Life In 19x19

Committed ...

(For beginners, mostly.) B is trying hard to make eyes here in this fight,
so he decided to tolerate the broken shapes from his last 3 moves:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bm121
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . X , O X X . . , . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . O O O X . X X O O . . . B @ O X . . |
$$ | O . O X X X O O X . X . . . @ B X . . |
$$ | . O X . X . O X X . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . X X . . O . O . . . B X Y @ O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . @ @ X O @ Y O . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . O , B O O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Charge of the light brigade is such a good poem. We've even got our own little valley of death.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm121 Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . . X X . . . X . X O O . O O O . |
$$ | . O X X O . X . . . . . X O . X O X . |
$$ | . O O O O . O O . , X . X O . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . X @ @ . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X @ X . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . X @ . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . X . . @ @ @ . . . @ X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . @ @ X . |
$$ | . . X , O X X . . , . . . . . @ X . . |
$$ | . O O O X . X X @ @ . . . 3 . @ X . . |
$$ | O . O X X X O O X . X . . . @ X X . . |
$$ | . O X . X . O X X . . . . . @ . . . . |
$$ | . X X . . O . O . . . X X 1 2 O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . O O X O O X O . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . O , X O O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

How many will make it back?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bm121
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . X , O X X . . , . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . O O O X . X X O O . . . # @ O X . . |
$$ | O . O X X X O O X . X . . . @ # X . . |
$$ | . O X . X . O X X . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . X X . . O . O . . . B X Y @ O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . @ @ X O @ Y O . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . O , B O O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

It seems like these three "broken stones" are not at all alike. With , playing that move induces White to break Black's shape and. So the broken shape shows that Black is giving up a lot. But and were forcing moves after White had already sealed in their companion stones. There were already three stones when Black added and they were already cut off. What insight does talking about the broken shape give here?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cBm121
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . X , O X X . . , . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . O O O X . X X O O . . . # @ O X . . |
$$ | O . O X X X O O X . X . . . @ # X . . |
$$ | . O X . X . O X X . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . X X . . O . O . . . B X Y @ O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . @ @ X O @ Y O . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . O , B O O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

As they say, you shouldn't play close to thickness. This sort of broken shape is an extreme case of playing close to thickness.

The bad effects of a broken shape don't depend on order of play. In general you get a broken shape because you play two stones and then, due to some miscalculations, are forced to permit the opponent to play two consecutive moves, breaking the shape. In this case, there was already a white wall in place, but unfortunate circumstances compel topazg to play kikashi next to the wall.

Whichever move order creates the broken shape, the immediate sequence which creates the broken shape may be best for both sides, but the situation which necessitates the broken shape is bad for the side that is saddled with the broken shape. (It's the same with empty triangles. [Made-up numbers ahead.] 60% of the time, empty triangles are played by beginners who don't know any better. 35% of the time, the third stone in the empty triangle is necessary, but the sequence leading up to the empty triangle was somehow suboptimal. 5% of the time, the empty triangle is genuinely a great move.)

hyperpape wrote:It seems like these three "broken stones" are not at all alike.

Not all broken shapes are bad, either; here's one from a basic joseki:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . X . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . O . . . . . .
$$ | . . X O . . . . . ,
$$ | . . X O @ B . O . .
$$ | . . X B @ . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ ---------------------[/go]

Or, if a broken shape kills a 50-stone group to win a game, it can even be brilliant.
Same with the empty triangle and other dumpling shapes.

hyperpape wrote:What insight does talking about the broken shape give here?

From my experience there are quite a few 1d's or even 2d's who still don't understand broken shapes.

Just like when we all first learned about the basic atari, or the empty triangle, etc.,
the first step to studying broken shapes is to be able to see (sight) them. So I noted (For beginners, mostly).

I thought it's interesting that the local situation got topazg
to make FOUR broken shapes in a row (starting with 117- 118).
They may or may not affect the local fight; we'll find out soon enough.
But the first step for beginners (and even a few others) is to see them.

I think the way order of moves matters is in what it tells you. If you play out a sequence, and end with a broken shape, that is a cost of the sequence. In this case, two of the three broken shapes were there because black played forcing moves against white, but the broken shape was made along with a stone that had been on the board for a long time. You can't say that's the broken shape is a cost of the present sequence.

I don't think the order of the moves matters a huge amount.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cBm121
$$ | . . . . .
$$ | . O . . .
$$ | . X X . .
$$ | . . O . .
$$ | . . . . .
$$ | . . . . .
$$ | . . X . .
$$ | . O X O .
$$ | . . X . .
$$ | . . . . .
$$ | . . . . .[/go]

No matter what order the stones were played in, black's stones are intrinsically working together more efficiently. He can help all of his stones without harming the others, and they share liberties. White, on the other hand, can only help one stone, leaving the other to its fate. I don't think the order of the moves matters a great deal. There's no order you can play them in that will make the white stones share liberties. On a related note:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cBm121
$$ | . . . . .
$$ | . W . . .
$$ | . X X . .
$$ | . . X . .
$$ | . . X . .
$$ | . . X . .
$$ | . . X . .
$$ | . . X W .
$$ | . . X . .
$$ | . . . . .
$$ | . . . . .[/go]

We'd all agree that the stones are in an awful place. W really shouldn't have played them so close to thickness. But walls don't spring out of nowhere.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cBm121
$$ | . . . . .
$$ | . O . . .
$$ | . B X . .
$$ | . W X . .
$$ | . O X . .
$$ | . O X . .
$$ | . O X . .
$$ | . W B O .
$$ | . O X . .
$$ | . O . . .
$$ | . . . . .[/go]

It's most likely that the wall which W suddenly needs to play close to was formed in an exchange where each side got a string of stones. So analyzing broken shape, playing close to thickness, and the efficiency of the stones in the marked pairs seems to me to be closely related, and all very important. But what do I know?

(Of course, this is different from when a beginner plays a pre-peeped jump, and immediately gets a broken shape. There, to see that he's using his stones inefficiently, he has to read two moves ahead. When I get broken shape, normally there are multi-pronged threats and ataris involved. I could see that I was using my stones inefficiently if I could read 5 moves ahead. To predict that a territory-influence exchange will result in a need to play kikashi stones adjacent to the wall to make life for a weak group requires much stronger reading, but it's fundamentally the same kind of analysis: the moves I'm playing here eventually become inefficient, so I shouldn't play here.)

Fundamentally I think that the / exchange helps White by creating future shortage of liberty problems for the Black stones. That said, the situation looks very tense to me. I expect Black to continue at below...

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[go]$$Bc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . . X X . . . X . X O O . O O O . |
$$ | . O X X O . X . . . . . X O . X O X . |
$$ | . O O O O . O O . , X . X O . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . X O O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . e X . X O . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . X . d O O O . 4 5 O X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . 7 1 6 O O X . |
$$ | . . X , O X X . . , c . 3 2 . O X . . |
$$ | . O O O X . X X O O b . 8 X W O X . . |
$$ | O . O X X X O O X . X . a . O X X . . |
$$ | . O X . X . O X X . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . X X . . O . O . . . X X X O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . O O X O O X O . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . O , X O O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now what? My first thought was "a" (actually I also considered simply "a" without connecting at the marked stone - if Black cut, White could push up in sente and easily trade the five stones for the whole center. However, Black does not have to cut immediately and the situation is just too complex to figure out. My current expectation is to answer with etc. and cut at . I am not sure what Black will choose next. Note that Black "b" threatens to connect to the left by capturing my two stones. I pretty much have to answer around "c" to keep things going (The patzer's lament, "If only I had traded "d" for "e" earlier!" I honestly do not know what happens here, but it seems unlikely that we will need to play out the yose.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ . . . O . .
$$ . . X X O O
$$ . 1 2 O X .
$$ . . X . X .
$$ . . . . . .[/go]

I think all of us will agree this can be a good move* and is not necessarily indicative of a mistake, though it contains a conventionally broken shape for white. I think slight differences in our semantics are the root of any "disagreements" here.

Anyway, so topazg was right, ez4u wasn't going to ignore that peep (while I was writing this...)

Edit:
*good and not especially rare

i think i may have a too restricted idea of the broken shape, or at least a too restricted idea about when its bad.
To me, It is bad when it allows spliting attacks between 2 unsettled group, or generally when the 2 splitted groups are attackable.
To me it not a big deal if either,
both side are unconditionnaly alive,
or one of the side can be treated lightly, or is even already dead (loons example).

This seems to me to be the case here for topazg move so here even tough i see the broken shape it would not bother me to play it.
Seems that it should bother me.
I suppose it can give forcing move to W, or create shortage of liberties as ez4u mentionned

The finale approaches. I chose against the other move because I think this makes me cry a little:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm121 Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . . X X . . . X . X O O . O O O . |
$$ | . O X X O . X . . . . . X O . X O X . |
$$ | . O O O O . O O . , X . X O . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . X O O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . X O . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . X . . O O O . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . 6 . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . X , O X X . . , . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . O O O X . X X O O 5 . . X O O X . . |
$$ | O . O X X X O O X . X . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . O X . X . O X X . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . X X . . O . O . . . X X X O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . O O X O O X O . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . O , X O O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I was back and forth in my mind all day yesterday over what to play here. I still have no clue what is best. I went back to this because I think it is less complex.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . . X X . . . X . X O O . O O O . |
$$ | . O X X O . X . . . . . X O . X O X . |
$$ | . O O O O . O O . , X . X O . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . X O O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . X O . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . X . . O O O . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . O O X . |
$$ | . . X , O X X . . , a . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . O O O X . X X O O 4 . . X O O X . . |
$$ | O . O X X X O O X . X . 1 . O X X . . |
$$ | . O X . X . O X X b . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . X X . . O . O . 3 2 X X X O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . O O X O O X O . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . O , X O O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Basically I concluded that Black probably escapes or lives while White captures a couple of stones in order to connect and live. Next I expect Black to exchange for and then play . I do not think I have time to answer with "a", my right side is too weak. I probably need to secure my connection while Black captures the two center White stones. If Black plays at "b" instead of , I will not answer it. This leaves the possibility that Black will capture in sente and end up living in the center. That is OK as long as I am safe as well.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm121 Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . . X X . . . X . X O O . O O O . |
$$ | . O X X O . X . . . . . X O . X O X . |
$$ | . O O O O . O O . , X . X O . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . X O O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . X O . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . X . . O O O . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . O O X . |
$$ | . . X , O X X . . , . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . O O O X . X X O O a . c X O O X . . |
$$ | O . O X X X O O X . X . 6 d O X X . . |
$$ | . O X . X . O X X . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . X X . . O . O . . b X X X O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . O O X O O X O . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . O , X O O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Considering one of these. I think "c" and "d" are just foolish, as I don't have time to attack the right side yet. "a" looks like the most logical way of making miai of building strength and escaping, but I need to read whether I can get "b" in first - I think I can, but if it's not sente I'm in a lot of trouble.

The purpose of getting "b" isn't to kill the 4 white stones of course, it's to up the liberties and shape of my own 4 to make his right side group suffer and squirm for a little bit longer.

I wondered if Dave would play this move

Oh well, this is, as the professionals say, "looking for a place to resign". The loss at the bottom is big enough that unless I kill something, I'm about 15 points behind going into to yose - if Dave gets sente _as well_, I'm going to resign. If I get sente instead, I'll play out my sente endgame, and count, and unless I'm 5 points behind or better, I'll resign when he takes sente back.

I decided on this move because the shape here for my 4 stones sucks enormously because of the marked White stone, so I really have no choice if I want any belief that the fight isn't over yet:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm121 Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . . X X . . . X . X O O . O O O . |
$$ | . O X X O . X . . . . . X O . X O X . |
$$ | . O O O O . O O . , X . X O . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . . X O O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O X . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X . X O . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . X . . O O O . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . O O X . |
$$ | . . X , O X X . . , . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . O O O X . X X O O 7 . . X O O X . . |
$$ | O . O X X X O O X . X . W . O X X . . |
$$ | . O X . X . O X X . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . X X . . O . O . . 8 X X X O O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . O O X O O X O . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . O , X O O X . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]