Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm29 white has to see this coming..later.
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . 8 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 4 X 2 O . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . 6 O 1 O 7 X . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | 0 3 O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Things are about to get crazy. White is going to push through, and I'm going to have my stones split.

My expectation:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm29 Move: 29 - Black Prisoners: 0 - White Prisoners: 0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4 X 1 . . |
$$ | . . X , O . . . . O . . . . 5 7 . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . X . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

My P7 stones are left floating. Maybe I'll be able to make use of them later.

Perhaps I've bitten off more than I can chew? I think the corner is mine in this variation. Again, I'm giving up influence in favor of territory. I don't think I'll have any choice, though. This game is quickly becoming about the center.

You can't have everything, and sometimes you're going to need to let go of some stones. My attachment at Q7 had two ideas behind it: to reach towards the center and to give Q5 some space to work with. However, you can't expect your opponent to just let you do what you want without resisting. In the game situation, my moves have provided a cutting point for White to separate my stones. Q7 and Q5 are going to be separate groups. I can't save both in an efficient way, so I need to identify which is more important. In my opinion, Q5 is more important. I don't want to give up so much of the corner to White, even if White is building a very nice wall.

There is profit in the corner to be had. If White is willing to give up his Q3 stone in order to seal me in, I'll take that profit and once again be on the lookout for ways to jump into the center myself.

Ok ... no push and cut. Guess he really doesn't want to lose the corner.

My group is still not very safe, but he's making it easier to access the center of the board, which was my entire intention in the first place.

Again, I'm making a contact move. I want more space to spread outwards. Technically, he still needs to come back and finish the top right side, and the lower left is also a mess to clean up. So much to do ...

This feels like an error to me because of the aji at the bottom - why not just extend when you're already on the 4th line?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm32 Moves 32-35 - Black Prisoners: 0 - White Prisoners: 0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 X . X X . . |
$$ | . . X , O . . . . O . . . O . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . X . . . . . . . 4 O 2 . . |
$$ | . . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I was certainly not expecting the hane. I have the feeling that all these White stones in this corner are weak.

I'm wondering if I can attack the corner for more space. It might take me until tomorrow to have a move ready.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm23 Move: 23 - Black Prisoners: 0 - White Prisoners: 0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , O . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . X . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think is not the correct time to tenuki. Minimally, black should consider jumping out here to get out.

However, see also magicwand's comment.

Here is another thought:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm23 Move: 23 - Black Prisoners: 0 - White Prisoners: 0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 1 X , O . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O 2 O 3 X . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

White has bad shape and 1/2 eye.

My head hurts. This is my usual problem in long games: I think myself into paralysis.

I'm going to go with this move, expecting the following:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm33 Aji Keshi?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . X , O . . . . O . . . O 1 , . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . X . . . . . . . 2 O . . . |
$$ | . . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Is this a waste of aji? I'll have to come back after the game and review.

answer is locally yes it is a waste of aji but it might be one of the way to play if you can have the variation above. (my opinion)

Here goes nothing. I did say I wanted access to the center. The double hane here seems like the best way to make that happen.

Here is where my (sometimes spotty) memory for positions makes me try new things. I follow all the Malkovich games being played, and I tend to think about the different comments by players and observers, including suggested moves. So, I've recognized a position here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm37 Very bad, right?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . # . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X W . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . W . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . X , O . . . . O . . O O X , . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . X . . . . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Some may remember a position like this in Malkovich #21 between wms and Magicwand. In that position, wms played to numerous moans and groans from the kibitzers. I probably wouldn't even mention it, as I also agree that it's a bad move, except that Bill Spight suggested a move that I have never thought about. I think it was something like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm37 Does this work?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . 1 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X X W . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . W . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . X , O . . . . O . . O O X , . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . X . . . . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm not entirely sure, since the thread on GD is currently inaccessible, but I think I remember this as Bill's suggestion. Also, wms had a closer grip on the corner, and I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not as to the viability of this type of move. I've tried to read through a bit ...

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Possible continuation?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . 6 1 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . 4 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2 W . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . 3 X X W . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . W . . |
$$ | . . . . . . b . . . . . O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . X , O . . . . O . . O O X , . . . |
$$ | . . O 0 O 9 X . . . . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . O X X . . . . a . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This is what I first thought out, heavily based on some common shapes that stem from the Kobayashi Fuseki. , , are all tentative, but I'll give my reasons why I think White might play this way:

: If Black were to play here, more room can be made for the lone Black stone. When White connects, Black can then play R12 and attack the next White stone and make some good room on the right side for at least one eye.

: I admit, this is purely because I've played Kobayashi Opening so much. I suppose played at instead would be fine for White, though I don't like the cut.

: This reaches to strengthen the lone at R12. I don't know if that's even a correct idea.

After Black gets out like this, I go back to settle the lower left. With the center access I would have gotten, I suspect settling with life at a is the correct way to settle that group. I know jumping out at b puts more pressure on White's group in that corner, but it also forces White to attack my left side. I want to strengthen that side before I start driving White against it.

This must be my most insane and unlikely to work move yet. I'm basically playing a move because I saw a similar move suggested in a different game. Well, you can't learn unless you try!

Here we go, the game-deciding fight. I need to kill one of black's two groups here to win, so the first move must be a cut. I can't let black connect- another opportunity like this will probably not come.

I don't see any other move. So far, it matches what I expected.

I want to play n8, a vital point- it makes his group a lot weaker. If I just play it though, my cutting points become evident, so I'm playing this to deal with those first.

This is too big not to take. White can't possibly ignore this. If White allows me to cut, I con settle my two groups on the right easily.

I'm expecting the following:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm41
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . 4 8 . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X 5 6 . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 7 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O 2 . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . X , O . . . . O . . O O X , . . . |
$$ | . . O . O . X . . . . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

With a, I trade the corner for a solid group on the right.

Leaves me with two groups for Black to attack ... my one eyed group running for the center in the lower right, and my unfinished stones in the lower left.