Resisting Tilt.

Ugh, I'm so mad. Okay, more like playfully agitated. He Who Tells Stories came over last night. We played 19x19, even match, I was black. He won, but that's not what I'm mad about. I'm mad about a dumb mistake I made early on, which may have cost me the game. While I'm not certain I'd have won otherwise, it would have been a lot closer, at any rate.

I waged a 3-3 invasion on his corner. We duked it out until I had 6 of his stones in atari. I built a big structure out from there, thinking that the corner was safe. In my head, everything was well connected, which obviously it wasn't, or I would be telling this story. His encroachment didn't seem threatening, right up until he killed and started removing all 14 of my stones. FOURTEEN! Alas.

At the time, I felt understandably off balance. I could have done something stupid out of spite, but instead I made an effort to clear my head. Whether I liked it or not, the board was what it was. It wouldn't do me any good to cling to my plans or anger.

Take a deep breath. Let it go. See the board anew. Then move.

Lesson: Keep a closer watch on threats I consider safe, and actually pull the trigger when I need to. Alternately, make absolutely sure that my structures are as connected as they need to be. Make eyes, count liberties.