Life In 19x19 :: Big Brother Malkovich #5

First of all, after Splatted's 38 the position is not settled in my opinion. After e.g. the simple 2 black has big and solid area in the corner, and the marked exchange becomes clearly very bad for us: it erases possibilities in the corner and doesn't gain us a thing. Additionally, some continuation by white is now needed, otherwise the three stones just float there, waiting a cut and attack later. For example 3 would build a consistent structure in the center and encourage black to play around 4, which would enable us to protec at 5, but the center structure seems too vague to me.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . B . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X W . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 2 . O 1 O . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , 4 . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Better to stick to earlier plan, or something like it, which utilizes already played stones better. After 1-3 below we are out in my reading, and black can't defend both A and B areas.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X a . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . 1 X X . O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . b . . O 2 O . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

G17 is strong and solid, but slow. White gets a chance to lock us in, and our cutting stones look weak, particularly with the circled white stones, like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . 2 X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . 1 X X 4 O 7 . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O 3 O 5 6 . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . 9 . . . . . . . W . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . W , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

...or a slight variation, like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . 2 X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . 1 X X 5 O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O 3 O 4 . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . 7 . . . . . . . W . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . W , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

We need to get to the cut sooner. So I'm playing this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . C X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . 1 X X 2 O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I've got to be honest in that I really don't understand what I'm supposed to be getting out of this situation. I've come to the conclusion that I just need to forget about what TIM's planning and what earlier moves imply, and just look at the board and decide what I think is important with the board in it's current state.

The first thing that stands out to me is that the stones on the bottom half of the board are all pretty strong but I have two weak groups on the top, so it's pretty obvious that I need to do something about that. The situation is actually pretty worrying because having two weak groups close to each other is always dangerous, but in this instance it's compounded by the fact that black has no weak groups. Non at all. He has weaknesses of course, but no actual weak groups, so the firstthing I have to consider is whether I can force him to create one and give myself a little breathing room in this fight.

Decending at F17 would seem to do this brilliantly, since it cut's off black's H17 stones and threatens to connect my weak groups, but unfortunately it's not so good if black replies:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . a . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X 1 . X . W . . W . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X W . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

undercuts the marked white stones and threatens to connect at "a", so white descends again, but this no longer threatens to connect and white has no prospects for making eyes on the side. I'd have succesfully cut black, but he's in no real danger and instead of strengthening my stones I'd have weakened them. There's definitely potential here, but it needs to wait until I'm strong enough on the outside to be able to threaten black.

Since I can't connect or cut I need to play something to strengthen one of my groups. It's tempting to respond reflexively to black's contact play, but my left hand group is weaker so I think that's where I should play, and there are two moves that come to mind:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O b W . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X a . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I don't like "a" so much because it's a pretty tenuos connection and it seems to invite black to swallow the marked stone, which pretty much rules out the possibility of a counter attack later.

"b" seems better because it makes white thicker and black thinner. It pretty much forces him to come out with K14/J14 which does look like broken shape for white, but in this instance I like that because it induces L15 which leaves my right hand group feeling pretty solid for the moment.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O 3 . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O 1 O 4 2 . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Splatted wrote:

The first thing that stands out to me is that the stones on the bottom half of the board are all pretty strong but I have two weak groups on the top, so it's pretty obvious that I need to do something about that. The situation is actually pretty worrying because having two weak groups close to each other is always dangerous, but in this instance it's compounded by the fact that black has no weak groups. None at all. He has weaknesses of course, but no actual weak groups, so the firstthing I have to consider is whether I can force him to create one and give myself a little breathing room in this fight.

I would not be so worried about our K17 group - with the weak three space black jump on right side and our stone at P12 it seems quite hard to end in big trouble. And our F15 group has aims on the black connections at both left side and top. Black has enjoyable weaknesses in his groups all over the board IMO.

Splatted wrote:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O b W . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X a c . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

General idea: very good :clap:

I would not play B myself though, it seems a bit heavy and unambitious. I would probably be tempted to try something more ambitious and foolish, not sure what though. Perhaps A or C above? However, I can't call B a bad move.

I'm assuming that Tim will let that stand. So it becomes a running fight, and the proper direction for us is southward, IMHO.

The natural 1 below looks insipid after white plays the obvious 2:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , 1 . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The most aggressive continuation for black that I can find looks like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The line that feels most likely to refute it is this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X 4 X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . . 2 3 . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 4 X 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . 3 O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O 2 . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Marching toward the marked white stone gets better for white with every step, so lets quit early and cap:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O 5 . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O O O X 4 . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X O . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . O O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . 1 X . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . W . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Hmm...this does not look good, so we back up another move and try splitting:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . 3 O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O 2 . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . 4 X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Splitting white may be the way to go:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 3 2 4 O O O X . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 1 X O 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 6 X O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . O O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Move 3 allows 6, so better to capture with 3:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 4 2 . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 1 X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 3 X O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . O O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

At this point it is hard to say what is best...

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . | $$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . | $$ | . 2 . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . | $$ | a 1 X X . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . O . O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . | $$ | . . O O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 3 O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 5 O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . | $$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Author:	TIM82 [ Thu Aug 01, 2013 3:00 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
Disapproved. Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm32 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . 7 X X . O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] First of all, after Splatted's 38 the position is not settled in my opinion. After e.g. the simple 2 black has big and solid area in the corner, and the marked exchange becomes clearly very bad for us: it erases possibilities in the corner and doesn't gain us a thing. Additionally, some continuation by white is now needed, otherwise the three stones just float there, waiting a cut and attack later. For example 3 would build a consistent structure in the center and encourage black to play around 4, which would enable us to protec at 5, but the center structure seems too vague to me. Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . B . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X W . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . 2 . O 1 O . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , 4 . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] Better to stick to earlier plan, or something like it, which utilizes already played stones better. After 1-3 below we are out in my reading, and black can't defend both A and B areas. Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X a . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . 1 X X . O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . b . . O 2 O . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Author:	Splatted [ Thu Aug 01, 2013 3:29 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
.... .... ....

Author:	illluck [ Thu Aug 01, 2013 4:44 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
The original move seems much better than the correction to me.

Author:	skydyr [ Thu Aug 01, 2013 6:33 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm32 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . 8 X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . 7 X X . O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] As per the plan. White can't fix all the cutting points at once.

Author:	Joaz Banbeck [ Thu Aug 01, 2013 8:43 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
I don't think that correction by white was worth three points. Indeed, I cannot say for sure that it was an improvement at all. Ok, white did save the marked stone. Maybe that is worth almost three points to them. But letting us improve our shape with the bamboo joint is worth at least that much to us. And saving the stone has little tactical value: as I read it, once we have the bamboo joint, white can try to push through at 'a', but we can block at 'b' and hold it. As Skydyr notes, they have weak spots at 'c' and 'd'. Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm32 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X a X X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X W . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X . O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O d O c . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] So I'm considering approving. But part of me is thinking that the push through at 'd' right now would create interesting possibilities.

Life In 19x19 http://lifein19x19.com/

Big Brother Malkovich #5 http://lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8271	Page 10 of 15

Author:	Joaz Banbeck [ Fri Aug 02, 2013 11:51 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
I'm still thinking. There are some complex lines here.

Author:	TIM82 [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 2:54 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
Whoops, messed up correction points when I last disapproved. Please quote the board below for next move to ensure correct points are carried over. Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm32 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . 8 X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . 7 X X . O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Author:	Joaz Banbeck [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:05 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
After much thinking, I disapprove. G17 is strong and solid, but slow. White gets a chance to lock us in, and our cutting stones look weak, particularly with the circled white stones, like this: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . 2 X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . 1 X X 4 O 7 . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O 3 O 5 6 . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . 9 . . . . . . . W . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . W , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] ...or a slight variation, like this: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . 2 X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . 1 X X 5 O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O 3 O 4 . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . 7 . . . . . . . W . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . W , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] We need to get to the cut sooner. So I'm playing this: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . C X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . 1 X X 2 O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Author:	Joaz Banbeck [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:15 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
For observers: Ok, it may be a bit risky, and shape purists will lament the loss of the bamboo joint. But actually, the bamboo joint is still there. Once we have the marked stones, the circled points are miai for the bamboo joint. There are some variations where neither circled play is possible, but I think that we come out ahead in all of those. Click Here To Show Diagram Code `[go]$$W $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . C X C O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O B B B O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \|[/go]` For skydyr: Trust me. I've read a lot of variations.

Author:	Splatted [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:39 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
Joaz your thoughts are showing.

Author:	Joaz Banbeck [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 11:32 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
Apologies to all for the twice-bungled prior post. First I had too little in hide tags, then too much. The position is now this: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . C X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . 1 X X 2 O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Author:	TIM82 [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 11:50 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
What? That defends neither side, and at least at a glance doesn't look lika a convincing attack either? We can just dance away into center, and later take whichever side black doesn't protect. Although the original move was perhaps not best, this seems worse?

Author:	Splatted [ Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:33 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
I've got to be honest in that I really don't understand what I'm supposed to be getting out of this situation. I've come to the conclusion that I just need to forget about what TIM's planning and what earlier moves imply, and just look at the board and decide what I think is important with the board in it's current state. The first thing that stands out to me is that the stones on the bottom half of the board are all pretty strong but I have two weak groups on the top, so it's pretty obvious that I need to do something about that. The situation is actually pretty worrying because having two weak groups close to each other is always dangerous, but in this instance it's compounded by the fact that black has no weak groups. Non at all. He has weaknesses of course, but no actual weak groups, so the firstthing I have to consider is whether I can force him to create one and give myself a little breathing room in this fight. Decending at F17 would seem to do this brilliantly, since it cut's off black's H17 stones and threatens to connect my weak groups, but unfortunately it's not so good if black replies: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . a . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X 1 . X . W . . W . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X W . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] undercuts the marked white stones and threatens to connect at "a", so white descends again, but this no longer threatens to connect and white has no prospects for making eyes on the side. I'd have succesfully cut black, but he's in no real danger and instead of strengthening my stones I'd have weakened them. There's definitely potential here, but it needs to wait until I'm strong enough on the outside to be able to threaten black. Since I can't connect or cut I need to play something to strengthen one of my groups. It's tempting to respond reflexively to black's contact play, but my left hand group is weaker so I think that's where I should play, and there are two moves that come to mind: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O b W . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X a . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] I don't like "a" so much because it's a pretty tenuos connection and it seems to invite black to swallow the marked stone, which pretty much rules out the possibility of a counter attack later. "b" seems better because it makes white thicker and black thinner. It pretty much forces him to come out with K14/J14 which does look like broken shape for white, but in this instance I like that because it induces L15 which leaves my right hand group feeling pretty solid for the moment. Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O 3 . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O 1 O 4 2 . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O 3 O . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Author:	TIM82 [ Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:17 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
Approved Splatted wrote: The first thing that stands out to me is that the stones on the bottom half of the board are all pretty strong but I have two weak groups on the top, so it's pretty obvious that I need to do something about that. The situation is actually pretty worrying because having two weak groups close to each other is always dangerous, but in this instance it's compounded by the fact that black has no weak groups. None at all. He has weaknesses of course, but no actual weak groups, so the firstthing I have to consider is whether I can force him to create one and give myself a little breathing room in this fight. I would not be so worried about our K17 group - with the weak three space black jump on right side and our stone at P12 it seems quite hard to end in big trouble. And our F15 group has aims on the black connections at both left side and top. Black has enjoyable weaknesses in his groups all over the board IMO. Splatted wrote: Since I can't connect or cut I need to play something to strengthen one of my groups. It's tempting to respond reflexively to black's contact play, but my left hand group is weaker so I think that's where I should play, and there are two moves that come to mind (a,b): Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm1 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O b W . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X a c . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] General idea: very good I would not play B myself though, it seems a bit heavy and unambitious. I would probably be tempted to try something more ambitious and foolish, not sure what though. Perhaps A or C above? However, I can't call B a bad move.

Page 10 of 15	All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/

Author:	Joaz Banbeck [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 7:53 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
bump Skydyr? It's your move.

Author:	skydyr [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:24 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
Sorry, I didn't get back until yesterday evening. I'll move sometime today.

Author:	skydyr [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 2:52 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O 3 O 4 . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] I can't think of anything more basic than giving your opponent broken shape.

Author:	Joaz Banbeck [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 6:34 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
I approve

Author:	Splatted [ Fri Aug 16, 2013 2:16 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wcm38 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] I agree with Skydyr's choice to just come straight out, since it doesn't give me the free move at K14, but now I need to decide which group needs defending. It seems I can still get out on the left if I take the time to defend at K14, but it's pretty grim. The clamp at L15 looks pretty dangerous, but the resulting fight does seem to have some variations that are actually pretty good for white. It's far too complicated to really know how it's going to turn out though. That leaves the question can I afford to play the safe(ish) move and let black profit in exchange for settling my groups, or do I need to fight back and try and re-take control of the game? I don't think I can afford to submit here, so I'm going to bring out my left hand group ready to fight. If Skydyr plays the clamp I will welcome it.

Author:	Joaz Banbeck [ Fri Aug 16, 2013 7:11 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Big Brother Malkovich #5
For the observers, a preview of upcoming ~~disasters~~ tesujis: I'm assuming that Tim will let that stand. So it becomes a running fight, and the proper direction for us is southward, IMHO. The natural 1 below looks insipid after white plays the obvious 2: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Bc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , 1 . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] The most aggressive continuation for black that I can find looks like this: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Bc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] The line that feels most likely to refute it is this: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Bc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X 4 X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . . 2 3 . O . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . 4 X 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . 3 O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O 2 . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] Marching toward the marked white stone gets better for white with every step, so lets quit early and cap: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O 5 . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O O O X 4 . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X X O . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . O O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . 1 X . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . W . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] Hmm...this does not look good, so we back up another move and try splitting: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . X 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . X O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . 3 O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O 2 . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . 4 X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] Splitting white may be the way to go: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . 3 2 4 O O O X . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . 1 X O 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . 6 X O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . O O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] Move 3 allows 6, so better to capture with 3: Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . 4 2 . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . 1 X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . 3 X O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . O O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go] At this point it is hard to say what is best... Click Here To Show Diagram Code [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . \| $$ \| . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . \| $$ \| . 2 . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| a 1 X X . O O O X . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . O . O X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . \| $$ \| . . O O X . O . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . 3 O X . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . \| $$ \| . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . 5 O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . \| $$ \| . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . \| $$ \| . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ \| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \| $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]