I don't see how white can play another peaceful move at this point. Now is time to invade the upper right area, or reduce the lower left. I like E8 in combination with a probe of the enclosure. Not sure which is supposed to happen first.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm10
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . O . . 1 . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Both fwiffo and Harleqin disliked this move by Nikolas73, and I also disliked it when padic played it in his Malkovich game. Coincidentally padic is also 6k; maybe this is a common mistake at that level?

Okay, the major areas have been scoped out, it's time to do something!

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm11
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . a . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . b 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

After White 16 here, we can expect Black to defend at A, then White B. Then Black has a few options, but if he blocks at C White can run out and close in Black's corner, while building influence. Black will probably play to prevent that, allowing White to play at "c" and more or less settle there.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm11
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . B x . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . x . X a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . b . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

The two moves I took the most serious look at were a and b. If the marked black stone were one space closer to the corner (either x), as is more common, I would certainly play the kick at b. But because it's looser, it leaves to much aji in the corner. Playing the iron pillar here takes territory firmly (it's a natural follow-up to the large knight extension) and still attacks the white stone strongly because it's already in a pincer.

White is a bit in a tight spot here. I believe that the invasion would have been better at S15 (or perhaps S16, or R12).

The obvious move would be to jump out, but this does not put much pressure on Black. I hear Bill Spight's mantra "Jowa says, don't run."

Let's look at some alternatives:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

This might be a viable alternative, but it still just produces a weakish white between two strong black groups.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

This slide is too far, and it does not make shape.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

I can't see anything good coming from this.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

This might be viable for quickly settling, but I do not like the shape of .

Perhaps others see better plays, but I will go for the attachment. I believe that Black can only hane, and White can get either more space in the upper right side or dodge to the lower right side to maybe isolate some black stones.

Here we go.

Hmm, this is getting difficult. I was not expecting Black 17, or White 18. Let's look at some options for Black:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm11
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a b . . |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , . . . . . X 8 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

A: Black could push along the fourth line, but I feel there is not much influence to be gained here with White's L15 stone in place. I am also worried about Black's R6 stone getting separated in this variation, and Black will have almost no territory on the right side.

B (actual move): I think this is a good move. It separates White's two stones on the right side, and Black can take profit in at least one of those areas. Perhaps we will see this next:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm18
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 . . |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , . . . . . X 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Black should be able to surround one of the two groups, depending on where White jumps out (as far as I can read, if White crosscuts, Black will get a similar result of attacking either of the two stones and taking territory on the right). I am not too concerned if White tries to attack the R6 stone later on; Black still has R3 or S4.

C: This is playable; it might be followed by White "B" and Black Q8. However, if this happens then White will almost definitely live on the right side while Black's group will be rather small (I could be wrong, this was a tough decision...).

D: This is similar to B, but gives White too many options and too much space to escape or attack Black's Q10 stone.

So, there are basically four moves I considered.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm11
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c X d . |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I rejected a immediately. It's normally "basic instinct" to extend from a hane, but this is the exact sort of circumstance where it's contraindicated. The idea behind white's last move was to make sabaki, and the extension is slow and heavy, the exact opposite of what is needed.

The counter-hane at b is more consistent, but if black plays atari at S10, it's hard to see a useful white continuation. It's common to make a sacrifice to get shape, but there's no way to get anything by sacrificing R10. So we'd have to connect:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . W . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 X . . |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , . . . . . X O 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . O . . @ . . . b . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This result is no good. is under serious attack. Meanwhile, has miai of connecting underneath at a and living in the corner with b. This is part of why was wrong. If it was closer to the corner, black might be able to seek some kind of refuge, but it would be much smaller, and it would be more profitable for white.

A common tactic in these sorts of situations is to cross-cut (c) to create aji and forcing moves. But if black simply extends to R12, it's not clear what sort of continuation white has.

I finally settled on d, which shows much more promise. It threatens to connect underneath, but also leaves black with cutting points. White will get some forcing moves, white will either settle the R14 stone, or get strength facing black's R6 stone; white can then attack with R4 or R5.

Black is strong in the upper right, but thinner on the lower right. First instinct would be to play from the weaker side, and that's probably what I would choose in a blitz game:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 X O . |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , . . b . . X O 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a 1 3 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

However, note the cut at 'a'---I would be inclined to add a move around 'b' to keep things together. Also, I am not sure whether Black really gets enough out of this.

Then, this is the 'hard' variant:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

I have no idea where this is going, but Black should be in a better position to fight here.

Sometimes, a counter hane can be countered by a counter counter hane:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

White is alive, so is Black, but White gets sente. Also, White can play at , which would make things less nice for Black:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Overall, I feel that it is too soft on White.

So, the fight it is.

Hmm, I did not expect the last two moves, and I'm starting to feel like White R14 was a mistake.

Anyway, White 22 (somewhat) starts to establish a base on the right side, and we can expect Black to connect at Q11 or capture on the next turn, allowing White to play something like S13. It doesn't look great, but I can't see many other options. If Black connects at Q11 next, White can connect at S12 and Black is almost forced to capture White's R10 stone, allowing White to play something like R4 to defend the corner.

Must capture or extend. I think this is slightly better shape. It's not going to be useful for white to try to run with the R10 stone, so capturing it isn't urgent. This puts a bit more pressure on the white group and prevents white getting to play at .

Well, this is bad, very bad, horrible, actually. White is falling further behind.

I cannot fathom why White felt that the R14 stone was more important than the R10 stone. I wonder whether he even thought about simply extending.

OK, now making some shape in sente seems the only thing to do here. After Black captures, White still has to jump out.

Well, I am glad to see that the sequence went as I planned in my last post. Black 25 here is almost forced, or else White can escape and break Black's shape apart, not to mention destroying Black's right territory as was White's original goal. Now Black has a ponnuki and a strong group, against White's group which is small and still not entirely safe.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm21 Move 25 - W: 0, B: 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O a |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , . . . . . X O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I briefly thought about Black A, but this gets much too complicated. White's right group can still run, or there could be a ko. White could also play B and separate Black's R6 stone. With Black B (actual move), Black forms a strong group and Black A is still a threat.

Black's last move maybe was a bit slow. White could make life locally with T12 I think, but it's better not to get shut in. This is the most straightforward way of moving out.

I'd really rather play R4, which is just huge right now, but I need to worry about this group first.

This threatens to enclose the white group on the right in sente and forestalls White playing N15. Doing something for/against the moyos on the upper left and lower left side is kind of miai, so I believe that this is the place to press forward right now. Of course, Black would like to get sente to invade on the upper side, but if he can build up some power here first, it will be more effective.

Suddenly this is terrible for White, but I think this move lets White live.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm21 B: 1, W: 0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X . . . O d . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O a b O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 O c . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X O . |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , . . . . . X . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Along with defending the peep at A, it creates an eye at B. White's next eye can come at C or D, although it should be noted that White will need to connect at C (if S11 is in atari) if Black plays Q14, otherwise B becomes a false eye.

This is starting to look like a tough game for White now. Next I expect Black to use the N13 stone to attack White's upper area.

I had a nice explanation written up, but firefox eated it, and I have a headache and am not going to retype it at this time.