Maybe it is sente, at least to get a few points on one of the sides:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 maybe sente...
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5 . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 O 6 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2 1 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm11 maybe sente...
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X 7 |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 X O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . 3 O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . 2 1 O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 X O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

for example...

I'll have to think of this a bit more...

I think that this is OK to play, because it is kind of sente, due to the sequence I gave before. With the weakness around the R12 stone, combined with the ways that I can get in a little bit on the sides, white's formation is not complete.

If I don't play here, white can play here and it's pretty strong sente.

White's position isn't finished here, so I feel OK playing this way. White may play a bigger spot, like on the top, for example, after this, but the weakness will remain. I think it's OK to play this way.

No diagrams this time... Not because I feel bad about the move, but because I already expressed my thoughts about possibilities earlier

For anybody watching, I was wondering if I could get some feedback on how I think about go. One of the unique things about the Malkovich games is that we can share what types of things we are considering and thinking when we play.

Since I've been playing Malkovich games for a little bit, maybe people get an idea of what I'm thinking about when I face the go board.

Could I get some feedback on this in a general sense? Please don't give specific references to the games I'm still playing, but is there anything that I can change about my thought process in general? Any bad tendencies that I seem to have?

Please feel free to comment (I guess, as before, it's also OK to criticize my non-go-related traits ).

i will go with moyo.

it also work as a ladder breaker

Going along with my previous plan, I'm going to try to weaken his central area. I'm not quite sure if I'm going to run with the stones, yet. I'm also considering sacrificing:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . a O 2 O 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3 B O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 9 X 5 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7 . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

And covering later at "a". I'm not quite sure, yet, about the plan I'll ultimately choose... But I think I can get some value out of this weak stone.

I find it very fitting with magicwand's style that he posts triggered sequences the opponent has not agreed to

now i am starting to like my moyo. i am sure he will feel the pressure

Tenuki, huh... What a guy...

Gotta think about this one.

i can compare my playing style with chicken game.
two cars facing each others and chicken will fold.
i said you play yours i think my moyo is bigger!
is he going to play chicken and invade?
or he will say what i get over here is big and i am satisfied!

below is the variation i have in mind after he invade and i get sente.
it will build another huge moyo. and he will be even deeper in the snow.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc Move 28 - Prisoners: B=1, W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 O 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B O 8 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 X 3 6 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5 4 . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . . . W . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

OK. His influence is a bit intimidating, but to counter that, I need a lot of points. That's why I played the move I did. This move keeps white from diving directly into the corner. Ideally, he responds to it, and I can do something else about his influence. I think that the point around "a" is going to be useful to me in the future for possibly invading:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm30
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O X X . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . a O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm not terribly afraid about the top right. He tenuki-ed, so if I didn't have a plan for that area, I shouldn't have played it to begin with.

As Bill Spight said in a comment of my last game, if I stay on the same plan, I may have erred. But if I change my plan, I definitely have...

I still believe that I can do something effective with my top right stones (the move I played at ). Hopefully, I can get enough from those stones, along with something from "a" in the Diagram above to counter his influence. Let's see how it goes.

I think that there's an 生きる道　for black in here if white defends on the first line, eh. I've got to be flexible, but I think I can make life happen. That should make his white stones here comparatively ineffective.

If I don't act quickly, and let this all become territory, I think I'll be behind... So let's see what these stones can do.

i can not back down. this is the only move

Thinking about N3, but I have to plan it out more.

I'm a little bit nervous about this move. It was a hard decision for me to make. First of all, I need to do SOMETHING about white's power in the center. If it all turns into points, he'll have a lot. For example, if he gets all of the points marked as "x", and I get all of the points marked as "y", he's already ahead.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 White will probably win if he gets all of these points...
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . y y y y y |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . y y y y y |
$$ | y y . . . . . . . . . . . . y y y y y |
$$ | y y X , . . . . . , . . . X . X y y y |
$$ | y y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X y |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O y y |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O y |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . x x x x x x x O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . x x x x x x x x x . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . x x x x x x x x x x . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . x x x x x x x x x x O . |
$$ | y y y . . O x x x x x x x x x O O X . |
$$ | y y y X . . x x x O x x x x x O X y X |
$$ | y y y . . O x x x x x x x O x O X X y |
$$ | y y y . X O x x x x x x x X O X X y y |
$$ | y y y . . . x x x x x x x x O . . y y |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Maybe here, white has 70 or 80, whereas black has only around 50. That's a pretty good lead, which white will probably be able to maintain.

So I must do something to prevent this, and I'm thinking that using that I chose is the way to start. There is a bad part about this move, though. It removes my ability to reduce the right side with in the diagrams below:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Ideal result from black 1...
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1 . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 O 2 |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . 9 7 O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . 0 6 5 O X X . |
$$ | . . . . X O . . . . . . 8 X O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm11
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X 7 |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . 5 3 1 X O O |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . 6 4 2 O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . X X O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . O O X O X X . |
$$ | . . . . X O . . . . . . O X O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If the game went like this, I'd be pretty satisfied with having reduced white's area... Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that it won't go that way.

White has a number of alternatives, with this as an example:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O a O a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a X a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1 . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 O . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . 2 . O X X . |
$$ | . . . . X O . . . . . . . X O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I don't think that I have enough points in the diagram above. Furthermore, the area around the marked "a" spots has not been settled, yet, so white could turn that area into an advantageous position for him, I think.

Also, if I try to jump out one space, I might get into some trouble with this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O a O a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a X a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . 1 . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 O . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . 2 . O X X . |
$$ | . . . . X O . . . . . . . X O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

And the spots around "a" still remain...


So I could also try something around in the diagram below:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . d . O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . b c . O X X . |
$$ | . . . . X O . . . . . . . X O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This might help me to be able to live with "b", "c", or "d", for example...

But is a bit awkward, and white might defend on the inside, making it harder for me to live on the bottom:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O X X . |
$$ | . . . . X O . . . . . . . X O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So this is a rather tough position. The move I selected is forcing, so white will have to come up with a response. I hope to play very lightly and live, if possible. If not, then maybe I can play something like in the last diagram to reduce white a bit. I have to be very flexible, but it will be tough. I'm going to try to do it, though.

Also, I can try to adjust my actions, based on how white defends in this local area.

This is the only move that is consistent with my last move. The tricky part comes next in figuring out how to play lightly to get some kind of benefit here.

This is kind of scary, but let's see if we can make something work. I considered a few moves here, but I think that the most important area is the open space in the center, which is why I played high here.

Black can try some direct attack, but I'll probably sacrifice some of the stones in that case, just so that I can live with something:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . O . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . B . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O 2 1 . X . O X . X |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . 4 3 X O O O X X . |
$$ | . . . . X O . . . . . 5 . X O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

and then I'll play in a way to help the marked group.

Some other possibilities are a-c below:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
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$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]