The Magic of Kifu

(;CA[UTF-8]ST[2]AP[GOWrite:3.0.15]GM[1]SZ[19]FF[4]PC[Prague]OT[1x30 byo-yomi]DT[2023-01-08]C[I would like to present a commentary of the decisive 5th game. The score was tied 2-2 after my two straight smooth wins, so the psychological advantage was on my side. However, I have been in such situation once in 2018 and I didn't manage to finish the comeback against Jan Hora. This time I really wanted to break the history and finish the job. I had a lunch in Chinese restaurant with my girlfriend Adriana Tomšů (2-dan) and then had a nice walk in the park nearby. So, I came very relaxed to this super important game. However, something has changed from the beginning of the game. Ondřej suddenly played really fast and also much more patient than before. In the previous games he was playing really slowly, thinking about every detail since fuseki. However, that often resulted into his early time pressure, so he clearly did a lot of self-reflection compared to the previous games. I was a bit annoyed by that and you will see in this review, that the game was not really going easy. We did nigiri in the first game, so the colours were decided for the four games. But in the final game we did nigiri again, I managed to win it and this time I took black. I don't even remember, when last time I didn't take white, when I had a right to choose. But during this title-match I simply felt more comfortable with playing black stones, so I didn't want to change it.]KM[7.50]TM[3600]FG[259:]BR[7d]PW[Ondřej Kruml]RO[5]GN[Podpěra (b) - Kruml (w), Czech Go Baron, game 5]WR[6d]RE[B+Resign]AN[Laman]RU[AGA]PB[Lukáš Podpěra]PM[2] ;B[qd];W[dc];B[pq] ;C[It's very unusual to approach with 4th moves nowadays, but I believe Ondřej simply wanted to prevent me from playing my favourite shimari in the top right corner.]W[oc] ;B[cp];W[qo] ;C[I usually prefer keima over Shusaku-kosumi at Q15.]B[pf] ;W[lc];B[op] ;C[You can see that Ondřej choosed to wait in this game. All of these moves were played really fast.]W[ql] ;B[ce];W[fd];B[fq];W[ch];B[dk];W[cd] ;C[I played this kosumi, because I expected white to answer with classic Q5. However, in this shape, Q5 is less urgent than usual, but still big though. Ondřej said, he expected me to close the bottom side somehow with move like K4.]B[qp] ( ;W[qh];B[pc];W[od];B[qg];W[ph] ;C[A lot of European players are making fun of me, that I'm very predictable when answering R12 approach. I almost always choose a simple pattern with A-B-C. However, this time I decided to tenuki here, because I believe that Q5 is still important and suits to my solid style. Also white's eventual block at D is not sente on black's corner. A-B-C sequence would be surely considered to be very bad style not so long time ago. But the modern theory says it's playable, because it makes a solid corner and two white's attackable groups on both sides. If black finishes the shape with C of course.]B[po]LB[nf:A][of:B] ;C[Shoulder-hit is very natural move in this game, reducing black's influence very nicely.]W[gp] ;B[fp] ( ;C[I was a bit surprised about this extension, I usually jump in this shape - variation.]W[go] ;B[hr] ( ;C[This move can hardly be considered as a mistake, but I thought, this is my chance to make white heavy a bit.]W[jp] ;B[ip];W[io];B[iq];W[jn];B[ko] ( ;W[jo];B[hn] ( ;C[White answered quickly all of my moves. When I was checking this game with AI, there was a brilliant move in this situation for white.]W[ho] ;C[I was very happy with this result, because I got everything I wanted to make white's stones heavy. On the other hand, white's group is not so easily attackable, so white can afford to tenuki now. The game continues to be about even.]B[en] ;W[bk] ( ;C[This shoulder-hit feels natural, but I regretted it very soon.]B[dg] ;W[dh] ( ;C[I also decided not to jump here after shoulder-hit, because I thought white would have too easy underconnection on the left side.]B[eg] ;W[eh];B[fg];W[gi];B[hg];W[cm];B[el];W[cg];B[de] ;C[White played very proper in this part of the board. He also still had full time on his clock, since he managed to play almost all of his moves within 30 seconds. (Fischer time 60 minutes + 30 seconds per move) White managed to close the top side and also drive his left side stones into the center, that indirectly helps his group at the bottom However, I have spotted one crack inside white's formation.]W[hd] ( ;PM[2]FG[259:];B[ih];W[ij] ;C[I didn't like the fact that white's groups are getting connected, so I tried to disconnect them.]B[il] ;C[However, this peep made my aim of disconnection impossible. It seems like locally I have more troubles than my opponent.]W[fm] ;B[fn];W[gn];B[gm] ( ;C[This move doesn't entirely connect white yet, but with F8 aji I can hardly try any separation.]W[jl] ( ;B[gl] ;C[After move, white becomes solid almost everywhere on the board. But especially in the center, which makes black's top left group weaker and also black's ponnuki in the bottom right doesn't have that big impact on the board. I concluded the game is game bad now, but when I'm looking at it now, it's less bad than I thought. Probably black is behind by about half-komi, so I could still keep playing patient and believe in my strong endgame.]W[jk] ( ;C[I was looking for an active move, how to secure my weak group.]B[kd] ( ;C[However, white decided to fight back here, so it becomes clear the fight at the top will most likely decide the game.]W[ie] ;B[kh] ;C[The situation is not easy for black now, but I saw a living sequence on the left side, though a bit painful one.]W[kf] ( ;B[ld] ( ;W[mc];B[lf];W[pd];B[qc];W[lg];B[kg] ( ;C[This was the move I was the most afraid of locally. However, it also requires white to play the upcoming sequence perfectly.]W[ke] ;B[le] ( ;C[This move is a bad style and this important liberty actually proved to be crucial later.]W[pe] ;B[qe];W[of];B[nf];W[pg] ( ;C[I was facing a very important decision here. It would be rational to not connect here, because my corner can't die, but...]B[qf] ;W[mg];B[og] ;C[At this moment white's shape doesn't look good and we can already start to see how bad was the marked exchange.]W[oe]TR[qf][pe] ;B[ng];W[li] ;C[I did a very deep reading here, but I was still not 100% sure, if this move is working for sure... Let's dive into this...]B[kc] ( ;W[kb];B[jb] ( ;C[This move is a mistake from white, it doesn't help so much with improving the base.]W[ka] ;B[ic] ( ;C[White overplayed here. The biggest chance was probably to enclose black from outside.]W[hb]L[hb] ;B[hc];W[gc];B[gb];W[fb];B[ge];W[gd];B[ne];W[ob];B[ni];W[mi];PM[2]FG[259:] ;C[The game becomes very promising here for black, because I could play this important exchange in sente, which makes my left side group alive and I still find time to run out at O10 with my other group. White suffered too big damage at the top side, so if black doesn't die anywhere, there is no way I can lose this game.]B[if] ;W[jd];B[he];W[id];B[nj];W[pj];B[mk];W[kj] ;C[I slammed this stone on the board and finally I started to feel like my defence of the title is finally looking done. I rarely lose from this kind of situation, but there was still a warning from game 2, that I lost from a good position. Also I was very low on time, unlike my opponent, so I had to still keep being concentrated.]B[mm] ;W[fk];B[fl];W[ro];B[km];W[jm] ( ;C[This was my small local mistake.]B[lq] ;W[kq];B[lp];W[gh];B[gg];W[ej];B[rp];W[pb];B[qb];W[kr] ( ;C[ ]B[be];W[qn];B[dj];W[bj];B[bn];W[bm];B[hj];W[hi] ;C[Later I can aim for F11 cut, which gives me some more points. White's local ajis in the end proved out this way.]B[gj] ;W[ii];B[jc];W[rh];B[rg];W[bo];B[co];W[cn];B[bp];W[an];B[nd];W[mb];B[lr] ;C[Good endgame technique by white, because if he block, black gets the hane and connection on the first line in sente, that white doesn't want to allow.]W[bc] ;B[ap];W[sp];B[sq];W[so];PM[2]FG[259:];B[rq];W[fe];B[ff];W[ls];B[ms] ( ;W[ks];B[mr];W[om];B[on];W[ol] ;C[White played very big moves at P7+P8, which I realised they are sente, so I rather defended here solidly, because I was sure I'm leading by about 10 points.]B[ll] ;W[is];B[sh];W[si];B[sg];W[ri];B[gq];W[qa];B[ra];W[pa];B[rb];W[fj];B[pn];W[pm];B[ah];W[bh];B[af];W[ai] ;C[Ondřej resigned at this moment, when there are no big moves left. The most important situation of this game was the top side. It was a very complicated battle, which both sides had to judge and read carefully. I believe, my opponent could have used more of his time advantage there to find a better solution. In the game white just secured his groups there and also destroyed white's top side, so white was left with not enough territory, that proved to be decisive. I felt very relieved after the game. Not only because of defending my Go Baron title once again and improving my financial situation, but also for making a great comeback from being 0-2 down. In the past I often had problems of struggling to play my best in decisive games, when I simply can't afford to lose. However, this tournament showed, that I'm getting better in this. I still found enough physical and mental strength for the final game, even though it was far from being a perfect performance. After the closing ceremony I enjoyed a celebration in pizzeria with my girlfriend. When I woke up on Monday morning before going to gym, I realised, there is actually not that much to celebrate. Losing two games out of five was simply too much and I still have a lot of things to work on. Also Ondřej is constantly improving, so if he challenges me next time again, it will be another difficult match. This kind of competition definitely improves my motivation, so I'm looking forward to the upcoming events, especially the European Pro Qualification.]B[ee] ) ( ;VW[ao:ss]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;W[js];B[mr];W[gr];B[gq] ;C[White could have done slightly better here.]W[hs] ) ) ( ;C[At this moment I couldn't decide, which endgame was the biggest. There are many other big options with similar value. In the end I decided to play here, because of a big continuation to the corner and also the aji on the left side. Also locally white's C14 could be unpleasant. I was simply sure I can secure a win with this move.]PM[2]FG[259:]SQ[cf]LB[be:A][jc:B][rh:C][rm:D][bn:E][lr:F]TR[bc] ) ) ( ;VW[al:ss]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;B[kq];W[kp];B[lp];W[lo] ;C[It's much better to play like this. There is no way white can cut off black's group in the center.]B[mp] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;W[ni];B[ob];W[nb];B[pb];W[md];B[ne];W[nd];B[ja];W[lb] ;C[Black would still most likely find a way to live at the top side, but J14 vital-point was still making me a bit nervous.]B[gc]LB[if:A] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;C[Let's see what happens if white connect this way.]W[la] ( ;B[ic];W[mf];B[ne];W[me];B[md];W[nd];B[ob];W[nc];B[nh];W[mh];B[ni];W[hc];B[hb];W[gb];B[nb];W[mb];B[ja];W[pb];B[qb];W[ka];B[oa];W[jd];B[jc];W[ia];B[ma];W[na] ;C[Black has a local ko threat here, so he wins the risky ko.]B[jf] ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;C[By the way, I could consider to connect like this in sente, but white's bamboo connection at J14 strongly damages black's living chance son the left. It was actually a vital-point, that I was afraid, white could find a good timing for.]B[jd]LB[if:A] ) ) ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;W[mf];B[ne];W[me];B[md];W[nd];B[ob];W[nc];B[nh];W[mh];B[ni];W[kb];B[jb];W[jc];B[jd];W[id];B[ic];W[je];B[jc];W[lb];B[gb];W[hc];B[hb];W[ja];B[ib];W[nb];B[eb];W[fc];B[fb];W[db];B[pb];W[ma];B[ka];W[ea];B[oa];W[ec];B[ia];W[ga];B[fa] ;C[It seems like, there could be some ko or seki at the top side, which would be locally a success for black, but black can't handle all of his surrounding groups. I remember, I told Ondřej after the game\: "I'm almost sure, there was a game-finishing sequence for you somewhere at the top..." Maybe this could have been the one?]W[da] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;B[mh] ;C[...if I let this happen, white would become super solid on the outside and also S18 looks like an unpleasant vital-point inside my corner, so it almost feels like black has to answer and would be losing here]W[qf]LB[rb:A] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;W[of];B[nf];W[mg];B[og];W[oe];B[ng] ;C[Now black has two cuts to fix and would be in a messy situation.]W[li]LB[mf:A][pg:B] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;C[White could also offer a compromise here.]W[mf] ;B[jf];W[le];B[je] ;C[White can still pressure black and try to create some potential in the center.]W[li] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;W[mf];B[mc];W[of];B[ic] ;C[White could try to play like this, because he would have to kill my dragon, which is not very clear, since white's shapes are not totally clean everywhere.]W[gf] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;B[gh];W[fh];B[ed];W[ec];B[fe];W[ge];B[gf];W[hf];B[if];W[he];B[hi];W[hj] ;C[Something like this could help me survive, if necessary.]B[ii] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;W[kc];B[jd];W[jc];B[id];W[hc] ;C[This was my plan.]B[he] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:sk]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;B[ie];W[id];B[ke];W[jd] ;C[This was my first intention how to play, but I thought it's not good enough at this situation to give white the entire top side.]B[kg] ) ) ( ;PM[2]MN[1]FG[259:] ;B[hj];W[hi] ;C[The only thing I can try, is this kind of cut, because of white not being entirely alive on the left. The aji we talked about at move 51.]B[ii] ) ) ( ;PM[2]MN[1]FG[259:] ;W[gl];B[hm];W[fl] ;C[White could have fallen into a trap, if he tries to save F7 stone. But this separation of white's group would be too much.]B[kl] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:is]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;B[ej];W[fh];B[bj];W[cj] ;C[If my group in the center becomes strong enough, I can cut off C7 stone very easily.]B[bl] ) ) ( ;VW[aa:hj]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;B[fg];W[cg];B[df];W[be] ) ) ( ;PM[2]MN[1]FG[259:] ;B[eh];W[de];B[kd];W[kc] ;C[I believe it was better to play another reduction and try to build some influence, which can be used later for attacking white's group at the bottom.]B[id] ) ( ;PM[2]MN[1]FG[259:] ;B[bd];W[bc] ;C[This could have been another sequence, how to try something locally.]B[eg] ) ) ( ;VW[aj:ss]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;W[hl];B[ho] ;C[White would not be heavy like this anymore. I'm not sure, if any human player in the world would find this combination.]W[jl] ) ) ( ;VW[al:ss]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;C[White could consider to make this exchange first.]W[kn] ;B[lo];W[jo] ) ) ( ;VW[al:ss]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;C[I would jump like this, because the bottom side is not big anyway and it gives white more moving space. Like for J3/K3 later to finish the shape.]W[jo]LB[iq:A][jq:B] ) ) ( ;VW[aj:ks]PM[2]FG[259:]MN[1] ;W[gn];B[go];W[ho];B[fo] ;C[White can create very nice sabaki this way.]W[im] ) ) ( ;PM[2]MN[1]FG[259:] ;W[po];B[qj];W[nn] ;C[This was my plan.]B[lp] ) )