I decided that if White does a double approach, both the pincer and the descent into the corner look rather promising. I think that if White plays at , I'm happy enough to continue at [i]b. As White, I don't think I'd play that way, but that may be my greed/jealousy speaking.

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[go]$$Bcm33
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . X . O . W W W . |
$$ | . . W , . . . 3 . , . . . . B X B . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . b . . . . d . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . |
$$ | . . W X . . . . . , . a . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . W O X X . X . . . . . 6 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O W . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Of the two double approaches, the distant one at c was harder to think about a next move against. I'm not sure that makes it good, but I'm most uncertain about it.

I tend to move fast in these games (relatively speaking) because I struggle to use the extra thinking time of a correspondence game. There aren’t any immediate life and death concerns for me right now, so it’s mostly evaluating the result of the position. But that is hard to do, and I’m not sure I do it more effectively when I spend more than about 15 minutes in the problem. Mostly it comes down to intuition and thinking about my strategic goals.

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[go]$$Bcm33
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . X . O . W W W . |
$$ | . . W , . . . 3 . , . . . . B X B . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . c . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . e 7 . . . . . |
$$ | . . W X . . . . . , . a . . d X . . . |
$$ | . . W O X X T X . . b . . 6 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O W . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I considered all of a-e. I didn’t really look at jumping into the corner right now because it would basically remove all of the weaknesses in black’s position. I felt b is too low; I could get pressed down very easily. c doesn’t feel right yet; black’s last move doesn’t make me want to abandon my stone. E starts a fight that will also remove weaknesses in black’s position. I think the move I chose threatens the big center while leaving enough weakness on the right /in the corner that I may be able to make a follow up move there after settling my group. It also threatens a move at the marked point in the future that could potentially help me break into the center or make a big territory on the bottom.

I think I can profit from a fight here, and I still don't think I can afford to play passively. If I'm wrong and this group on the bottom dies, it will force me to resign.

Three priorities: Stay connected, make eyespace, and don't get sealed in. If I have a group fighting for life, I want it to be a fight that destroys the center.

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[go]$$Bcm39
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . X . O . W W W . |
$$ | . . W , . . . X . , . . . . B X B . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . 4 . b . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . W X . . . . . , . O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . W O X X x X x 5 a c . W . d . . . |
$$ | . . . . O W . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Also considered a-d. a and d both give black the opportunity to seal me in along the side. b is enticing, but I think the move I chose leads to a more favorable fight. If I live in the center and marked stone gets cut off, that's not a big deal to me, and there is aji at the x points.

I will almost certainly have to sacrifice the O3 stone. I hope I can profit enough in the center to make forming this weak group worth the cost, but I'm not sure that I will.

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[go]$$Bcm45
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . X . O . W W W . |
$$ | . . W , . . . X . , . . . . B X B . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . a X b . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . O . 2 . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . W X . . . . . O . O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . W O X X . X . X X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O W . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The ideas for me are a and b. b seems like the obvious shape move, and a would make a bad shape (peeping at both sides of a bamboo joint. That leaves the question of whether to play b as a king. It seems rather appealing.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm45
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . X . O . W W W . |
$$ | . . W , . . . X . , . . . . B X B . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . b . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . a X # . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . O . 2 . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . W X . . . . . O . O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . W O X X . X . X X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O W . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

There is real risk that I could be in a situation where this stone needs to work to live. The question, however, is not whether that's a risk. It's whether managing that risk by playing more safely is likely to cost me multiple points. I'm not so sure.

Btw: I say multiple points, because once you've played one king, it becomes substantially easier to play further ones. Of course, not all would be: for instance, if White plays a, I'll respond with a non-king at b.

I'm still waiting for there to be more direct play around the kings. Ed mentioned some possibilities around C14 and seems to me that black could work that to an advantage forcing around an instant lose piece. Seems like now would be the time to try and work that to an advantage before we move to far into the middle game.

I've got myself in a bit of a pickle here. I want to jump out into the middle, but I need to take care of my group first. With this move, I admit that my group is heavy and start adding kings to it. I don't think there is anyway I can sacrifice this group and still have any hope of winning the game. I honestly think I've handled the group on the bottom poorly and it's very unlikely I'll win at this point, but it's not quite time to resign.

This is a good move that I unfortunately didn't consider. I was so focused on the white group moving out into the center,
I didn't think about the chance to make eyespace in sente.

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[go]$$Bcm45
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . X . O . W W W . |
$$ | . . W , . . . X . , . . . . B X B . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . X B . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . O . 2 . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . W X . . . . . O . O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . W O X X . X . X X O . O . B . . . |
$$ | . . . . O W . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I am not an expert on kingo, but with regular go, black would win by playing here, I think.

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[go]$$Bcm45
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . X . O . W W W . |
$$ | . . W , . . . X . , . . . . B X B . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . X # . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . O . 2 . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . W X . . . . . O . O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . W O X X a X b X X @ . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O W . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

My initial reaction was that I thought this move worked really nicely for White because I would have to defend around a or b, but I don't think that's the case.

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[go]$$Bcm45
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . X . O . W W W . |
$$ | . . W , . . . X . , . . . . B X B . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . X B . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . O . 2 . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . W X . 0 7 9 . O . O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . W O X X 6 X . X X @ . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O W 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm55
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . X . O . W W W . |
$$ | . . W , . . . X . , . . . . B X B . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . 3 . . . . X B . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . 2 . . . O . O . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . W X 1 O X X . O . O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . W O X X O X . X X @ . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O W O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Sacrificing the two stones might even be better as well.

If that's right, I'll have to figure out the best move to play elsewhere. :B49: jumps to mind, but there's also plenty elsewhere, and even if there's nothing he can do immediately at a or b, I may still want to avoid giving his group a forcing move.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm45
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . X . O . W W W . |
$$ | . . W , . . . X . , . . . . B X B . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W . . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . b . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . g . a . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . X B . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . f . O . 2 . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . W X . . . e . O . O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . W O X X c X d X X @ . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O W . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

After reading out moves at c, d, e and f, I don't think I need to be worried there. With that settled, I ended up looking hardest at a and b. I think a isn't actually that big, and b is bigger if I go for expanding/solidifying my moyo.

Late in the process, I looked at . My biggest concern is that I'm not sure how easy it is for White to undermine my corner. But when I read out the 3-3 point, it didn't seem like there's anything good for White. Maybe a kakari/submarine move would be forcing, which helps him invade the moyo.

As far as the center, I think that denying him an easy life on the side will make him want to come out near f or g. After that, I hope to continue expanding the moyo as he runs out.