Below I share an article from the September & October edition of the European Go Journal. The full game records are available at the bottom of this page. Enjoy! 

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Li Ting 1p won the European Women’s Championship in Bratislava in the middle of September. I decided to look at a few of her games and comment on the deciding episodes.

Li Ting 1p vs. Manja Marz 4d

Figure 1: 1 – 4

Li Ting 1p was playing Black against Manja Marz 4d in round 3. Black 1 was move 71 in the game.

Black 1 linked up the weak black groups. White has a cutting point at A and Black can jump at B, separating the lower-right corner. However, White urgently needs to invade in the upper left with 2 and 4 to prevent Black from enclosing this area and converting it into points. Black is ahead, but the game is far from over.

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Figure 2: 5 – 26

White lived on the left side and took away Black’s corner while Black captured the three stones on the upper side and kept sente. But we won’t stop here because this was not the decisive sequence.

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Figure 3: 27 – 32

Ting played Black 27 as the final blow, but this attack was too risky as Black has left a cutting point at A. Black should have started a ko fight for the large white group as in Dia. 1 below. 

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Dia. 1

Black’s risk is minimal – White’s connection at C is heavy while Black protects the cutting point at A and has threats such as B. This position is tough for White.

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Figure 4: 33 – 39

Black 33 and 35 in Figure 4 continued the attack on the large white group in the middle, although Black 37 and 39 did not make great shape.

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Figure 5: 40 – 48

After White 40 in Figure 5, however, Black was faced with a choice: save the cutting stone and continue the attack or link up at 44. Since the latter would be too submissive, Black 41 and 43 continued the attack and White 44 cut off the five black stones on the right side. After White 48 in Figure 5, the situation looks desperate for Black.

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Figure 6: 49 – 59

Black’s attachment at 49 in Figure 6 was meant to cut off the white stones on the lower side. If Black simply extends at 55 instead, White plays 56 making A and B miai.

Black 51 and 53 tried to complicate the game, but White 54 and 58 avoided the ko fight. Black 59 brought the game to its decisive moment.

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Figure 7: 60 – 73

White 60 in Figure 7 was a big mistake, allowing Black to cut off and kill the group on the left side. White resigned soon afterward.

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Dia. 2

Dia. 2 demonstrates a more careful alternative approach for White. Black can split the White groups on the lower and left sides, but both live. Black’s attack in Figure 3 was a strategical mistake which almost cost her the game.

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Olesia Malko 4d vs. Li Ting 1p

Figure 1: 1 – 6

This game was played between Olesia Malko 4d (Black) and Li Ting 1p. Black 1 in this figure is move 63 in the game. The game is even at this point.

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Figure 2: 7 – 14

White 8 continued Li Ting’s attack from Figure 1, leaning on the black stone on the upper side – a complicated fight.

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Figure 3: 15 – 18

White 16 and 18 in Figure 3 hit the link between the black stones. Dia. 1 below explains the idea.

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Dia. 1

A and B are miai after White 2. White B also protects the cutting point at C. Black is in trouble.

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Figure 4: 19 – 28

Olesia tried to fight in Figure 4, but the problem remained: if Black connects at 28 after White 26, White A cuts off the left part of the black group. Thus, White 28 cut off the three black stones in the middle – a painful result for Black. Moreover, the black group on the left remained weak.

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Figure 5: 29 – 45

Black protected her middle group in Figure 5 at the cost of strengthening the white group on the left and weakening another black group below. Black 45 escaped from the lower side. White greatly profited from the fight, kept sente and continued attacking Black. Black doesn’t stand much of a chance, with the majority of her problems beginning in Figure 3. Let’s see how Black could do better.

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Dia. 2

Black 15 in Figure 3 was a little passive. Dia. 2 shows a better alternative, with Black 1–5 splitting the white stones. After exchanging 6 for 7, White will play A–B–C and live in sente – try to read the exact follow-up. After White lives, she can play D to seal in the black group, which will require spending a move to make two eyes. This result is acceptable for both sides: Black gains points on the upper side in exchange for the influence in the center of the board.

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Dia. 3

Dia. 3 shows what happens if White tries to cut Black as in Dia. 1: Black 2–6 is a tesuji leaving the white group with only one eye and keeping the black stones connected! If White plays A instead of 5, Black plays B and the result is the same. If White starts at 5 like in the game, Black plays 2. If White then plays 1, trying to split Black, Black plays 6 and the result is the same, just with a different order of moves.

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Dia. 4

Black could employ the same tesuji after White 16 in Figure 3, see Dia. 4. White can play the sequence from A to D, but there is no way to split Black.

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Dia. 5

White would be forced play as in Dia. 5 – a playable result for both sides.

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Rita Pocsai 5d vs. Li Ting 1p

Figure 1: 1 – 11

This is from round 5 between Rita Pocsai 5d (Black) and Li Ting 1p. White 1 in Figure 1 is move 250 in the game.

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Figure 2: 12 – 21

Rita managed to gain a favorable position against Ting. Black played 12 in Figure 2 because she ran out of big ko threats. However, if she had converted the moyo on the upper side into territory, that should have been enough for a win, too!

Black made a big mistake after White 13, losing sente in the upper-left corner and allowing White to play 21 – a big and painful move.

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Figure 3: 22 – 34

Rita made a series of mistakes in Figure 3 which cost her the game. Perhaps they were made under time and psychological pressure.

Black 22 and 24 in Figure 3 was too passive. Black needed to play at 25 and hold her ground in the ko fight.White starts with 24 – Black has threats in the upper-left corner. Black 26 needed to have been played at 27, and 32 at 33.

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Figure 4: 35 – 47

Figure 4 shows the conclusion of this sequence. This is a disaster for Black. The whole moyo on the upper side was erased. After this, a typical endgame followed and White won by 5.5 points.

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Dia. 1

Black needs to extend at 1 in Dia. 1 instead of Black 14, 16 and 18 in Figure 2. Black is ahead by more than five points.

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Dia. 2

Dia. 2 shows another way to win for Black: she could ignore White’s ko threat at 1 in Figure 1. This way Black wins by approximately ten points.