C[buckyyowza: if black try to enclose from the other side, w escape and score big.]
)
(;B[bo]
(;W[co];B[dp];W[bn];B[bq];W[ao];B[br]C[buckyyowza: w has a nice base, so does b]
)
(;W[aq];B[br];W[bs];B[ar];W[co];B[cn];W[dp]
(;B[ep];W[bn])
(;B[bm];W[ep];B[fq];W[fo])))))
(;W[en]))
(;B[en]
(;W[dj];B[iq]C[buckyyowza: nice for b with very little complexity]
)
(;W[jq];B[gq];W[mq];B[dj]C[buckyyowza: b is better here too, but not so simple]
)))
(;B[iq];W[qn];B[nq];W[pk];B[dj]C[buckyyowza: d10 seems big for b, but w can begin attack as he likes... not bad in a komi game, but if w is stronger, better to keep him on the run a while.]
))
