Life In 19x19

First of all, after Splatted's 38 the position is not settled in my opinion. After e.g. the simple 2 black has big and solid area in the corner, and the marked exchange becomes clearly very bad for us: it erases possibilities in the corner and doesn't gain us a thing. Additionally, some continuation by white is now needed, otherwise the three stones just float there, waiting a cut and attack later. For example 3 would build a consistent structure in the center and encourage black to play around 4, which would enable us to protec at 5, but the center structure seems too vague to me.

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[go]$$Wcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . B . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X W . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 . O 1 O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , 4 . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Better to stick to earlier plan, or something like it, which utilizes already played stones better. After 1-3 below we are out in my reading, and black can't defend both A and B areas.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X a . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 X X . O . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . b . . O 2 O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

.... .... ....

The original move seems much better than the correction to me.

As per the plan. White can't fix all the cutting points at once.

I don't think that correction by white was worth three points. Indeed, I cannot say for sure that it was an improvement at all.

Ok, white did save the marked stone. Maybe that is worth almost three points to them. But letting us improve our shape with the bamboo joint is worth at least that much to us.
And saving the stone has little tactical value: as I read it, once we have the bamboo joint, white can try to push through at 'a', but we can block at 'b' and hold it.

As Skydyr notes, they have weak spots at 'c' and 'd'.

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[go]$$Wcm32
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X a X X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X W . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X . O . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O d O c . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So I'm considering approving. But part of me is thinking that the push through at 'd' right now would create interesting possibilities.

G17 is strong and solid, but slow. White gets a chance to lock us in, and our cutting stones look weak, particularly with the circled white stones, like this:

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[go]$$Wcm38
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . 2 X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 X X 4 O 7 . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O 3 O 5 6 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . 9 . . . . . . . W . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . W , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

...or a slight variation, like this:

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[go]$$Wcm38
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . 2 X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 X X 5 O . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O 3 O 4 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . 7 . . . . . . . W . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . W , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

We need to get to the cut sooner. So I'm playing this:

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[go]$$Wcm38
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . C X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 X X 2 O . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Ok, it may be a bit risky, and shape purists will lament the loss of the bamboo joint. But actually, the bamboo joint is still there.
Once we have the marked stones, the circled points are miai for the bamboo joint. There are some variations where neither circled play is possible, but I think that we come out ahead in all of those.

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

Trust me. I've read a lot of variations.

What? That defends neither side, and at least at a glance doesn't look lika a convincing attack either? We can just dance away into center, and later take whichever side black doesn't protect. Although the original move was perhaps not best, this seems worse?

I've got to be honest in that I really don't understand what I'm supposed to be getting out of this situation. I've come to the conclusion that I just need to forget about what TIM's planning and what earlier moves imply, and just look at the board and decide what I think is important with the board in it's current state.

The first thing that stands out to me is that the stones on the bottom half of the board are all pretty strong but I have two weak groups on the top, so it's pretty obvious that I need to do something about that. The situation is actually pretty worrying because having two weak groups close to each other is always dangerous, but in this instance it's compounded by the fact that black has no weak groups. Non at all. He has weaknesses of course, but no actual weak groups, so the firstthing I have to consider is whether I can force him to create one and give myself a little breathing room in this fight.

Decending at F17 would seem to do this brilliantly, since it cut's off black's H17 stones and threatens to connect my weak groups, but unfortunately it's not so good if black replies:

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[go]$$Wcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . a . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X 1 . X . W . . W . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X X W . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

undercuts the marked white stones and threatens to connect at "a", so white descends again, but this no longer threatens to connect and white has no prospects for making eyes on the side. I'd have succesfully cut black, but he's in no real danger and instead of strengthening my stones I'd have weakened them. There's definitely potential here, but it needs to wait until I'm strong enough on the outside to be able to threaten black.

Since I can't connect or cut I need to play something to strengthen one of my groups. It's tempting to respond reflexively to black's contact play, but my left hand group is weaker so I think that's where I should play, and there are two moves that come to mind:

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[go]$$Wcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O b W . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X a . . . . . . . . O . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I don't like "a" so much because it's a pretty tenuos connection and it seems to invite black to swallow the marked stone, which pretty much rules out the possibility of a counter attack later.

"b" seems better because it makes white thicker and black thinner. It pretty much forces him to come out with K14/J14 which does look like broken shape for white, but in this instance I like that because it induces L15 which leaves my right hand group feeling pretty solid for the moment.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Splatted wrote: The first thing that stands out to me is that the stones on the bottom half of the board are all pretty strong but I have two weak groups on the top, so it's pretty obvious that I need to do something about that. The situation is actually pretty worrying because having two weak groups close to each other is always dangerous, but in this instance it's compounded by the fact that black has no weak groups. None at all. He has weaknesses of course, but no actual weak groups, so the firstthing I have to consider is whether I can force him to create one and give myself a little breathing room in this fight.

I would not be so worried about our K17 group - with the weak three space black jump on right side and our stone at P12 it seems quite hard to end in big trouble. And our F15 group has aims on the black connections at both left side and top. Black has enjoyable weaknesses in his groups all over the board IMO.

Splatted wrote:Since I can't connect or cut I need to play something to strengthen one of my groups. It's tempting to respond reflexively to black's contact play, but my left hand group is weaker so I think that's where I should play, and there are two moves that come to mind (a,b):

$$Wcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O b W . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X a c . . . . . . . O . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X , X O . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X X O . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O b W . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X a c . . . . . . . O . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O X O . X . . . X . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

General idea: very good I would not play B myself though, it seems a bit heavy and unambitious. I would probably be tempted to try something more ambitious and foolish, not sure what though. Perhaps A or C above? However, I can't call B a bad move.