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I had a look at your game (edit: the first one https://online-go.com/game/1010365). You lost it not because a lack of aggression but because of a lack of ability. Sorry to be so frank. :p
You start with g7 and g3 which are reasonable moves but very solid and defensive. If you want to play a fighting game this opening is not the best choice (try tengen, e5, for instance). White e3 is a mistake. (It allows you to take the third corner with c7 or d7. If he invades your position with g5 you can either connect with h5 or fight f4. The latter is recommended. It leads to a more active game and a fight in which you are advantaged since you have more stones at the scene of battle.)
Returning to the game your fifth move h5 is really bad. You are reinforcing two strong stones with a very low and passive move. If you want to defend your position on the right side a good idea would be something like f4. Notice the huge difference in prospective territory between h5 and f4.
White e7 is also bad since it allows you to comeback with c7. c7 is both aggressive and a strong move.
After white c6 you make another very weak and defensive move in e8. (Notice the similarity to h5.) If I interpret this move correctly you try to connect to your stones on the right side. This is not good enough. What you should do is try to live in the top left corner and neutralize as much as possible of white's left side. Namely, I'd play b6. This is a dangerous gamble but necessary and leads to the kind of fight you seem to want.
Through move 29 you are defending your position against white's sente. Almost every move you make is weak and submissive. Some of the defensive are necessary but several were not. You make these moves because you can not read the continuation if you play elsewhere. That's a matter of reading ability which comes with practice. If you want to play a fighting game it is essential to have a strong grasp of tactics and good reading to back it up. Otherwise you will get crushed.
Have a look at the board after turn 30. You have been pressed into a low position on the right and top sides. Does this really look like the game of an aggressive player? In fact contrary to your assertion your play is submissive and defensive in general.
Sorry for the harsh words. I'm not trying to be mean but it seems you harbor misconceptions about your own game which makes it hard to get stronger.
Edit2: Forgot my advice: Try soving some tsumego's (reading exercises), goproblems.com is a good site. There are also books full of them. The best way to get stronger early on is to improve your reading ability. Nothing else even comes remotely close in effectiveness if you want to improve.
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I think you would have won that with a different move 39.
Playing move 39 on H7-J7-J8-H8-C2-B2-C1-B1-D10 would have given you 25 points, him 21.
You were leading at that point because his aggressive moves were really clumsy (What's up with that rating anyway, there is no way he is 17k...^^)
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https://online-go.com/review/36201
Move 52 you passed before the game was over. Same thing on move 66 at the very end. BTW also notice the computer auto-scoring marked two black stones dead (they are translucent), but didn't give white a point for territory. That's because the computer is a bit confused about this not-complete game. BTW the computer also sometimes makes mistakes even in complete games, and in that case you have to correct it by clicking on the stones to toggle their dead/alive state.
https://online-go.com/game/1010431
Move 33 there is a ladder. The white D8 stones on top will die also if you play that ladder.
Most games are going to be decided on tactics like the move 33 ladder. Playing 9x9 is a good way to get more games, face more tactical situations, and try to get better at them. If you really want to move on try 13x13 next. On 19x19 you will spend too much time being lost in an ocean of confusion. Better to improve in a pond of confusion. 
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On October 23 2014 23:42 Hagen0 wrote:I had a look at your game (edit: the first one https://online-go.com/game/1010365). You lost it not because a lack of aggression but because of a lack of ability. Sorry to be so frank. :p You start with g7 and g3 which are reasonable moves but very solid and defensive. If you want to play a fighting game this opening is not the best choice (try tengen, e5, for instance). White e3 is a mistake. (It allows you to take the third corner with c7 or d7. If he invades your position with g5 you can either connect with h5 or fight f4. The latter is recommended. It leads to a more active game and a fight in which you are advantaged since you have more stones at the scene of battle.) Returning to the game your fifth move h5 is really bad. You are reinforcing two strong stones with a very low and passive move. If you want to defend your position on the right side a good idea would be something like f4. Notice the huge difference in prospective territory between h5 and f4. White e7 is also bad since it allows you to comeback with c7. c7 is both aggressive and a strong move. After white c6 you make another very weak and defensive move in e8. (Notice the similarity to h5.) If I interpret this move correctly you try to connect to your stones on the right side. This is not good enough. What you should do is try to live in the top left corner and neutralize as much as possible of white's left side. Namely, I'd play b6. This is a dangerous gamble but necessary and leads to the kind of fight you seem to want. Through move 29 you are defending your position against white's sente. Almost every move you make is weak and submissive. Some of the defensive are necessary but several were not. You make these moves because you can not read the continuation if you play elsewhere. That's a matter of reading ability which comes with practice. If you want to play a fighting game it is essential to have a strong grasp of tactics and good reading to back it up. Otherwise you will get crushed. Have a look at the board after turn 30. You have been pressed into a low position on the right and top sides. Does this really look like the game of an aggressive player? In fact contrary to your assertion your play is submissive and defensive in general. Sorry for the harsh words. I'm not trying to be mean but it seems you harbor misconceptions about your own game which makes it hard to get stronger. Edit2: Forgot my advice: Try soving some tsumego's (reading exercises), goproblems.com is a good site. There are also books full of them. The best way to get stronger early on is to improve your reading ability. Nothing else even comes remotely close in effectiveness if you want to improve.
At 21kyu, it goes without saying I lack ability.
I always open defensive and then turn 5, I go offensive to see if I can make anything happen.
I don't want to play aggressive, I just don't want to be passive and defensive all the time as it never leads to a victory, it always leads me to defeat as he ends up taking more territory. Your advice is really scrutinized but not much to take away except that I played passive and defensive, how do I draw anything from that except for the very problem I already underlined: I'm too defensive and not aggressive enough.
I don't want my games to be an all-out attack, I want to be an imprenetrable wall that blocks him out and lets me slowly advance for further territory gain (either through small captures or simply a good contour around his attempts).
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On October 23 2014 23:43 giecha wrote:
I think you would have won that with a different move 39.
Playing move 39 on H7-J7-J8-H8-C2-B2-C1-B1-D10 would have given you 25 points, him 21.
You were leading at that point because his aggressive moves were really clumsy (What's up with that rating anyway, there is no way he is 17k...^^)
I don't see how the B-C-D lower area is something I could easily defense or even claim remotely without losing those stones.
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Oh hey, I played you
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On October 23 2014 23:53 KillerDucky wrote:https://online-go.com/review/36201Move 52 you passed before the game was over. Same thing on move 66 at the very end. BTW also notice the computer auto-scoring marked two black stones dead (they are translucent), but didn't give white a point for territory. That's because the computer is a bit confused about this not-complete game. BTW the computer also sometimes makes mistakes even in complete games, and in that case you have to correct it by clicking on the stones to toggle their dead/alive state. https://online-go.com/game/1010431Move 33 there is a ladder. The white D8 stones on top will die also if you play that ladder. Most games are going to be decided on tactics like the move 33 ladder. Playing 9x9 is a good way to get more games, face more tactical situations, and try to get better at them. If you really want to move on try 13x13 next. On 19x19 you will spend too much time being lost in an ocean of confusion. Better to improve in a pond of confusion.
I want to stay with 9x9 because it is the most uncomfortable for my play, but it is also the most frustrating because the crucial moves I can't see end up me losing the game.
I'm going to take everyone's advice and maybe play some goproblems.com before trying real games as I don't recognize ladder situations and such
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Is there any way to toggle 13x13 boards off from the game lobby?
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I did give you examples of alternate lines that would have been more proactive. Moreover, you can't reasonably expect to be able to attack while having an impenetrable position yourself.
Let me iterate my advice. Improve your reading ability by solving problems. This is the single most effective way to get better at Go. You can easily get to around 5k without bothering with niceties such as strategy or playstyle (defensive, aggressive).
A note regarding Goproblems.com. Unfortunately, the problems vary in accessibility. Some of them are well documented. Others have no text at all and one is expected to find the best move in general. It is hard for a beginner to tackle problems without direction or maybe a hint. There are problem books for beginners, the most famous being Graded Go Problems for Beginners by Kano Yoshinori. They should be on the internet as pdf if you don't want to buy them.
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On October 24 2014 00:46 Hagen0 wrote:
I did give you examples of alternate lines that would have been more proactive. Moreover, you can't reasonably expect to be able to attack while having an impenetrable position yourself.
Let me iterate my advice. Improve your reading ability by solving problems. This is the single most effective way to get better at Go. You can easily get to around 5k without bothering with niceties such as strategy or playstyle (defensive, aggressive).
A note regarding Goproblems.com. Unfortunately, the problems vary in accessibility. Some of them are well documented. Others have no text at all and one is expected to find the best move in general. It is hard for a beginner to tackle problems without direction or maybe a hint. There are problem books for beginners, the most famous being Graded Go Problems for Beginners by Kano Yoshinori. They should be on the internet as pdf if you don't want to buy them.
I definitely agree that I lack reading of scenarios and situations as I see them come up but no idea how to overcome them adequately (even if they are to my advantage). So I'll take your advice and try some Go Problems because right now I'm a little frustrated by my own lack of foresight.
For Go problems, should I just start at the beginning or?
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On the main page there is a green button labelled Go to Problems. IIrc you start with the easiest problems, so that shoudl be OK. You can also chos time trial on the right of the page. This allows you to chose the difficulty level.
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When I was in high school I tried to learn this game but got bored before I could wrap my head around it. I got my butt kicked by that Aya program a hundred times and then I quit, ha. Now I'm doing The Interactive Way To Go and it makes it so easy to figure out, so I'm giving it another shot. What free programs do you guys recommend for beginners, for watching Go games, and playing against AI? And where is a good place to find game reviews, preferably for 9x9?
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Get a teacher if you can. You'll improve MUCH much faster than learning by yourself.
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gokgs.com is the most used goserver in the west. You can do pretty much all you asked for there. There are some rooms designated for gamereviews, like check out KGS Teaching Ladder.
And for playing: I recommend playing against humans, and there are enough of your level on KGS.
If you feel just like watching games, for your level whatever game is on top on KGS should be good enough to watch.
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On October 24 2014 01:56 mahrgell wrote:
gokgs.com is the most used goserver in the west. You can do pretty much all you asked for there. There are some rooms designated for gamereviews, like check out KGS Teaching Ladder.
And for playing: I recommend playing against humans, and there are enough of your level on KGS.
If you feel just like watching games, for your level whatever game is on top on KGS should be good enough to watch.
I second those advices (but as a former KGS admin I could be biased). I play as explo there, all the beginners are free to ask me for a game or a review when I'm online.
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All right, thanks. I'll check it out! Though I don't have internet at my apartment yet and don't plan on having it for a while. What about stuff I can do offline while I'm not at a library?
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KGS also comes with handy review tools, the ability to save reviews and a lot of people to play against. I don't play very often anymore unfortunately, but usually everyone in the teamliquid channel is very nice and will help beginners. I met my teacher there and he basically carried me from 25k to 1k with countless reviews. The go community is just great, because many strong players are interested in teaching the game to spread it.
For times without internet you can download a .sgf app (sgf is the file format for kifus) for your smartphone etc and download pro games to watch. When I started playing I looked over about 1000 pro games and ended up with a feeling for shape without ever reading anything about it. Generally, the stronger you get the more you can actually learn from a pro game, but if you just look at a few games to see how professionals play, it will help you.
Best source for kifu imo is here: http://igokisen.web.fc2.com/news.html
There are a number of different sites to get games.
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http://goproblems.com/15749
I got the right answer to this problem by using an intuitive argument (I tried to prevent black from getting an eye on L11 by putting a stone on L10), but to be honest, I really don't understand it. The comments didn't really help me either. Can anyone explain what the point of the problem is exactly? Sorry for the question, but I think Im missing some basic stuff here ):
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On October 24 2014 07:01 Yorbon wrote:http://goproblems.com/15749I got the right answer to this problem by using an intuitive argument (I tried to prevent black from getting an eye on L11 by putting a stone on L10), but to be honest, I really don't understand it. The comments didn't really help me either. Can anyone explain what the point of the problem is exactly? Sorry for the question, but I think Im missing some basic stuff here ):
http://senseis.xmp.net/?EyeVersusNoEyeCapturingRace
A group with 1 eye has the advantage vs a group with 0 eyes in a capturing race. So the point is to change it into a 0 eyes vs 0 eyes situation. Then it's a seki. If black makes en eyes, he wins the capturing race.
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EPT
