I've been thinking for ages about what to do, and I figure'd I'd play here eventually

I wonder what he's doing... I don't think it's a good move to move these stones, but maybe he's going to sacrifice them. But I don't know if I like that either... hmm.

Either way, playing at a seems like it's too passive, if he hanes at b, I plan on cutting at c.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm40 Captures: B=0 W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O X O X . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b B X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . c O a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Moving out White's cutting stones isn't bad (although White should have approached the bottom-right corner, first). However, how one moves out these stones makes all the difference. The proper way would have been the following:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O X O X . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . 3 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

"Play away from thickness", play away from sickness... I need to play light, and reduce black here. The last thing I want is to be sealed in here, and this gives me good shape if graemy tenukis.

Okay, so I've caught his cutting stones. Now my group is thick and he has two floating stones right next to my thickness, maybe I can get an attack going.

I think the last three exchanges have been good for me, and with high stones to run to I think I can more easily play this stone finally.

Weird. I think of the defining feature of the upper right as "black influence", not "stones for W to run to". Shouldn't he expect something like this?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm44 Captures: B=0 W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O X O X . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . B . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . 8 . 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 0 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . 1 , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . 7 . . 5 3 4 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

hmm. I think this is dangerous for him.

Playing like this isn't good for him.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm44 Captures: B=0 W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O X O X . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . 6 . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . 5 . . 3 1 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I split him this way too.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm44 Captures: B=0 W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O X O X . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . 3 X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . 1 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I need to settle now

Joseki move seems good. I wonder what he's going for and what he's thinking.

I suspect that he's going for this. But, instead of following the pattern as below, he will try to take sente to get a or b. This seems like a dangerous strategy to me.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm46 Captures: B=0 W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O X O X . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . a b . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . 4 . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . 8 . 7 O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . 3 . . 1 O B . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 0 9 . . . . . . 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The only move

This is the move to play in the chinese fuseki. His two stones may effect the weakness at a in a weird way. But, I will play like this anyway o:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm48 Captures: B=0 W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O X O X . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This should be my next move I think, since I can't let black so easily separate my groups.

If he's not careful here, he'll die. He has two groups and neither of them have a base yet and it seems like there's no easy way to connect them.

I think I have to fight here

I can cut if he extends, and if he protects, I'll hane at the marked white stone.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm52 Captures: B=0 W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O X O X . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X B . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . 3 2 O . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 0 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . 7 6 . O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X 8 9 . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

He still isn't alive in the corner, though I suspect he will live, but his outside stones are still a target. I'll probably just approach the upper left to ladder break and try to open up the cut at a some. Or maybe I should protect my stones at the bottom first. With my forcing moves against his bottom group, they should be fine. I'm not too happy about the shape of my stones, but they should work.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm52 Captures: B=0 W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O X O X . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . a O X B . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . O X 4 2 X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O X X 1 . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . O X 3 O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X X O . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I need to strengthen myself here to either try to save P10 or invade the left. If white is too thin I'll be cut apart

Okay, let's see what he does here, if he hanes, I'll double hane.

I would like to get sente to play a sometime soon.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm54 Captures: B=0 W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X O O X O X . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O X O X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . O O . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . a . O O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

As much as I hate giving up P10 here, I think trying to save it is worse. This way I'm building some strength to prepare to attack the lower side.

I want sente to play on the bottom