An Appreciation of Go (Marcus' Study Journal)

[Marcus]

Ah, good old thread necromancy!

Hello again, folks! Every few months I decide I should try this whole "learning to become better" thing again, if only to find things to share with those of you who might find them interesting.

Brutal honesty: I'm a terrible student. I have never studied well in my life. All these study journals talking about the books they are reading and the problems they are working on make me a bit jealous. If I crack open a Go Book, I lose my attention span within a few pages. Go problems are a bit easier for me to work on, but I tend not to examine them too closely. This means I don't really get enough out of them. (I love puzzles, though, so interesting tsumego can keep my attention for a fair while.)

So, anyways, what am I going to do this time around? Well, how about I play more Go? Yeah, that sounds about right. Maybe I'll also talk about a few interesting subjects (3-3 invasions, ladders, nets, etc), in an attempt to urge myself to learn more about them.

Stay Tuned!

[Shaddy]

I've never been much for theory books either. Books with problems are fine, books for reference for joseki or tesuji or whatnot are fine, but theory books are boring. I think it's better to play lots of games and go over them carefully

[Marcus]

... and go over them carefully

This is probably the big thing I need to force myself to do. I might play a couple games tonight and go through them ... just need the kids to get down to bed.

[Marcus]

Well, I dropped to 3k for a short period and just got back to 2k on KGS with my last game. Here's a position close to the end (I'm Black):

$$c What can Black do?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W . . . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c What can Black do?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W . . . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Here's what I did (hidden for those who like to guess):

$$c Cut!
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 1 O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W . . . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c Cut!
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 1 O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W . . . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now my stones are ALL connected. Neither ladder works. My opponent misread this, and allowed the following:

$$c What can Black do?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 3 1 O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W 2 5 . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c What can Black do?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 3 1 O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W 2 5 . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The ladder still works, no matter what way white tries, and I win the liberty race if he tries a net. He did play through a few moves before realizing I still had the ladder breaker.

Here's a completely plausible alternate position where the ladder works:

$$c Black can't do this
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . B . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . B . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 3 1 O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W 2 5 . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c Black can't do this
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . B . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . B . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 3 1 O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W 2 5 . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Because of a choice in the opening to play the solid joseki instead of reaching farther. Awesome that my choice of move 9 of the game gave me this opportunity, though of course I only flailed around (as usual) until the opportunity presented itself.

And here's the full game. Beware ... my play could be described as ugly and terrible in many places.

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2]
RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[6.50]TM[1500]OT[5x30 byo-yomi]
PW[razzberry]PB[Marcus316]WR[3k]BR[3k]DT[2012-01-20]PC[The KGS Go Server at http://www.gokgs.com/]C[Marcus316 [3k\]: hi, enjoy
razzberry [3k\]: hi!
]RE[B+Resign]
;B[pd]BL[1497.186]
;W[dp]WL[1497.015]
;B[pq]BL[1495.283]
;W[dc]WL[1494.093]
;B[de]BL[1487.83]
;W[ce]WL[1491.408]
;B[cf]BL[1486.178]
;W[cd]WL[1490.098]
;B[df]BL[1481.103]
;W[fc]WL[1488.396]
;B[cj]BL[1468.517]
;W[qo]WL[1483.226]
;B[qm]BL[1458.01]
;W[op]WL[1472.648]
;B[pp]BL[1453.004]
;W[po]WL[1469.309]
;B[oo]BL[1451.729]
;W[on]WL[1465.87]
;B[no]BL[1450.355]
;W[pm]WL[1463.812]
;B[pl]BL[1448.706]
;W[oq]WL[1382.48]C[Marcus316 [3k\]: This is one of those joseki that I've always enjoyed.
Marcus316 [3k\]: don't know this line, though
]
;B[or]BL[1250.528]
;W[nq]WL[1374.56]
;B[nm]BL[1247.551]
;W[nr]WL[1363.998]
;B[om]BL[1233.408]
;W[pn]WL[1360.147]
;B[nn]BL[1231.86]
;W[pk]WL[1334.794]
;B[ro]BL[1223.3]
;W[ql]WL[1319.156]
;B[ol]BL[1217.104]
;W[qp]WL[1314.167]
;B[qq]BL[1211.503]
;W[rp]WL[1303.421]
;B[rq]BL[1203.984]
;W[rm]WL[1299.555]
;B[qk]BL[1190.483]
;W[qn]WL[1265.234]
;B[pr]BL[1184.308]
;W[qj]WL[1253.56]
;B[rk]BL[1180.141]
;W[rj]WL[1219.688]
;B[sp]BL[1171.22]
;W[rn]WL[1200.467]
;B[pj]BL[1147.528]
;W[ok]WL[1196.434]
;B[oj]BL[1142.214]
;W[nk]WL[1192.97]
;B[mj]BL[1141.359]
;W[mk]WL[1165.499]
;B[qi]BL[1137.356]
;W[ri]WL[1160.013]
;B[rh]BL[1133.715]
;W[qh]WL[1143.186]
;B[si]BL[1131.921]
;W[pi]WL[1141.266]
;B[sj]BL[1130.621]
;W[qi]WL[1139.308]
;B[rg]BL[1128.059]
;W[rl]WL[1128.788]
;B[sk]BL[1124.337]
;W[sh]WL[1126.081]
;B[sg]BL[1122.849]
;W[sl]WL[1123.114]
;B[sh]BL[1121.145]
;W[qg]WL[1116.752]
;B[rf]BL[1119.499]
;W[qf]WL[1084.993]
;B[re]BL[1117.467]
;W[ng]WL[1029.846]
;B[sn]BL[1112.318]
;W[so]WL[1021.776]
;B[lk]BL[1097.22]
;W[ll]WL[1008.287]
;B[ro]BL[1095.402]
;W[qe]WL[935.652]
;B[qd]BL[1087.539]
;W[so]WL[932.959]
;B[nj]BL[1082.722]
;W[ml]WL[912.754]
;B[ro]BL[1077.52]
;W[rc]WL[877.352]
;B[rd]BL[1072.912]
;W[so]WL[874.574]
;B[mr]BL[1070.496]
;W[mq]WL[859.929]
;B[ro]BL[1068.659]
;W[sr]WL[849.023]
;B[sq]BL[1060.727]
;W[so]WL[828.288]
;B[lq]BL[1044.773]
;W[sm]WL[820.576]
;B[lr]BL[1040.835]
;W[mp]WL[815.503]
;B[lo]BL[1021.706]
;W[lp]WL[790.656]
;B[kp]BL[1019.638]
;W[ms]WL[727.323]
;B[mo]BL[1007.107]
;W[kq]WL[719.748]
;B[np]BL[1003.102]
;W[jp]WL[715.637]
;B[ko]BL[1000.143]
;W[kr]WL[705.579]
;B[ns]BL[998.656]
;W[kk]WL[702.528]
;B[lj]BL[993.599]
;W[kj]WL[679.893]
;B[lh]BL[989.375]
;W[jm]WL[635.526]
;B[kl]BL[976.709]
;W[km]WL[627.334]
;B[jl]BL[973.859]
;W[il]WL[622.149]
;B[jk]BL[972.512]
;W[ki]WL[620.238]
;B[lm]BL[967.576]
;W[ik]WL[593.602]
;B[jj]BL[965.267]
;W[ij]WL[591.93]
;B[ji]BL[948.556]
;W[jh]WL[589.776]
;B[ii]BL[830.012])

[Magicwand]

here is what i selected as next move in hidden

what you have played is not bad...but i wouldnt play that becasue i have a chance to break my opponents effort to come back now. my move is attacking three group at same time and one or two group will die big and your opponent will have to resign.

$$c What can Black do?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . O . . . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c What can Black do?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . O . . . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

your variation will put black into good position so it is fine but white will play as below and try to make a comeback. althought is is not easy...it will risk your win and make this game longer than needed.

$$c What can Black do?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 2 1 O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W 3 . . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c What can Black do?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 2 1 O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W 3 . . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

i am not saying that your move is wrong...but learn to kill your spirit when you have a chance.
that will make you a strong player that will intimidate other like Lee seh-dol.

[Marcus]

Thanks for the idea, MW!

Your last diagram is what I expected to happen, so your move is definitely something more interesting to consider.

[SoDesuNe]

$$Bc What can Black do?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . 1 . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W . . . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc What can Black do?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . 1 . . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . O X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O X |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , O X X X X X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X O O O O X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O O . X X O O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . W . . . X X O . O O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X X X X O O . O |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O X . . X . X O O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . X X X X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O X X . X . . . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Without reading any further this was my first instinct ^^

[Marcus]

Thread Necromancy!

Hailthorn recently pointed out that he'd reached his 1000th game. I was curious to see what my stats might look like.

I'm going to be generous and say I've played 30 games on a real board. That just leaves my KGS games. Using the KGS Analytics page, I see:

1122 Wins
1208 Losses

Add them all up ... 2360 games so far. Not far to go to reach 2500!

I'm currently back at 3k on KGS. A little bit of work will be needed to get back to 2k, I think.

Joined the ASR League again. Hope it helps to get me back in shape a little.

[Marcus]

Ok, I'm back.

Been a long while. Apparently I'm floating at 2k KGS right now, but I feel very weak. My play feels like it's full of holes and that I'm lucky to eek out the wins I've obtained.

Question to anyone who wants to answer ... is there a standard response to the following (which I don't actually think is joseki):

$$Wc What should Black do?
$$ ---------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . 8 . . . . . . .
$$ | . 7 4 1 9 . . . . .
$$ | . . 5 6 . . . . . ,
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . . .
$$ | . a . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . , . . . . . ,

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc What should Black do?
$$ ---------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . 8 . . . . . . .
$$ | . 7 4 1 9 . . . . .
$$ | . . 5 6 . . . . . ,
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . . .
$$ | . a . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . , . . . . . ,[/go]

I ran into this early in a recent game (colours may have been reversed), and couldn't for the life of me figure out what I should do ... I decided to play at a, cutting off , but is that a reasonable choice? What other options should I consider?

[EdLee]

Hi Marcus, you have two ways to atari = .

Var 1. sente, at a local vital point of B's shape:

$$B
$$ ---------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . 4 X . . . . . . .
$$ | . O X O O . . . . .
$$ | . 2 Q X . . . . . ,
$$ | . 3 1 X . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . W . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Var 2. Broken shape for :

$$B
$$ ---------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . X . . . . . . .
$$ | . O X O O . . . . .
$$ | 6 1 Q X . . . . . ,
$$ | . 4 2 X . . . . . .
$$ | . 5 3 . . . . . . .
$$ | . . W 7 . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Which to choose probably depends on the global situation ?
( Var 2 seems stronger for B locally.
After you sacrificed the extra ,
it seems to me a bit of waste not to take advantage of . )

[Shaddy]

Ed, your var 2 is Black's "refuted" line for the trick play, and var 1 is the "tricked" line. Note that Black has sente in var 2.

[EdLee]

Hi Shaddy, thanks. Originally, I had a question about
Whether is sente in var 2, but I wasn't sure,
so I left it out of the post.

I had missed the throw-in :

$$W tenuki; takes the ko
$$ ---------------------
$$ | 6 7 8 . . . . . . .
$$ | 3 2 X 9 . . . . . .
$$ | . O X O O . . . . .
$$ | O B O X . . . . . ,
$$ | 5 O O X . . . . . .
$$ | 4 X X . . . . . . .
$$ | . . O X . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W tenuki; takes the ko
$$ ---------------------
$$ | 6 7 8 . . . . . . .
$$ | 3 2 X 9 . . . . . .
$$ | . O X O O . . . . .
$$ | O B O X . . . . . ,
$$ | 5 O O X . . . . . .
$$ | 4 X X . . . . . . .
$$ | . . O X . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .[/go]

[Marcus]

Thanks, Ed and Shaddy!

It's things like this that I'm sure I used to know ...gonna be a long path to reclaim a lot of those memories.

Of course, I've forgotten a number of bad habits to, right? (Here's hoping, anyways )

[ez4u]

Note that Ed's first line is used when this shape comes up in a 5-4 joseki, without a pincer stone to wrap around.

[skydyr]

Is there a reason this wouldn't work, assuming the direction is fine?

$$Wc
$$ ---------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . 9 . b . . . . .
$$ | . 7 4 1 8 . . . . .
$$ | . . 5 6 . . . . . ,
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . . .
$$ | . a . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . , . . . . . ,

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . 9 . b . . . . .
$$ | . 7 4 1 8 . . . . .
$$ | . . 5 6 . . . . . ,
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . . .
$$ | . a . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . , . . . . . ,[/go]

Followed by blocking on whichever side is largest, at A or B.