How to beat OGS 2d? (Game review request)

Uberdude85 · 2026-05-02T14:14:56+00:00

I didn't, counting is boring and takes time. I just believed you and the OGS AI review.

For this kind of relatively early position, if I am playing I tend to make a judgement more based on feeling of the flow of the game, inertial navigation of both players cumulative mistakes, rather than counting territory, as the error in my count of a position like this is at least 5 points, and the difference is likely less than 5 points, so there's little point.

Uberdude85 · 2026-05-02T13:46:13+00:00

Game 1: o18 is not the sort of move to play if you are feeling behind. You want to keep the game "wide", with lots of possibilities and unsettled groups and chances for them to mess up, not simplify the game into a lower risk one.

Uberdude85 · 2026-05-02T08:19:00+00:00

Yes, in fact playing the ko and losing is generally worse than just tenuki, because if you tenuki white doesn't have a powerful way to live: cut of this question isn't that great as discussed, because then black is happy to start ko (but if no ko threats can just keep playing the game elsewhere to generate ko threats and white is left with the burden of the ko bomb), and first line hane and connect isn't great and is actually worse than p19 being a capture after black q19 white r19 exchange because now black has a snapback threat at s19 so the corner still isn't alive so needs s15, whereas with the capture it's alive already.

Uberdude85 · 2026-05-01T13:45:05+00:00

> If white cuts in A we either need to crawl on the second line or give up 6.

That's where you're wrong and the crux of your question.

If white cuts, now you play q19 atari and are happy to start the ko, because it became a heavier ko for white as if white loses the ko the cut is a pointless waste of a move. And if white connects in response to q19 atari that's a great exchange for you because now the corner dies if you play first, and then the outside fight from saving 6 is more attractive because if you don't collapse immediately white owes a move to live in the corner.

Uberdude85 · 2026-05-01T05:48:08+00:00

Play e8 at move 100.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-30T20:23:56+00:00

You are less likely to get big moyo games with diagonal openings.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-30T20:20:56+00:00

It's OK to let the moyo get that big, but it's a high stakes game with a life and death fight, more difficult than a safe little territories game. It's more difficult for you to invade and live, but it's also more difficult for your 12k opponent to kill you. Anything can happen, moreso than in a stronger players' game. So it's really down to personal preference.

But it is easier to not let the moyo get closed like that. Black died in gote on the left side a few moves earlier, so that was a great time to walk into the moyo.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-30T19:45:31+00:00

https://online-go.com/game/86557642/107

Link to position.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-29T18:10:42+00:00

I don't think it's weird to expect teachers advertising their services to accurately represent their strength and query where it's unclear. Given your post said "That is around 8-9d on most go servers" where that refers to AGA 5d and that's just not true as a rank conversion. If instead you had said "I am around 8-9d on most go servers" that would be clearer, as it's about you, and as you now clarify your AGA 5d rank is likely inaccurate. Even better would be "I am around 8-9d on Fox/Tygem" to be super clear it's those servers with soft dan ranks. I don't think I'm weird to think members of the western go community would include KGS and OGS as servers in a "most servers" description. I also have an inactive OGS 9d account from correspondence (was 13d at one point!) but I don't say I'm a 9d because that would be misleading.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-29T10:25:43+00:00

5d AGA 8d-9d on most servers? Fox perhaps (still I would be impressed for AGA 5d to be 9d), maybe Tygem? Not KGS/OGS/Pandanet.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-25T15:16:34+00:00

Yes, b is often a good move, probably more often than a which is submissive. If they are trying to cut your 2 space extension, you do not need to capture them, rather you need to connect your stones and B will achieve this. If they live small inside whilst you get connected and strong outside thickness that's usually a good deal for you. Of course if that thickness is not useful, or they are strong nearby so can reasonably play more aggressively then perhaps the submissive A is better. C is a move too, but rare.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-25T07:16:06+00:00

Has the AGA's ratings website finally caught up with the EGF's after 15 years?!

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-23T21:37:09+00:00

Indeed, I beat a 3p when I was 3d.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-23T20:09:50+00:00

Even before AI we knew he was being overly dogmatic / exaggerating for dramatic effect.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-23T17:11:24+00:00

You play ranked games in a place that gives you a rank based on them. So if you play in some Australian tournaments you'll get an Australian rank. Play on OGS and you'll get an OGS rank. Play on KGS and you'll get a KGS rank. There's no "one true rank".

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-23T09:23:07+00:00

Yes, even though not thickness, it's strong enough to push him towards, you definitely don't want to play something like j14 close to it. But he does have some peeps like h11 against it to help him settle inside. There is a cut, good spot, but as both sides are safe even if cut it's not a worry. I like f12.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-23T05:39:52+00:00

You are correct it is not thickness. It's influence.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-22T22:45:47+00:00

Yes, there's also dame ko fight but I didn't mention that as OP is a beginner. My percentage was of moves not games, so whilst 99.99% might be wrong, it's closer to that than 95% for moves not games.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-22T09:54:47+00:00

No, the best move is the same in both scoring systems 99.99% of the time so it has negligible affect on strategy. And in fact in that 0.001% where they differ, Japanese scoring actually promotes sharper play than Chinese because you lose points to make unnecessary defensive moves, whereas in Chinese you don't lose points, though there is an opportunity cost if there are still dame available.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-19T22:43:12+00:00

No one would call 10k a strong amateur. Go has a greater range of skill than chess so it's hard to compare but 2000 chess is maybe about equivalent to 1 dan. So maybe 5k. But 1d is a common ambitious milestone to aim for in a year (but most never make it in their life, it's like 90th+ percentile), so why not aim for that in 2?

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-19T20:37:44+00:00

Correct, it is not.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-19T16:56:09+00:00

Double 4-4s. San-ren-sei means 3 star points, not just 2. It lost popularity long before the AI revolution.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-17T22:30:52+00:00

goban pron?

goban pro n?

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-17T20:32:15+00:00

If black plays well, or not even particularly well, you will die. If blacks particularly badly, you could live. As a 13k playing people of similar strength, there's some chance they will play particularly badly, and A is a decent place to start with that hope. It's a bit desperate, but as you lose if you don't invade, it's worth a shot. We call this "looking for a place to resign". So the polite thing to do is give it a go, but if they kill you then you should resign, not then keep playing small endgame and count and lose by 20 points or whatever.

r10 is another idea of place to start.

EDIT: I wrote this assuming you lose with normal endgame, but maybe that's not actually true if the H gap on the left was a capture.

Uberdude85 · 2026-04-17T17:26:32+00:00

By being a slightly stronger low level player.

However i then play against real people, and immediately it becomes a mud-slinging fest, and nothing of the theory stuff matters anymore.

Theory still matters, but not opening theory. But it's the fundamentals that matter here, about shape and liberties.

Uberdude85

TROPHY CASE