#250 amatterof v. Joaz Banbeck

Loons · **#21**

EdLee · **#22**

Hi Bill,

amatterof · **#23**

Bill Spight · **#24**

Hi, Ed.

Joaz Banbeck · **#25**

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

Trigger:

Uberdude · **#26**

Bill:

Ed:

skydyr · **#27**

EdLee wrote:

amatterof wrote:

if there is anything I can do to make them better/more interesting,

Usually people enjoy it if both sides think they're winning.

Or losing.

amatterof · **#28**

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm9 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . 2 X 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . 3 . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm not quite sure what the rules are regarding triggers. To be safe, I'm hitting submit on this post before looking at the trigger, and will edit it with my next move if I hit the trigger.

Edit: Trigger hit.

For observers:

I didn't talk about the potential that Black would still attach on top in any of my previous posts. I knew the possibility existed in the back of my head, and should have guessed that it would happen given :b6:

, but for some reason didn't think to analyze it. I'll need to be more careful about covering the universe of possible black plays before deciding on a path in the rest of this game.

Just as I didn't know the 3-3 invasion josekis all that well, I'm not terribly familiar with this one either. First, some basic principles/thoughts: Black's move calls out that White has created 2 groups, and aims to keep them separated. Thus, for purposes of evaluating results here, Black will succeed if he completely kills one group (ie, consolidates the corner and one side); White will succeed if he can make strong groups both on the bottom and in the corner/side; and an even result will likely involve one strong white group in one of those spots, and aji in the other.

Next, possible moves. The hane seems like the obvious choice, but I can see a few other options that might work as well:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . 6 . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . d 8 a . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X b 7 . . . , . . . . . 2 . . . | $$ | . . c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

A - The hane makes sense. White's goal is to make two strong groups from his two currently weak ones, and the way to get stronger is to play contact moves.
B - This also makes the bottom-side group strong, but it has two related problems. First, it plays into a situation where Black has played a hane at the head of two stones, which is good shape for him and bad shape for me. Second, it starts to damage the corner aji more than I'd like. I need to make my group strong while leaving as much potential in the corner/left side as possible.
C - Seems creative and interesting in a let's-be-crazy sort of way, but again seems to only be looking for 1 live group.
D - This seems like a gross overplay, particularly since the ladder doesn't work for White.

To try to make this a bit more clear for observers, here are the results I would predict if I tried B or C. Notice also that both are gote for White.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$W Rough Predictions $$ | . . . , . . . . | . . . , . . . $$ | . . X . . . . . | . . X . . . . $$ | . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . $$ | . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . $$ | . . O . . . . . | . . O . . . . $$ | . . 7 6 2 X . . | . . . . 8 X . $$ | . . 5 X 1 O b . | . . 2 X 5 O . $$ | . . 4 3 8 . . . | . 6 1 3 4 9 . $$ | . . a 9 0 . . . | . . . . 7 . . $$ | . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . $$ --------------------------------[/go]

Now for my selected move. The obvious Black response is to draw back (I expect this is Joaz's trigger), after which I'll need to decide which way to connect my two stones, the hanging connection (A) or the solid connection (B). (I briefly looked at Black extending to the X spot instead and concluded it would be an overplay. But I didn't spend too much time on it.)

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

The advantage to A is that it works better when Black tries to build up the middle and use his tengen stone, like so:

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

If I had played the solid connection instead, :b6:

would be a more powerful move, aiming to consolidate the left side and kill C6 on a larger scale. Because of the hanging connection, however, I can also respond strongly and C6 retains most of its aji. In addition, I'll be building some very nice thickness to come to O3.

The advantage of B is that it removes aji along the bottom-side, which, in turn, increases my aji in the corner. With the hanging connection, Black can try to consolidate the corner by poking at White's shape. However, when I studied this, I couldn't find good real way for Black to completely eliminate the corner aji.

So, I guess I'm predicting some sort of development along these lines, which looks OK for White:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc at a or b (probably b) $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . 6 7 . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . 2 X 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . 3 . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . a . 4 5 . . . . . . . b . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Or maybe:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc Still plenty of aji left in C6. Will Black have time to play A? $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . a ? . ? . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . 2 X 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . ? . X . O . 3 . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . 6 4 5 . . . . . . 7 . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If

peeps at G3, it's pretty annoying though, and I'm still working on the best response there.

For observers (regarding the trigger):

Bill Spight · **#29**

Thanks, Uberdude!

Uberdude wrote:

Your joseki books are too old!

And here I was just getting into the joseki of the 1830s. :mrgreen:

Joaz Banbeck · **#30**

@amatterof: Your handling of the trigger looks fine to me.

Bill Spight wrote:

Thanks, Uberdude!

Uberdude wrote:

Your joseki books are too old!

And here I was just getting into the joseki of the 1830s. :mrgreen:

I can't wait to go back and look at the comments.

@everyone except amatterof: If we reach the point where the comments are not affecting the current game, please go back and unhide them. Thanks.

Uberdude · **#31**

Well, we were talking about a joseki which can't happen anymore in this corner (as you played f5), but maybe it could happen in those other 4-4 corners...

Joaz Banbeck · **#32**

Joaz Banbeck · **#33**

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm11 $$ -------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . 1 . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Let us assume that I do something moderately aggressive, that restricts his growing group. Even then, he can invade

I can block this way:

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

...and my lower left group is meaningless, maybe even in danger.

Or I can block this way:

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

..and he is in a better position than the joseki because his worst weak spot is now protected.

He can take it profitably if I let him, and after all, it is a corner, so I should get it for myself.

But then, he has sente. What is the worst that he can do?

He probably has to make some sort of base for his group.

He can't go as far as N3:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm11 $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . 1 . 4 . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So the most he can do is this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm11 $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . 1 . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . 3 . 4 . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

...and then I get the natural play at 14.

Or, if he tenukis:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm11 3 elsewhere $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . 1 . 4 . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

amatterof · **#34**

For observers:

Uberdude · **#35**

@amatterof

amatterof · **#36**

@Uberdude:

I considered it very briefly, but instinctively thought that if I was going to invade, it would have been better not to have made the marked exchange first. I didn't play these out until now, but here are two examples:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc Example 1: , , or could be A $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 6 8 . B X W . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 5 2 X . O 4 0 . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . 7 1 3 . 9 a . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc Example 2: White can play A, so it's probably ok $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . B X W . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 3 X . O . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . 1 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 5 4 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

But maybe you're thinking of this complicated idea:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wc Complicated $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O b . a . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . c 9 B X W . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 2 X 5 O 7 . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . 8 1 3 4 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The marked exchange means Black gets to play atari at :b6:

, but after White at A, White does end up nicely thick. But what if :b10:

is at B? The C9 stone is an annoying ladder breaker.
Even :b10:

at c followed by b and d looks tricky. Is there a ko in the corner? (I looked at a closely related variation for awhile while studying the G3 peep before :b12:

).

amatterof · **#37**

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm11 $$ -------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . 1 . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The first question I had to ask myself was whether there's anything more I want to do locally in the lower left. For instance, I could:

Fix my shape with G3
Build more influence/a wall with G6 or G7
Activate C6

None of these seem very appealing right now. Fixing my shape with G3 is gote and feels slow. Building a wall with G6 or G7 is nice, but Black will almost certainly take the opportunity to play D7 if I do. And activating C6 seems like I'm begging to be attacked, when even the G5 stones aren't settled.

However, one thing I spent a lot of time thinking about was whether there is some move I can play with C6 that means Black can no longer kill it as cleanly. In other words, before leaving C6, I want to see if there's a way to increase its aji. I looked at the following moves:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm11 $$ -------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . b d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . a c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . O . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The problem with A, B and C is that they both tend to prompt moves that will later allow Black to capture C6 on an even bigger scale after White tenukis now:

For A, Black likely plays F7 or E8, followed by the other one.
For B, Black likely plays D9, followed by E8
For C, Black likely plays E9, followed by F8

In other words, if I'm going to tenuki anyway, I shouldn't give Black any of these helping moves. D was the only one that looked remotely interesting. Black then plays D7, and there is lots of fun aji remaining around C8. Furthermore, Black's follow-up killing move here is D8, which is slower and no bigger than originally.

I started gearing up to play D, but then realized that (1) while there is still a lot of aji around C8 after this exchange, there is decidedly less aji than there currently is; (2) I can still play at D after Black plays D7; and (3) (most importantly), I may want to provoke Black D7 in a different way later on, such as with G6 or G7 to develop the bottom, or with something around C11 to develop the top. There's no need to commit to a particular path before I know what I want.

So, if I'm going to tenuki, there are 3 options that come to mind:

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

A play at A returns to my original plan of developing the top. B and C, however, are the kind of directional questions with which I still struggle. B seems natural, and if Black calmly extends, I can cash in nicely on the bottom.

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

If Black pincers, this time I'm more torn about what to do. The G5 stones are strong enough (especially if I get G3), that I'm not too worried about Black developing something if I take the corner. But doesn't the fact that I'm happy to give Black the bottom seem to suggest that I'm playing in the wrong direction with B in the first place? Or, maybe my direction is correct and it just means this is a good spot to jump out and fight back against a pincer, especially since I can play G6/G7 as a possible dual threat then?

I'm leaning towards the second idea, and this corner feels slightly urgent (unlike A) since G5 isn't perfectly settled, so I'm picking B.

Joaz Banbeck · **#38**

Uberdude · **#39**

@Joaz

Joaz Banbeck · **#40**

@Uberdude and observers:

#250 amatterof v. Joaz Banbeck

Who is online