Rivalry between simple2009 and bigbadwolf Heating Up!

A few days ago, simple2009 met and played bigbadwolf for the first time. It was the beginning of what seems to be a heated rivalry. Since then, simple2009 has not played anyone else. The current record (as of this post) is 5-4 in favor of simple2009. However, bigbadwolf has won 3 games in a row. Perhaps we can say that he has gotten used to and analyzed simple2009's style. Also, bigbadwolf was the first player to defeat simple2009 in an even game.

The identity of bigbadwolf is well known, he is Andy Liu (AGA 8d) and former U.S. Open winner and U.S. WAGC representative. However, simple2009 is still relatively unknown, though the clues seem to point to Shi Jinbo 3p, a Chinese professional teaching in Thailand.

This game is the most recent game between the two, won by bigbadwolf (Black). The game opens with a cross fuseki where Black quickly makes both a mini Chinese and Kobayashi formation in the lower right quadrant. White invades with typical moves but Black surprises him with 21. Black settles for an exchange with 31, but White seems to have gotten the better deal. However, it is really hard to judge the position up to 38. With 39, Black attacks the lower left corner, seeking to take advantage of White's earlier response (White 26) to the ko threat there. The result is a White wall and Black taking the corner. A fight begins soon in the upper quadrant of the board, which I will not pretend to understand, but it dominates the rest of the game. Proceeding into yose, simple2009 resigns after 241 moves total. White seemed to be behind by 10 points (including komi).

In any case, with the recent victories by bigbadwolf, simple2009's seeming myth of invincibility in even games has been shattered. Though it is quite apparent that he is still a very strong player. After the games though, he laments that he makes too many mistakes or played badly. Perhaps he is not used to online Go? His current record is 23-8 in ranked games. However, he is ranked #2 on KGS as of right now (I think that the last 3 straight losses have not been calculated yet). In future, perhaps he will play more than just bigbadwolf and we will be able to take a true gauge of his strength.