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

PB[aspirant]
BR[ 5k*]
HA[0]
PW[tcmgo]
WR[ 3k*]
KM[0.5]
DT[2000-12-19]
GC[Review (by reid) of review (by semelis)]

;B[pd];W[dp];B[pp];W[dd];B[fq];W[dn];B[dr];W[cq];B[iq];W[nc]
;B[qf];W[pb];B[qc];W[kc];B[cf];W[ch];B[cc];W[cd];B[dc];W[ed]
;B[bd];W[be];B[bc];W[ce];B[fc];W[qn];B[ql];W[qq];B[qp];W[pq]
;B[op];W[rp];B[ro];W[rq];B[qo];W[nq]C[semelis: Let's look at the board here: if it were'nt by D6 and R14 it would be
simetric, nevertheless upper and lower sides are, and not only it means  it's kind of miai, groups there are stable and on the 3rd line, so, to
overstate it, the position is played out.
then right and left remains. At the right side R14 and R8 are low, so again it
looks like played out ... unles black wants to try some cosmic variation (see it)
So, only the left side remains, and C8 (or C9) threatening B6 looks interesting.]

(;B[lq]C[B37. OK? If not, where better?

semelis: B37 looks like a big (about12 points?) yose move disputing the points
from K to N. It's not yose time now.];W[mq];B[qi]C[B39. Same question.

semelis: (Almost) same asnwer, plus: the N3 stone is a very good (even if it could
look slow) move by it's own, it strengthens a lot white's corner, the M3 stone,
as it stands now, does almost nothing ... unless it's followed up by M4. That
would be better than R11, which is anyway too low: usually one tries to keep
balance between 3rd and 4th line.

reid: The direction is wrong.  Both R14 and R8 secure, so there is no need to be simply joining them with a low move like this.  Black's previous move at M3 has a similar problem of direction.  In that case, both the J3 group and white's O3 group are secure, so there's no point in playing between them (until yose).

reid:  If we back up and think about alternatives to black M3, it looks like black has a choice between invading at C8 or building a moyo starting with black N5, white N3, b M16, etc.  Either of these would be better than M3 and R11.]
;W[dk]C[semelis: It looks (over simplification?) that white is making 4 more points at the left
than black at the right, plus the M-N 3 echange at the lower side is better
for white if it's not followed up, and that would mean giving the initiative
to white, who could, for example, play simetrically at the top.]
;B[ck]C[B41. Same question.

semelis: But difficult to answer now!  Sente at this stage is all important, and it's easy for white to grab it now, letting
black whith a weak group there that later will prove a burden, reduce the rigth
side lightly in sente and then attack the lower side. In theory. I still prefer M4,
that would also help in attacking any reducing move to the right.

reid: Yes, but white might ignore black M4 and play a sequence like white G15, b G17, w H4, b H3, w F4 forming a huge moyo.  Black can of course invade after that sequence, but white will have control of the game.

reid: Black C9 is very deep, and black could have a tough time here, but it looks like black needs to do something in this area now (before white gets to complete his moyo).

reid: Some alternatives black can consider: D8 or D7 would probably be a bit easier.  E11 looks like it might work nicely with black's right side.]
;W[dl];B[dj]C[B43. Same question.

D10 looks like the natural move to me, perhaps playing first D14 to see what
white does is interesting, trying to tangle things to either keep sente or beeing
able to settle the black stones in the left.];W[ej];B[di];W[dg]
;B[ei];W[fj];B[fi];W[bi];B[bj];W[ci];B[cj];W[eq];B[er];W[hq]
C[Very good move, white has reinforced the upper left stones in sente, levaing
a weak black group and forgetting about the side points uses sente to attack  the lower side.]
;B[fp]C[If you are worried about white shifting the side territory by a center one
then C10, or even B10, should have been played at G10. this is the key point
to get power in the center. I think that now H4 (or H3, but looks too submissive.)
trying to link all black stones, is better.];W[gr];B[fr];W[ir]
;B[hp];W[jq];B[ip];W[jp];B[gm]C[B65. Was this sequence OK for B?? If not, what would have been better?

semelis: White will play at G9, if it was an important point before, now that black's
lower group is still unsettled all the more. White has been deprived of points
at the left, but the ones that will make at the lower side *plus* the ones lost
there *plus* having weak groups to torture make for that.

reid: It looks like white cananot seriously threaten this black group  (black C2 is a sente eye), so I think white has probably lost more potenial in the center than he has gained on the bottom.  I think white H3 was a bit of an overplay (although black G3 might have been a stronger response than F4).]
;W[gj];B[fg];W[fd];B[gc];W[df];B[ih];W[cr]C[Chasing black to the center feels good here.]
;B[jo];W[ko];B[jn];W[lp]C[semelis: White proceeds as expected, but M4 could be at N5, going to reduce blacks
prospects on the right.

reid: White at N5 instead of M4 leaves a lot of aji.  With M4, black won't be able to make anything around O6-N7 because white is so strong here.  M4 is very clean.]
;B[pn];W[ij]C[Maybe M7 instead of J10 would be better for white.]
;B[hi];W[hj];B[km];W[cl]C[semelis: After C2 white is quite safe, C8 is not as big as it looks.
Reducing on the right (M7, L10, P11 or even Q7 to test blacks reaction
come to mind) and trying to keep sente to play C8 or B7 later seems
better.

reid: Actually, black missed a chance earlier.  Before black goes running out (before F13 or J12, for example), he could slide to B7, threatening to make life while turning white's ten points into black's 5.  The usual proverb is "run before living", but in this case, running is a problem because black would like to build a moyo on the right.

reid: Also, F3 looks like it's butting right into white's thickness.  Probably better to G11, w H10. b J12.]
;B[bl];W[bm];B[am];W[bn];B[kj]C[B87. At this point I though that I had a winning position. Was I right? If not why?   It's the kind of position I prefer myself too, but lets count:
White: LL 10 pts. LR 24 pts UL 7 pts. UR 7 pts. = 48 points + sente
Black: UL 12 pts. L 2 pts. CL 2 pts. RS 26 pts     = 42 points  + center project - 2 weak grps.

(for this conservative way of counting, take a look at Cho Chikun's book
High Speed Game Analysis)

reid:  Hmm, after B L10 I only see one weak black group (J12).  I think I'd count nearly 20 extra points for black's central area - his stones there seem to be cooperating quite well.

reid: Lets try counting a slightly different way.  White's lower right is about 10-12 points greater than black's upper left.  Black's two center groups are probably about equal to white's upper left-side (D14) area.  So White's upper right (7pts) plus white's lower left (I'd give it 14 instead of 10) plus his extra 12 (LR) add up to somewhere around 35 pts.  Black needs 35 points on the right side to be in the game.  I'd feel fairly comfortable if I were black right now.

reid: If black really did have two weak groups, I'd say this game was white's (but then I pretty much assume that *any* time there are two weak groups, it's a lost cause :-)]
;W[mn];B[nm]C[reid: This feels wrong to me.  My reasoning is that black's Q6 is very strong - much stronger than L7.  I think I'd play the contact at N7 instead of O7.  Then if white O7. pull back at N8.  White needs to connect - probably the tiger's mouth at P6.  Black responds at R7 (making white's yose at T5 gote).    Now black is strong everywhere except the J12 group, and his center is looming rather large.]
;W[ne]C[White is reducing very conservatively, N10 or Q7 before O15 and N6
to test black reaction could be more damaging ... and risky.]
;B[nf];W[mf];B[ng];W[ji]C[First move taken advantage of a weak group, of course if black can play now
M12 and survive it would be a won game.];B[if];W[he];B[hf];W[ic]
C[semelis: L11, or something reducing the center looks better, in fact even R18 is
bigger than J17.

reid: Yes, this seems like white suddenly gave up on strategic thinking and went for a (gote) territory grab.  I was thinking black should have played at L13 instead of H14.]
;B[mg]C[When closing is better to reinforce the weaker part: I think M12 is best, but
N8 would be safer.];W[ki];B[mi];W[lj]C[semelis: Again a move taking advantage of a weak group, N10, closing the right side
bye 8th line would be nice, but, if white plays then M8, cutting the black
group, can it survive?
 It's a difficult fight, I think black dies, but then losing by 6 or by 60 ....

reid: Yes.  Black could have made things much easier on himself by playing at M18 instead of N11.  Now L18 looks like a donation.]

(;B[mm];W[mj];B[oj]C[B105. I thought that I was ahead, so I played conservatively. Was this correct?

semelis: From my previous count white 4 more points at the upper side with J17, while denying to black the same move for the same points, so 8 points difference,  and has sente
to play at R18, B:S18 W:S19 B:T18 W N15 thus about 3 more points there,  while black  has gained about 10 points in the center. But H18 is also sente so I think white is still ahead and blacks center growth has been compensated bye white's moves.

Besides, why not O10 instead of P10 ?

reid: Indeed!  Falling back at a critical time like this often turns into a losing move!]
;W[kg]C[Looks like a dame point ...];B[ak]C[... that loses the sequence W:A6 B:A8 W:A10 B:B9 and white takes away 2 points from
black. Black thankfully takes out one of his own points with A9 instead of A10 :-)

reid:  Black realizes that he must secure this group now.  That usually means gote.  But it doesn't mean black should just take the first eye-move that comes to hand.  Black should look for all possible means to threaten to live.  For example, white is starting to take a few points in the L15 area.  If black plays at J15 now, he threatens to make easy connection (H16) while at the same time making it harder for white to take anything near L15.  White will want to respond with J16 to keep the pressure on.  We can continue in this same vein: b G15, w G16, B H16, w H17, B L14 (threatening a second eye with K13), w K13, b L16, etc, etc.  At a minimum, black is reducing white's potential, and if he's lucky, he may even find that second eye in sente!]
;W[oe];B[pf];W[il]C[semelis: Small compared with R18 or H18 or other sente moves as T5.

reid:  OK, anyone care to guess how big R18 is?];B[im]C[Same.]
;W[fn];B[gn];W[an];B[al];W[ai];B[aj];W[lf]C[semelis: Big gote, but not big enough.

reid: I hope you've all figured out how big R18 is by now? :-)  How about H18?]
;B[gi]C[B119. Once again I thought that I was ahead and therefore played very conservatively. Evidently, I was mistaken but I still don't see it, so please explain.

It's a matter of counting points, the right side looks bigger than it actually is, you
have to imagine the boundary with all the black stones added to protect from
white's attempts to enter and count the remaining vacant points.
OTOH, if white gets to play J15, white's upper group becomes surprisingly big.

reid:  So what do you mean by "played very conservatively"?  Do you mean something like "I didn't mind losing a point"?  This is move 119.  This game lasted until move 233.  By "playing conservatively" from now until the end of the game, you would give up 57 points.  I'm afraid that's a bit too conservative for me :-)]
;W[so];B[sn];W[sp];B[rn];W[nj];B[ok]C[Instead of P9  O11 seems bigger. If White then plays P9 black can cut at O9.]
;W[ni];B[oi];W[nh];B[oh];W[je];B[ie];W[id]C[Not as big as it looks, R18 is much bigger.]
;B[qb]C[reid:  OK.  R18 is about 20 points in gote.  That's right - 20 points.  I leave it as an exercise for the student to play the continuations (treat R18 as gote, but the follow-ups are sente, which is why it's so big).

reid:  H18 on the other hand is about 8 points in double-sente.  Hmm, maybe nine in this particular shape (because of E17).  I think you can see semelis's point about the preceding moves being a bit small.]
;W[hb];B[gb];W[oc];B[cs];W[bs];B[ds];W[bq];B[oq];W[or];B[pc]
;W[nn]C[Not as big as it looks, connecting at P18 is bigger.]
;B[ln];W[ll];B[lm]C[B147. Same.

Because of white's continuous sente moves against weak groups, there
will appear points for him everywhere (killing L10 or N11, e.i.) This points
are unnoticed till the end, but they add to the total.];W[lo]
;B[ob]C[Now the game is close again.];W[nb];B[pa];W[fo];B[go]
;W[fm];B[gq];W[hr];B[ae];W[af];B[jf]C[B1159. In retrospect this seems too slow, but played for the same reason.

Looks like a good sente move to me, there's no much more left now.
The game is very close, white a little ahead maybe.
The more accurate yose will win.];W[kf];B[na];W[mb];B[ma];W[la]
;B[oa];W[jb];B[gl]C[E4 before looks bigger. K8 also.];W[ad]
;B[ac];W[fl];B[jl];W[hl];B[jk];W[kk];B[jj];W[ec];B[eb];W[mh]
;B[ge];W[gd];B[hd];W[hc];B[fa];W[ff];B[gf];W[eg];B[eh];W[fe]
;B[jh]C[Small: threatens only 1 more point, E4 or P6 are bigger.]
;W[on];B[om];W[np]C[reid: that should have been black's sente quite a while ago :-)]
;B[oo];W[no];B[kl];W[hm];B[hn];W[lk];B[kh];W[ii];B[lh];W[li]
;B[pe]C[This is 1 point in reverse sente ....];W[of];B[og];W[ha]
;B[ga];W[ep]C[... about  4 points in gote.];B[od];W[nd];B[nk]
;W[jg];B[ig];W[ml];B[nl];W[ke];B[gk];W[ae]C[Filling a ko ? F1 and F9  are bigger.]
;B[fk];W[ek];B[gs];W[fs];B[es];W[jr];B[gg]C[reid: Eh?  Connecting at M13 serves the same purpose, but saves a point.]
;W[hs];B[gp];W[he];B[fs];W[hd];B[tt];W[tt];B[tt]C[reid:  I think black's biggest problem in this game was complacency.  In several comments, black said "I though I was ahead, so I played conservatively".   reid: Of course, if you are ahead, you don't want to take risks, but you can't afford to be passive, either.  Remember that your opponent is thinking the opposite: "I'm ahead, so I need to pull some tricks".  If you fall back in response to his aggressiveness, you're likely to fall all the way back to a lost game!]
)
(;B[mj];W[ll];B[mm];W[lm];B[gq];W[hr];B[go]
(;W[fo];B[ep];W[dq];B[fn];W[eo];B[en];W[do]
(;B[hn]
(;W[fm];B[im];W[io];B[hl]C[Black's alive!])
(;W[im];B[hm];W[fm];B[il];W[jl];B[jm];W[hl];B[kl];W[mk];B[nk]
;W[ik];B[jk]C[Ko !]))
(;B[il];W[mk];B[nk]
(;W[hl];B[hm];W[hn];B[in]C[Alive!])
(;W[hn];B[in];W[ho];B[fl];W[em];B[hm];W[jl];B[jm]C[Alive!])))
(;W[fn]C[Seems to kill.];B[fo];W[hn];B[gn];W[hm];B[hl];W[il]
;B[im];W[gl]
(;B[jl];W[hk])
(;B[fl];W[hk];B[ep];W[dq];B[en];W[ho]))))
(;B[mo];W[mq];B[ld];W[lc];B[nd];W[md];B[me];W[mc];B[mj]C[... the problem is taht beacuse of D6 white will not play exactly simmetric ...]
;W[go];B[hp];W[fd];B[gc];W[gj]C[... and although there's a little more aji at C8 that in black's moyo,
G5 is doing a better job than N15.
The center point K10 is losing also it's meaning, so it's not clear what
is black doing with the initiaitve.

Of course this sequences are just a possibility.]))
