Life In 19x19

Laman wrote:

$$B Diagram 135-1
$$. , . . . . . , . . . |
$$. . . . . . . O . . . |
$$. . . . . . . . . . . |
$$. . . . . . X . . . . |
$$. . . . X X . . O . . |
$$. . . O X O O 1 . . . |
$$. X X X O . O X . . . |
$$. . X O O O X 3 . . . |
$$. 7 6 . . . 2 4 5 . . |
$$. . . . . . . . . . . |
$$-----------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B Diagram 135-1
$$. , . . . . . , . . . |
$$. . . . . . . O . . . |
$$. . . . . . . . . . . |
$$. . . . . . X . . . . |
$$. . . . X X . . O . . |
$$. . . O X O O 1 . . . |
$$. X X X O . O X . . . |
$$. . X O O O X 3 . . . |
$$. 7 6 . . . 2 4 5 . . |
$$. . . . . . . . . . . |
$$-----------------------[/go]

How about:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Ok, let's try this as punishment. I've given up all 4 corners, it seems. However, the "strong" White side on the right is severely damaged in the process.

I really need to learn how to estimate score. I know, I know ... I should practice here ... I'll give it a try later, I guess.

Another easy choice.

Kirby wrote:Another easy choice.

Locally, seems better -- for one thing, it threatens to link up with (a):

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

OK ... where to next, Kirby? I don't think he'll protect here. Instead, he'll probably tenuki. My money's on F5 ... that's a big point to take right now, I think.

I guess the match has progressed far enough for me to reveal my thoughts.

I guess things start off back here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . W . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think the move I played, above, is a little bit of an overplay. White has lots of cash, and I can afford to give black a little bit. I can play calmly, and I will probably still be ahead.

But I got greedy, and invaded. I don't know how bad of a move it is, but I think that it's a bit of an overplay for me to play the invasion above.

The next moves kind of flowed pretty simply, but I gave black a lot of thickness in the process:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

After this, I think I made my second mistake. Black has problems in his shape, but I needed to read ahead to the result that I wanted.

I'll fast forward a little bit.

When I got to this position, I had a lot of choices, like I mentioned before:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O X O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

One issue that I feel is important to think about in this position is that, while I grabbed some points on the bottom, black's thickness is starting to form in a shining way, I guess I'd call it:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . B . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . B . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O B . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . B B . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O B O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . B B B O X O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . B . . . . B O O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So it makes me think to myself at this point, "This invasion was probably an overplay. I don't feel like these points are the biggest area on the board, anymore.".

In fact, if black were to have tenuki-d after my move, and played something like this, I would have been a bit worried:

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[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . B . . . . . . O X O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . . W . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So I felt that it was necessary for me to get sente. So I considered the options I had laid out before. The most straightforward is to simply take a stone. I liked nearly all variations that I ran into with this choice, but I couldn't find a way to happily deal with this move:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O X O . B . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O . O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Sure, I can hane under, but I don't think I'm going to end in sente:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . C O . . |
$$ | . . . . 5 . . . . . . O X O . 1 . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O . O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O O . 2 3 . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Black might have some effort to expend if I play the marked intersection next, but black's bottom moyo isn't something that I want to deal with.

So I considered the next most obvious move:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O X O W . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Again, I don't know how to respond and get sente in this sequence:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

In fact, where do I even play? It's not clear to me that black can't live. It seems like black might have a move in this area after this kind of a sequence:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O X O O X 2 . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . O X . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

In any event, even if black didn't have anything, I was almost certain I wouldn't get sente.

That's what really lead me to the move I selected. I wanted sente:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O X . 2 . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . 3 1 . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I actually thought about taking sente one move earlier, but the atari buys me the fact that black can't play this sequence as easily:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Obviously, if I cut at 'a' immediately in an effort to grab his stone, it's not working that well:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O X . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O 6 O O X 1 . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . 4 O X 5 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now, though, it's easy to tenuki:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

So I guess if I were to summarize, I think that I came to two conclusions:
1.) I think that my initial invasion was an overplay. It gave black a lot of thickness.
2.) I was desperate to get sente.

Well, I guess there's a third conclusion, if I back up to the point in this discussion where I "fast-forwarded" from. Since I played the way I did to get sente, it makes me wonder if I should have waited on atari-ing black's weaknesses, and simply extended with something like this, maybe:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . 1 4 X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . 3 O 2 6 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This doesn't sacrifice stones, and black is a little less thick. Still, though, black might take sente...

So I guess all in all, I only really regret the invasion. I think it was a bit of an overplay.

Now, though, I have sente, so I can act in the area where it's really important. In my opinion, that's around here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . x x . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . x x x . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . x x x x . . . O X . X X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . x x x . X X X O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X x x . . X O O . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If I can reduce this area, black really doesn't have much. And that works out nicely to me.

Now I've just gotta figure out where the best place is to reduce from...

I'm leaning toward one of the following:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 . . . . . O X . X X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . 3 . . . . O X . X X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . 1 2 . . X X X O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The latter seems more risky, but I wonder if I can get away with it.

No need to be fancy. I feel confident with this board.

Kirby seems to always post about 3 times before he makes his move.

Of course, being right about where he moved doesn't mean I have any clue about how to handle it ...

I think I'll take a page out of Kirby's book and think on this a little more ...

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . 8 . . . . . O X . X X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Awesome move by kirby I'm not sure what Black can do. I'd go with a strategy to turn the center into territory I guess. Maybe...

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . 7 4 3 1 . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . 8 O 2 . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . 9 . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . 0 . . . . . O X . X X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Cause some trouble on the right and try to eke out some territory?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 9 . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , 1 7 . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O 2 3 6 |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 4 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . O X . X X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Or maybe create some chaos

How do I manage to get myself into a lot of trouble.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . a . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . b . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . c . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . 8 . . . . . O X . X X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I've got my eye on both a and b ... still reading.

I guess I could also try to play c and keep as much of the center as I can ... but there are so many holes in my central influence, you could play a full round of golf with it.

Still thinking ...

My prediction:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . 8 9 . . . . O X . X X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . X O O . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Of course, he may have other elaborate plans.

All my reading is failing me ... I don't know where I'm going to take this game. LOL ... Kirby's gonna slaughter me.

I don't think there's much to think about here. If he does a center-oriented move, he just hurt this stone with the exchange:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm61 Prisoner Count:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O O X X . . X O O O O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X X X O , . . X . X O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . . . . X X X X . |
$$ | . . . O . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . X . . . . . X X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O O . . . . O X . X X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X X X O X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . B . . . . X O O . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Can't stop now! C'mon Kirby!

Is it wrong to be cheering for your opponent? I'm going to do what I can, but I think Kirby has this game well in hand ...