Proud Moments

Proud Moment #1:

My rank is now officially AGA 2 dan!  The results from the last MGA tournament were added recently, bringing my rank up.  This is the highest my rank has ever been.  The goal, of course, is 5 dan, and I still have a long way to go.

Here's my current AGA player card:

Having my rank drawn out in a graph like this is really misleading.  My January MGA tournament was my first AGA rated tournament in 5 years, so there are no data points between 2011 and 2016.  I also have a 4 year AGA tournament gap between 2006 and 2010 (I was in London), which is why you also see a perfectly straight (and misleading) line there.

Proud Moment #2:

I started watching the EYD video today that, if I had watched it before my game on Wednesday, would have taught me how to handle my opponent's moves.  So why is this a proud moment?  I missed the first (key) move in the situation.  But, in the video, In-seong goes one to explain all the follow up moves when someone misses the key move (as I did).  What I was proud of was that I played all of the best moves in the follow-up sequence.  He showed mistake after mistake that the player in my situation was likely to make and in all the cases, I kept playing the best possible move under the circumstances.  Because I missed the key move, the situation was still terrible for me but, still, I was really proud.  I like to study, so I often know joseki moves.  But my weakness is when things get complicated and off the book.  This is why I was proud about how I handled this mistake.

Proud Moment #3:

I beat Walther at club today!!!  (Walther's a 5 dan!)  I haven't beat Walther since before we went to China, which was 10 years ago.  Here's our game (my recording might not be perfect, but it's close).

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[6.50] PW[Walther]PB[Becci]C[B+res.] ;B[pd] ;W[dp] ;B[qp] ;W[dc] ;B[oq] ;W[qf] ;B[nc] ;W[qj] ;B[qh] ;W[rh] ;B[ce] ;W[ph] ;B[cn] ;W[fq] ;B[ed] ;W[ec] ;B[fd] ;W[fc] ;B[gd] ;W[dj] ;B[gc] ;W[bc] ;B[bp] ;W[cq] ;B[dl] ;W[be] ;B[bf] ;W[de] ;B[df] ;W[cd] ;B[cf] ;W[ef] ;B[eg] ;W[ff] ;B[dh] ;W[hf] ;B[jd] ;W[fh] ;B[ei] ;W[cl] ;B[cm] ;W[ck] ;B[em] ;W[ci] ;B[bh] ;W[ek] ;B[fi] ;W[fl] ;B[gn] ;W[hh] ;B[gj] ;W[hl] ;B[ij] ;W[jf] ;B[dd] ;W[ee] ;B[gg] ;W[gf] ;B[fg] ;W[im] ;B[gp] ;W[hr] ;B[io] ;W[mc] ;B[md] ;W[ld] ;B[ke] ;W[le] ;B[kf] ;W[lc] ;B[ne] ;W[jh] ;B[lf] ;W[id] ;B[ic] ;W[nb] ;B[ob] ;W[oc] ;B[nd] ;W[pb] ;B[mb]C[Oops! I forgot W had another liberty at N15!] ;W[oa] ;B[kc] ;W[lb] ;B[ki] ;W[ji] ;B[jj] ;W[kh] ;B[lh] ;W[li] ;B[kj] ;W[hd] ;B[hc] ;W[lg] ;B[mh] ;W[je] ;B[kd] ;W[mg] ;B[kg] ;W[jg] ;B[ng] ;W[ii] ;B[hj] ;W[ig] ;B[hg] ;W[od] ;B[oe] ;W[pe] ;B[kn] ;W[fm] ;B[fn] ;W[km] ;B[lm] ;W[kl] ;B[ll] ;W[ln] ;B[jn] ;W[lk] ;B[kk] ;W[qm]C[I'm not sure about this... either White played somewhere else, like this, or I have the order wrong somewhere.] ;B[gm] ;W[mk] ;B[mm] ;W[ho] ;B[gl] ;W[lo] ;B[jm] ;W[jl] ;B[il] ;W[ik] ;B[jk] ;W[il] ;B[in])

First EYD Game

I won my first EYD game!  I really should have lost, though.  I got behind early (because I didn't do my homework) and my opponent had many opportunities to just end the game.  It's really hard to win a won game, though, and I think he fought too hard.  I was able to capture the stones that were separating my two dying groups for the win.

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[6.50]TM[2400]OT[15/300 Canadian] PW[Grominet]PB[greyhound]WR[2d]BR[2d]DT[2016-04-27]PC[The KGS Go Server at http://www.gokgs.com/]C[B+res.]RE[B+Resign] ;B[pd]BL[2388.134] ;W[dp]WL[2387.322] ;B[qp]BL[2385.038] ;W[oq]WL[2371.596] ;B[lp]BL[2331.327] ;W[dc]WL[2366.269] ;B[fq]BL[2308.695] ;W[cn]WL[2359.898] ;B[dr]BL[2300.268] ;W[nc]WL[2355.417] ;B[qf]BL[2286.705] ;W[kd]WL[2352.846] ;B[de]BL[2264.205] ;W[fd]WL[2340.27] ;B[cc]BL[2261.239] ;W[cb]WL[2339.156] ;B[cd]BL[2259.92]C[This move is wrong in this situation. I was told that if I had done my homework, I would have known how to handle this!] ;W[dh]WL[2337.901] ;B[ec]BL[2133.493] ;W[eb]WL[2334.871] ;B[dd]BL[2116.459] ;W[db]WL[2333.318] ;B[fc]BL[2115.093] ;W[ed]WL[2331.772] ;B[gc]BL[2105.501] ;W[gd]WL[2329.903] ;B[hc]BL[2056.922] ;W[bc]WL[2328.032] ;B[hd]BL[2050.868] ;W[ef]WL[2320.219] ;B[bd]BL[2041.433] ;W[bb]WL[2318.252] ;B[jd]BL[1965.863] ;W[kc]WL[2206.893] ;B[ke]BL[1938.016] ;W[gf]WL[2085.517]C[White actually does not need to protect here.] ;B[jc]BL[1874.588] ;W[pb]WL[1961.331] ;B[cl]BL[1812.222] ;W[cj]WL[1941.441]C[This move is a little too far, and leaves a little too much aji. It's better for White to kill for sure with C11.] ;B[el]BL[1804.037] ;W[cq]WL[1930.871] ;B[cr]BL[1794.663] ;W[fo]WL[1896.271] ;B[hp]BL[1763.206] ;W[ho]WL[1891.711] ;B[io]BL[1751.38] ;W[hn]WL[1889.769] ;B[hl]BL[1726.358] ;W[ip]WL[1857.702] ;B[gp]BL[1684.519]C[This is good for Black. White should have played here before cutting.] ;W[fm]WL[1832.457] ;B[fl]BL[1679.147] ;W[il]WL[1830.215] ;B[hk]BL[1569.38] ;W[in]WL[1783.237] ;B[jo]BL[1566.3] ;W[ik]WL[1781.746] ;B[hj]BL[1555.937] ;W[ji]WL[1613.803] ;B[hg]BL[1505.207] ;W[hh]WL[1385.798] ;B[ij]BL[1448.265] ;W[jj]WL[1280.65] ;B[gh]BL[1435.427] ;W[hi]WL[1272.184] (;B[gg]BL[1346.26] ;W[gi]WL[1268.912] ;B[eh]BL[1246.791] ;W[ei]WL[1257.138] ;B[fi]BL[1233.158] ;W[fj]WL[1248.985] ;B[fh]BL[1217.964] ;W[ej]WL[1096.338] ;B[gj]BL[1206.093] ;W[ig]WL[1085.169] ;B[hf]BL[1193.569] ;W[df]WL[1062.532] ;B[ii]BL[1177.806] ;W[ih]WL[1060.753] ;B[jh]BL[1176.02] ;W[jg]WL[1060.052] ;B[kh]BL[1174.503] ;W[kg]WL[1059.403] ;B[lg]BL[1160.817] ;W[lh]WL[1030.55] ;B[ki]BL[1158.697] ;W[lf]WL[1029.838] ;B[mg]BL[1148.344] ;W[hm]WL[960.57] ;B[fk]BL[1127.603] ;W[gl]WL[948.844] ;B[gk]BL[1125.327] ;W[le]WL[945.116] ;B[je]BL[1122.151] ;W[kf]WL[943.255] ;B[di]BL[1052.727] (;W[dj]WL[887.693] ;B[dg]BL[1048.773] ;W[ch]WL[879.155] ;B[cg]BL[1046.734] ;W[cf]WL[875.007] ;B[bh]BL[1044.153] ;W[ci]WL[873.214] ;B[bf]BL[1037.694] (;W[lr]WL[437.584]C[White cannot take sente now.] ;B[kq]BL[989.977] ;W[qq]WL[419.074] ;B[rq]BL[982.196] ;W[rr]WL[414.236] ;B[rp]BL[967.438] ;W[pr]WL[411.078] ;B[pp]BL[965.854] ;W[kr]WL[395.057] ;B[ck]BL[867.78] ;W[bk]WL[337.323] ;B[bl]BL[865.463] ;W[bj]WL[336.34] ;B[em]BL[672.61] ;W[en]WL[261.336] ;B[gm]BL[668.328] ;W[fn]WL[259.461] ;B[bn]BL[628.137] ;W[cm]WL[227.131] ;B[bm]BL[589.942] ;W[bo]WL[218.984] ;B[al]BL[435.855] ;W[an]WL[32.335] ;B[ak]BL[148.67]) (;W[bl]C[White needs another move to kill.])) (;W[ci] ;B[dg] ;W[ch] ;B[cg] ;W[bg] ;B[cf] ;W[bf] ;B[eg]C[White allows Black to take 6 stones, but kills the bigger side -- in sente!])) (;B[gi]C[Black should have played here.] ;W[gg] ;B[ii] ;W[ih] ;B[jh] ;W[ig] ;B[kh]LB[hf:B][jk:A]C[Black has A and B miai.]))

European Yunguseng Dojang

I got into the European Yunguseng Dojang!!  When I first signed up a few weeks ago, I was #19 on the waiting list.  I assume In-Seong Hwang (the teacher) arranged a bunch of people on the waiting list into bands, because when he later sent out the welcome email, I was #1 on the waiting list.  But it was close to the start date, so I thought it still might not work out for me.  I saw that I missed a call from France this afternoon, and figured it must have been a wrong number (who is calling me from France?).  But then I got a text message from In-Seong, letting me know that someone just dropped out of a band that fits my level, so now I'm in!

I used to do Guo Juan's group classes as a way to jump start my Go study at the beginning of the summer.  But then she changed the schedule and she no longer runs a class at this time of year.  

Some folks in the MGA have been playing in the American Yunguseng Dojang.  That's how I found out about this and I was interested, but they don't even start their games until 9 pm (8 pm Central), and the reviews start 2 hours later.  It's way too late for me.  Also, it might end up interfering with playing at the Prudential Center this summer on Wednesdays, which I want to do.  But Walther suggested I join the European version.  They also start their games at 8 pm, but on Central European Time, which means 2 pm for me -- perfect!

It's great because it means I'll have a serious game every week, and that game will be reviewed.

"Hesitation is not a virtue to an adventurer."

Lee Sedol's reviews of the AlphaGo games (translated to English):
http://badukinkorea.tumblr.com/

MGA Spring Handicap Tournament

Yesterday was the MGA Spring Handicap Tournament.  The MGA holds four of these each year in the Boylston Chess Club, which has space in North Cambridge. 

I volunteered to be Assistant Tournament Director for this one because I will be Assistant Tournament Director for the U.S. Open at this year's U.S. Go Congress (in Boston!!).  I think I directed a couple of MGA tournaments many years ago, but it's been a long time, so I figured I should start getting some practice.

The actual Tournament Director was James Peters, who has a very laid back approach to directing tournaments.  I rather enjoyed the fact that he didn't take it too seriously.  It certainly makes some things a lot easier.  I don't think we'll get to be so cavalier for the U.S. Open though.  Here's James getting a game in in round 3:

Even though I was working, I got to play two games.  Andrew strong-armed me into playing at 2 dan.  He played at 3 dan.  We have a lot of rank inflation happening in our area.  It will be interesting to see how everyone stacks up at the U.S. Open.  I don't want to cheat the system, but I also don't want to put my fellow players, who are accustomed to playing even games with me, at a severe disadvantage.  (I won against Andrew playing an even game in the Spring Open just a few weeks ago, but if I entered at 1k, he'd be giving me 3 stones, which isn't right at all.)

Anyway, I played 2 games at 2 dan and won both of them.  The first game (in round 1) was with Ed Gillis:

and the other (in round 4) was with Audrey Wang:

(I didn't record my games because I was working, but one of my jobs was to take a few photos.)

Since Audrey was playing at 3 dan, I took black with no komi.  I ended up winning by 7 points on the board, so if she did have komi, she would have won by .5 point.  Since our City League game (see earlier post) was also a .5 point game, we decided we're clearly within .5 point of each other.

Old vs. New

Amidst all the current excitement around AlphaGo, I am, coincidentally, reading a bunch of old stories and modern retellings of them:

• Homer's The Illiad and Alice Oswald's Memorial
• Homer's The Odyssey and Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad
• Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale and Jeanette Winterson's The Gap of Time

It's serendipitous because what is AlphaGo anyway, but a modern retelling of an old story?  The retellings never replace the ancient, they just add another layer.

Guo Juan lesson: City League and Boston Spring Open games

I had a lesson with Guo Juan yesterday, in which she reviewed my City League game with Audrey and my games from the Boston Spring Open.

In my game with Audrey, Guo Juan praised my initiative.  My two biggest problems were misreading a life-and-death situation (which led to my using the wrong strategy in my game) and some poor choices in the end game.  Here it is with my notes on what Guo Juan told me:

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50]TM[3600] GN[miso-mq4ever(B) IGS]PW[Becci]PB[mq4ever]WR[1k]BR[4d]DT[2016-03-14]CP[ Copyright (c) PANDANET Inc. 2016 Permission to reproduce this game is given, provided proper credit is given. No warrantee, implied or explicit, is understood. Use of this game is an understanding and agreement of this notice. ]EV[Internet Go Server game: miso vs mq4ever]PC[IGS: igs.joyjoy.net 6969]US[Brought to you by IGS PANDANET]LB[jd:B][ke:C][nh:A]C[White + 0.5 GJ was happy with my initiative in this game. Big points: (A): I mis-read the life and death problem, which led to the wrong strategy (B) and (C): bad end game]RE[W+0.50]LT[]NB[32]NW[28]RR[Normal] ;B[pd]BL[3595] ;W[dp]WL[3575] ;B[oq]BL[3586] ;W[dc]WL[3523] ;B[qn]BL[3583]C[This is kind of a trick move.] (;W[jq]WL[3507]C[Just play outside is fine.] ;B[oo]BL[3580] ;W[nc]WL[3492] ;B[pf]BL[3572] ;W[kd]WL[3482] ;B[de]BL[3564] (;W[cg]WL[3457] ;B[cc]BL[3553] ;W[cb]WL[3415] ;B[cd]BL[3540] ;W[eb]WL[3412] ;B[ef]BL[3468] ;W[cj]WL[3398] ;B[fc]BL[3449] ;W[gc]WL[3357] ;B[fb]BL[3299] ;W[gb]WL[3219] (;B[fd]BL[3292] ;W[fa]WL[3217] ;B[gd]BL[3194] ;W[ic]WL[3202] ;B[cq]BL[3184]C[W has low double wings. :(] ;W[cp]WL[3179] ;B[dq]BL[3182] ;W[eq]WL[3166] ;B[er]BL[3180] ;W[fq]WL[3165] ;B[fr]BL[3177] ;W[gq]WL[3164] ;B[bp]BL[3174] ;W[bo]WL[3163] ;B[bq]BL[3174] ;W[cn]WL[3163] ;B[dh]BL[3158] ;W[ch]WL[3148] ;B[dj]BL[3155] ;W[di]WL[3143] ;B[ei]BL[3150] ;W[ci]WL[3142] (;B[ej]BL[3111] ;W[qh]WL[3027]C[Good for W to take sente.] ;B[qg]BL[3106]C[Not a good choice for B.] ;W[ph]WL[3023] ;B[pj]BL[3100] (;W[mh]WL[2969] ;B[pb]BL[2959] (;W[dd]WL[2961] ;B[cf]BL[2922] (;W[qe]WL[2935]C[Doesn't work now.] ;B[qf]BL[2908] ;W[dg]WL[2818] ;B[eg]BL[2869] ;W[eh]WL[2801] ;B[fh]BL[2845] ;W[rh]WL[2764]C[But this is a good way for W to use the R15 stone.] ;B[re]BL[2828] ;W[qk]WL[2758] ;B[pk]BL[2576] (;W[rl]WL[2749] ;B[pl]BL[2535] ;W[df]WL[2722] ;B[ee]BL[2518] ;W[bf]WL[2721] ;B[ce]BL[2514] ;W[gh]WL[2687] ;B[dh]BL[2509]C[No ko threats...] ;W[mq]WL[2649] ;B[eh]BL[2501] (;W[qq]WL[2558] ;B[pr]BL[2448] ;W[rn]WL[2426] ;B[ro]BL[2439] ;W[qm]WL[2422] ;B[pn]BL[2437] (;W[so]WL[2376]C[W should not play here now, because maybe W will play differently later.] ;B[sp]BL[2429] ;W[sn]WL[2331] ;B[qp]BL[2411] ;W[pm]WL[2304] ;B[om]BL[2404] ;W[rj]WL[2277] ;B[oi]BL[2348] ;W[oh]WL[2265] ;B[ie]BL[2319] ;W[ob]WL[2217] ;B[oc]BL[2290] ;W[od]WL[2148] ;B[pc]BL[2281] ;W[nb]WL[2146] ;B[nf]BL[2207] ;W[dl]WL[2102] (;B[nh]BL[2177]C[This wedge doesn't work because W is alive on the right side.] ;W[ng]WL[2068] ;B[ni]BL[2173] (;W[og]WL[2066] ;B[mg]BL[2160] ;W[of]WL[2059] ;B[oe]BL[2018] (;W[ne]WL[1967] ;B[nd]BL[1972] ;W[mf]WL[1962] (;B[lg]BL[1968] ;W[md]WL[1922] ;B[fl]BL[1943]TR[jf][kf][jm]C[B's center is not so big because B has the marked holes.] (;W[hl]WL[1741]C[This is good for attacking B's shape, but is not the best for reducing B's center -- better to play more in the middle.] ;B[jl]BL[1923] (;W[ll]WL[1649]C[This doesn't work -- one or the other will die.] ;B[kn]BL[1913] ;W[ln]WL[1570] ;B[lo]BL[1771] ;W[ko]WL[1546] ;B[km]BL[1763] ;W[mo]WL[1501] (;B[lm]BL[1755] ;W[lp]WL[1491] ;B[mn]BL[1736] ;W[kg]WL[1467] ;B[lh]BL[1727] ;W[lf]WL[1458] ;B[kh]BL[1691] ;W[gk]WL[1392] ;B[gm]BL[1451] ;W[jg]WL[1381] ;B[jh]BL[1422] ;W[hm]WL[1368] ;B[el]BL[1366] ;W[dk]WL[1363] ;B[hn]BL[1356] ;W[ig]WL[1308] ;B[ih]BL[1346] ;W[hh]WL[1293] ;B[hg]BL[1328] ;W[gg]WL[1242] ;B[hf]BL[1324] ;W[in]WL[1240] ;B[ik]BL[1208] ;W[gj]WL[1187] ;B[go]BL[1167] ;W[ho]WL[1118] ;B[gn]BL[1159] ;W[im]WL[1071] ;B[fj]BL[1100] (;W[gf]WL[1048] ;B[hd]BL[1064] (;W[id]WL[945] ;B[bb]BL[1025] ;W[ba]WL[941] ;B[ab]BL[1002] ;W[be]WL[823] ;B[bd]BL[998] ;W[en]WL[786] ;B[hk]BL[943]C[B is killing herself.] ;W[gl]WL[776] ;B[gi]BL[941] ;W[hi]WL[741]SQ[hk][gl][fm] ;B[hj]BL[932] ;W[fi]WL[716] ;B[ae]BL[925] (;W[bg]WL[706] ;B[gi]BL[923] ;W[ek]WL[595] (;B[fi]BL[650] ;W[fk]WL[587] ;B[je]BL[647] (;W[ke]WL[569]C[These three stones are no longer important.] ;B[gr]BL[641] ;W[hr]WL[535] ;B[nr]BL[536] ;W[mr]WL[533] ;B[hs]BL[466] ;W[ir]WL[505] ;B[lo]BL[447] ;W[pa]WL[495] ;B[qa]BL[442] ;W[oa]WL[493] ;B[qb]BL[434] ;W[ln]WL[483] ;B[rm]BL[403] ;W[sm]WL[478] ;B[lo]BL[397] ;W[jn]WL[428] ;B[ln]BL[312] (;W[hc]WL[351] ;B[ed]BL[165] ;W[no]WL[314] ;B[nn]BL[142] ;W[nq]WL[304] ;B[ms]BL[134] ;W[ls]WL[300] ;B[ns]BL[124] ;W[lr]WL[294] ;B[aa]BL[119] ;W[db]WL[276] ;B[ca]BL[72] ;W[ga]WL[259] ;B[ql]BL[2] ;W[rm]WL[252] ;B[qj]BL[587] ;W[rk]WL[249] ;B[qi]BL[583] ;W[ri]WL[241] ;B[od]BL[559] (;W[jd]WL[73]C[Here W really played the end game poorly.] ;B[rg]BL[554]C[Really big.] ;W[gs]WL[62]C[Also really big...] ;B[fs]BL[551] (;W[is]WL[57]C[But W should not play this one now.] ;B[ao]BL[529] ;W[an]WL[53] ;B[ap]BL[529] ;W[af]WL[46] ;B[ad]BL[525] ;W[gs]WL[39] ;B[ds]BL[516] ;W[sg]WL[595] ;B[sf]BL[511] ;W[sh]WL[593] ;B[np]BL[494] ;W[mp]WL[591] ;B[op]BL[492] ;W[hs]WL[543] ;B[il]BL[475] ;W[pi]WL[509] ;B[he]BL[455] ;W[kf]WL[498] ;B[ec]BL[433] ;W[ea]WL[495] ;B[pg]BL[418] ;W[jm]WL[479] ;B[ba]BL[220] ;W[]WL[448] ;B[]BL[215] ;W[]WL[448] ;TW[ha][ia][ja][ka][la][ma][na][hb][ib][jb][kb][lb][mb][jc][kc][lc][mc][ld][le][me][nf][ag][ah][bh][ai][bi][si][aj][bj][sj][ak][bk][ck][sk][al][bl][cl][el][fl][sl][am][bm][cm][dm][em][fm][gm][bn][dn][fn][gn][hn][co][do][eo][fo][go][io][jo][ep][fp][gp][hp][ip][jp][kp][hq][iq][kq][lq][jr][kr][js][ks]TB[ra][sa][rb][sb][ac][bc][qc][rc][sc][qd][rd][sd][fe][ge][pe][qe][se][ff][gf][rf][fg][gg][gh][hh][mh][hi][ii][ji][ki][li][mi][ij][jj][kj][lj][mj][nj][oj][jk][kk][lk][mk][nk][ok][kl][ll][ml][nl][ol][mm][nm][on][po][qo][pp][rp][aq][pq][qq][rq][sq][ar][br][cr][dr][or][qr][rr][sr][as][bs][cs][es][os][ps][qs][rs][ss]OS[]) (;W[op]C[Sente!])) (;W[rg]C[This is really big.] (;B[mc]TR[hc]C[W does not need to protect at K16 because W already added H17.]) (;B[rf] ;W[gs]C[This is also big.] ;B[fs] ;W[op]C[But this is absolutely sente.])) (;W[op]C[W should start here.] ;B[pp] ;W[np] ;B[pq] ;W[rg]C[Then this.] (;B[gs] ;W[rf]) (;B[rf] ;W[gs])) (;W[] ;B[mc]C[B can't cut. (I misread this too.)] ;W[mb]LB[mf:A][ng:B][qh:C] ;B[lc] ;W[lb] ;B[kc] (;W[ld]) (;W[kb]) (;W[jc] ;B[ld] ;W[me] ;B[kf] ;W[jf] ;B[if] ;W[kf] ;B[jd]))) (;W[]C[W H17 seems slow, but there is aji up here.] ;B[mc] ;W[mb] ;B[lc] ;W[lb] ;B[kc] ;W[kb] ;B[jc] ;W[jd])) (;W[gr]C[This move is really big.])) (;B[fk]C[B needs to connect.])) (;W[gi]C[I asked if it's better to connect, but GJ said B gets too much on the left, because the end game becomes really good for B.] ;B[bg] ;W[bh] ;B[af] ;W[] ;B[ah] ;W[ii] ;B[jj] ;W[fm] ;B[em] ;W[fn] ;B[dm]C[W does not get enough.])) (;W[] ;B[hc] ;W[hb] ;B[jc] ;W[jb] ;B[id] ;W[ib] ;B[jd] ;W[kc] ;B[kf]C[W does need to protect.])) (;W[] ;B[jd])) (;B[lp]C[B should not let W ponnuki. ] ;W[mp] (;B[kp] ;W[jp] ;B[jo] ;W[kr] ;B[mn]) (;B[mn] ;W[lm] ;B[kp] ;W[jo] ;B[jp] ;W[io] ;B[ip]))) (;W[il] ;B[jk] ;W[hj] ;B[jn] ;W[ii] ;B[ki] ;W[gf]C[GJ suggests this way is enough for W.])) (;W[jf] ;B[jh] ;W[kg] ;B[lh] ;W[kh] ;B[ki] ;W[lf] ;B[li] (;W[jn]) (;W[if])) (;W[jm])) (;B[md]C[B could choose this.] ;W[lg] ;B[lc])) (;W[mf]C[This atari is better for W because it forces the outcome W wants.] ;B[lg] ;W[ne] ;B[nd] ;W[md])) (;W[mg]C[Since W is alive on the right, W should connect outside.] ;B[og] ;W[mf])) (;B[ql] ;W[rm] ;B[qj] ;W[rk] ;B[qi] ;W[ri]) (;B[rm] ;W[sm] (;B[ql] ;W[qj]) (;B[sk] (;W[ql]C[Wrong choice for W.] ;B[sl]) (;W[sj]C[W can play this way.] ;B[ql] ;W[qj] ;B[rm] ;W[qm])))) (;W[rp]C[W might want this one later.] ;B[sn] ;W[sm] ;B[rm])) (;W[gg])) (;W[ql]C[Why not push?])) (;W[dg] ;B[eg] ;W[eh] ;B[fh]C[Not much here.])) (;W[eg]C[W doesn't have much attack against this group; maybe W can play this way later, at most.] ;B[fg] ;W[fh] ;B[eh] ;W[dg] ;B[gh]C[Only works when the ladder is good for W.])) (;W[qe]C[Maybe W can play here now?] (;B[pe] ;W[rg]) (;B[rg] ;W[pe] ;B[oe] ;W[qd]))) (;B[pi]C[B should play here now -- the right side is huge.])) (;B[ea]C[B should play this way, which leads to ko. (I know this from GJ's website!) No ko threats now though.] ;W[da] ;B[fa] ;W[fd] ;B[ec] ;W[ed] ;B[db] ;W[dn] ;B[ca] ;W[qh])) (;W[dh]C[This pincer doesn't work because W has L16 instead of K16.] ;B[fe] ;W[fc] ;B[cc] ;W[cb] ;B[he] ;W[gd] ;B[ge] ;W[cn] ;B[hd] ;W[hc] ;B[ic]C[Now W can't connect (compare to W K16 instead of L16).]) (;W[fd]C[This is probably fine for W.]) (;W[dg]) (;W[ee]C[W could play this way. (I think Haylee played this way in a game of hers I watched recently.)])) (;W[po] ;B[pn] ;W[oo] ;B[qo]C[Maybe Black wants this.]) (;W[pp]C[White could try this.] ;B[pq] ;W[qp] ;B[op] ;W[pn] ;B[qq] ;W[qm] ;B[rp]))

In my tournament game with Andrew, we both played some slow moves.  I did eventually play the right move to split White's groups, but I didn't play it right away, as I should have.  There were several basic things I did wrong:  I played a non-threat in the ko (and missed the real ko threat that was available to me); I captured some stones in the wrong way; and I failed to block White when White pushed through between my groups.  Guo Juan also gave me a link to one of her Lunch Special lectures in response to a question I asked about a corner situation.  (As is often the case, we were wrong in our post-game analysis.)

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50] GN[2016-03-19a]PW[Andrew]PB[Becci]DT[2016-03-19]EV[CPL]PC[Cambridge]LB[re:A][hl:E][dm:C][in:B][oo:D]C[Black+time (A): Lunch special lecture on variation from this. (B): Black must split W (this move is wrong). (C): This is not a ko threat. (D): Wrong way to capture. (E): B *must* block] ;B[pd] ;W[dp] ;B[qp] ;W[dd] ;B[oq] ;W[qj] ;B[fc] ;W[cf] (;B[jd] ;W[qf] ;B[nd] (;W[dj]C[Typical mistake. W is strong in the upper left, so W should reinforce the lower left.] ;B[fq] ;W[dn] ;B[ql] ;W[oj] ;B[ip] ;W[qc] ;B[qd] ;W[rd] ;B[re] (;W[rc] ;B[qe] ;W[ob] (;B[nb] ;W[oc] ;B[nc] (;W[pc] (;B[pf] (;W[pm]C[Overplay.] (;B[qm]C[B should push up.] ;W[pl] ;B[pn] ;W[on] ;B[po] ;W[kp] (;B[mp]C[This is not the right way.] (;W[kn] (;B[in] ;W[dr]TR[nb][nc][nd]C[Slow.] (;B[fe]C[Slow. B has the O17 stones, so W can't invade easily at H16, so F15 is slow.] (;W[db]C[Slow.] ;B[ch] ;W[cj] ;B[mn] ;W[mm]C[Doesn't work.] ;B[nm] ;W[nn] ;B[lm] ;W[mo] ;B[ml] ;W[ln] (;B[no] ;W[mm] (;B[dm]C[This is not a ko threat. (But P19 is!)] (;W[cm] ;B[mn] ;W[lo] ;B[mm] ;W[km] ;B[il] ;W[kk] ;B[mj] ;W[rf] ;B[se] ;W[pk] ;B[om]C[Cutting is good.] (;W[qh] ;B[ij] ;W[jq] ;B[iq] ;W[np] ;B[oo]C[Oops!] ;W[mq] ;B[nq] ;W[lp] ;B[jr] ;W[kr] ;B[jp] ;W[kq] ;B[ir] (;W[lr] (;B[pg] ;W[ph] ;B[nh] ;W[jk] ;B[ki] ;W[nr] ;B[or] ;W[os] ;B[ps] ;W[ns] ;B[ri] (;W[rh] ;B[rj] ;W[si] ;B[rk] ;W[ik] (;B[hl] (;W[ho] ;B[gn] ;W[hk] ;B[gl] ;W[hc] ;B[hd] ;W[fb] ;B[gc] ;W[gb] ;B[ec] ;W[eb] ;B[ic]) (;W[hk])) (;B[hk]C[B MUST block.] ;W[hl] (;B[er]C[B can come back here to live.]) (;B[go] (;W[] ;B[gl] ;W[hm] ;B[gm]) (;W[gl] ;B[er])))) (;W[rj]C[This is the better direction for W, though it still looks tough.] ;B[rh] ;W[qg] ;B[sf] ;W[sg] ;B[rg] ;W[qi] ;B[sh] ;W[nk] ;B[nj])) (;B[nr]C[B should play here first.] (;W[io]) (;W[jo] ;B[jn]) (;W[jn] ;B[jo]))) (;W[nr]C[W must hane here.] ;B[or] ;W[lr] ;B[ns] (;W[ms]) (;W[mr]))) (;W[np]C[When W plays here, B should *not* take directly...] ;B[op]C[B should play here. (I got this wrong in the game.)])) (;W[em]C[W should respond here and kill B.])) (;B[oa]C[This is B's only ko threat. ] (;W[mn] ;B[pa]) (;W[pa] ;B[mn]))) (;B[mm]C[B should connect here now.] ;W[np] ;B[nq] ;W[mq] ;B[om])) (;W[ec]C[W should play this way for sente, and then connect the groups in the lower right.] ;B[fb] ;W[kl])) (;B[mn]C[B should split.] ;W[kl] ;B[ml]) (;B[] ;W[hc] ;B[hd] ;W[id] ;B[ie] ;W[ic] ;B[gd] ;W[jc] ;B[kd] ;W[] ;B[oa] ;W[pa] ;B[na]) (;B[cl]C[B can invade here.])) (;B[mn]C[B must split.])) (;W[nl]C[W should just protect this group -- now it's like W invaded at L4 and it's still hard for B to attack L4 effectively (showing that N4 is bad).])) (;B[pk]C[B could try this, although probably not the best option.] ;W[ok] ;B[pj] ;W[pi] ;B[qk] ;W[oi] ;B[mn]) (;B[nn]C[B has this.] ;W[mq] ;B[jq]) (;B[nl]C[B has this.]) (;B[om]C[B can even just cut.])) (;B[pl] ;W[ol] ;B[om] ;W[nl] ;B[on])) (;W[rf])) (;B[od]C[B would normally play here to punish W, but B's move in the game was good for attacking the W group on the right.])) (;W[rf]C[W should play here now.])) (;B[pf]C[B should play here, so that W can't play S14 in sente to buttress the outside group.] ;W[mc] ;B[ol]C[B can use this attack to develop the bottom.])) (;W[rb]C[Someone suggested this one after our game, because it allows W to go farther on the top, so I asked GJ about it. She said this is *not* better, and W should play as in the game. The reason is that W loses the chance to play S14.] ;B[sd] ;W[rc] ;B[qe] ;W[nb]C[It *looks* like W can go further.] ;B[ol] (;W[mb]C[But W has to go slowly, like this.]) (;W[nc]C[GJ has a lunch special lecture on this: http://internetgoschool.com/lesson.vhtml?ls_id=966 ]) (;W[] ;B[mb]C[B can close this way.] ;W[ob] ;B[mc]))) (;W[fq])) (;B[qh]C[B should approach here first. (I know this...)] ;W[qm] ;B[jd]))

In my game with Deren, I also had some slow moves, but I learned a key idea in dealing with the 3-3 point.  When I approached the 3-3, Deren played a keima away from the 3-3.  I (bumbling around, with no idea of how to handle this) approached his upper left corner.  This was a mistake because when White pincers my approach stone (the one approaching the 3-3), I have no where to go (this is very different from when my opponent has a 4-4 or even a 3-4 stone in the corner).  So I should just calmly defend my approaching stone.  Then I can either get a nice approach against his 4-4 in the upper left, or a really nice move against the keima on the bottom.

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50] GN[2016-03-20b]PW[Deren]PB[Becci]DT[2016-03-20]EV[CPL]PC[Cambridge]LB[kd:C][qm:B][ep:A]C[White+~5 (A): How to handle this W move (keima from the 3-3). (B) and (C) are slow.] ;B[pd] ;W[dd] ;B[qp] ;W[cq] ;B[oq] ;W[qf] ;B[nc] ;W[rd] (;B[qc] ;W[qi] ;B[cn] (;W[ep]C[Not a good idea for W.] (;B[cf] (;W[di] ;B[ef] ;W[fc] ;B[bd] ;W[cc] ;B[bi] ;W[iq] (;B[qm] ;W[mq] ;B[hc] ;W[dg] ;B[df] ;W[bh] ;B[ch] ;W[ci] ;B[bg] ;W[bj] ;B[ah] ;W[ck] ;B[en] ;W[go] ;B[el] ;W[fj] (;B[gm] ;W[bc]C[Slow.] (;B[kd]C[Slow.] ;W[in]C[W fixes the shape; B lost the chance.] ;B[gk] ;W[gj] ;B[hk] ;W[ii] (;B[bq]C[Does this work? (Probably not)] (;W[cp] ;B[bp] ;W[br] ;B[co] ;W[no] (;B[lo]TR[kd][qm]C[Good move to invade.]) (;B[bl])) (;W[bp])) (;B[hj]C[B has this cut!] ;W[hi] ;B[gi])) (;B[hp]) (;B[bl]C[Big -- B gets an eye, W does not.] ;W[cl] ;B[cm]SQ[pd][df]C[B's groups are strong.]) (;B[ph]C[If B wants to play on the top, building a huge area like this is much better than L16.] ;W[qh] ;B[pf] ;W[qe] ;B[fb] ;W[ec] ;B[he])) (;B[hp]C[W has this hole -- B should be aiming for it.]) (;B[gl]C[This is probably a better way for B to come out.])) (;B[qk]C[B should play this one for the follow-ups.] ;W[] (;B[rh]) (;B[qh]))) (;W[ck]C[Better for W.]) (;AE[ep][cq]AW[dp] ;W[ck] ;B[fc]) (;AE[cn][ep]AW[ck] ;W[] (;B[cn] ;W[ep]) (;B[fq]))) (;B[ck]C[Black should play this way, because if W pincers the C6 stone, B has no where to go (no corner to jump into!).] (;W[iq]C[W has to come back.] ;B[cf]) (;W[ci] ;B[gq]C[Or B gets to play this side.]))) (;W[fq]C[W should play here instead.] ;B[ck])) (;B[qh]C[B should play this side.]) (;B[qg]))

Finally, in my game with Gus (in which I make a mistake for which Guo Juan told me she would not forgive me), I learned a basic joseki, a Takemiya opening and a strategy for dealing with Black's moyo.

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50] GN[2016-03-19b]PW[Becci]PB[Gus Heck]DT[2016-03-19]EV[CPL]PC[Cambridge]LB[nb:C][ee:A][pj:B][cl:D]C[Black+resign (A): Takemiya opening. (B): Wrong strategy. (C): Unforgivable. (D): Heavy -- learn the joseki.] ;B[dp] ;W[pd] ;B[dd] ;W[pq] ;B[dj] ;W[fc] ;B[ee] (;W[jc] ;B[jp] ;W[lq] (;B[lo] (;W[pj]C[Not a good idea -- W can't build in this situation.] ;B[qc]C[W double wings again...] ;W[qd] ;B[pc] ;W[oc] ;B[ob] ;W[nb]C[Ugh.. 5k mistake.] ;B[rd] ;W[re] ;B[qe] (;W[pe] ;B[rc] ;W[qf] ;B[nc] (;W[mb] ;B[od] ;W[cn] (;B[co] ;W[dn] ;B[fp] ;W[dl] ;B[ck] (;W[cl]C[Heavy.] ;B[fj] ;W[gm] ;B[hd] (;W[cc]C[W can't do this now.] ;B[dc] ;W[db] ;B[eb] ;W[cb] ;B[cd] ;W[ec] (;B[ie] (;W[ig] ;B[gb] ;W[fb] ;B[ib]) (;W[hb]C[W must connect.])) (;B[hb]C[B should just split.] ;W[fb] ;B[lc])) (;W[hc]C[W should connect. B is helping W.])) (;W[fk]C[Joseki.] ;B[fi] ;W[gn])) (;B[hc])) (;W[od]C[W *must* play this way.] ;B[mb] ;W[nd] ;B[mc])) (;W[od]C[The best W can do now is here.] ;B[rf] ;W[rc] ;B[se] ;W[rb]C[Not good for W, but not a total disaster either.] ;B[qh] ;W[cl])) (;W[hp]C[W should invade.] ;B[kq] ;W[lp] ;B[jn] ;W[fp] ;B[dn] ;W[gm]) (;W[cl]C[Or W can invade here -- the reason W wants to play here is that when W comes out, the bottom is not big because of the M3 stone.] (;B[cn] ;W[el]) (;B[ck] ;W[el]))) (;B[dn])) (;W[cc]C[W should just jump into the corner right away.] (;B[dc]C[GJ said Takemiya plays this way. I found two games: http://ps.waltheri.net/database/game/33655/ http://ps.waltheri.net/database/game/38919/] ;W[cd] ;B[cf] ;W[bf] ;B[bg] ;W[be] ;B[cg] ;W[db] ;B[eb] ;W[cb] ;B[jp]) (;B[cd] ;W[dc] ;B[gd] ;W[fq])))

Here's Takemiya Masaki:

And here are a couple of games I found in which he plays this opening:

• Game against Kim Seonryong in 1996
• Game against Hane Naoki in 1998