robinz wrote:Right, with my apologies once again, let's get this show back on the road!
$$Bcm171 Prisoner Count :w4: :b2:
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O X . . O X X X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . O X . X X O O O O O O . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . X X O O X X X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . O X X O . . X X X |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . O . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . X X X O |
$$ | . O X O O O O . . . . . . . X . X O . |
$$ | . O X X . X X X . . . . . X . X O O O |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , O . X 1 X X X O . |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . X O O O X O X |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . O O X X O O O . |
$$ | . . O . X X X X . X . . . O X O X O O |
$$ | . O O . X O O X O . . . . O X X X X O |
$$ | X X O X . . . O X X . . O . O X . X O |
$$ | . . X O O O . . O , . . . O . X . X X |
$$ | X X X O X O . . . . O . . O . O X X . |
$$ | . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . O X O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Bcm171 Prisoner Count :w4: :b2:
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O X . . O X X X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . O X . X X O O O O O O . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . X X O O X X X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . O X X O . . X X X |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . O . . O . O X O O . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . X X X O |
$$ | . O X O O O O . . . . . . . X . X O . |
$$ | . O X X . X X X . . . . . X . X O O O |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , O . X 1 X X X O . |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . X O O O X O X |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . O O X X O O O . |
$$ | . . O . X X X X . X . . . O X O X O O |
$$ | . O O . X O O X O . . . . O X X X X O |
$$ | X X O X . . . O X X . . O . O X . X O |
$$ | . . X O O O . . O , . . . O . X . X X |
$$ | X X X O X O . . . . O . . O . O X X . |
$$ | . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . O X O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]
OK, so where was I before the long break? Oh yes, I'd convinced myself that I'd messed up somewhere along the line, and that my position was absolutely hopeless unless I found some cunning resource, somehow. Came back to the game tonight, tried a few "cunning" things, and found that they basically didn't work, although they might be worth a try if my position really is hopeless, to see what my opponent comes up with.
But then I took a step back, and looked at "obvious" moves again, such as the one above. When I did, I realised that it was a total mystery to me why I thought that the resulting ko was in any sense bad for me. After the following (more or less a one-way street, if white decides to continue the capturing race, although move orders can vary):
$$Bcm171 Prisoner Count :w4: :b2:
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O X . . O X X X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . O X . X X O O O O O O . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . X X O O X X X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . O X X O . . X X X |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . O . . O . O X O O 3 |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . X X X O |
$$ | . O X O O O O . . . . . . . X . X O 7 |
$$ | . O X X . X X X . . . . . X . X O O O |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , O . X 1 X X X O 5 |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . X O O O X O X |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . O O X X O O O . |
$$ | . . O . X X X X . X . . . O X O X O O |
$$ | . O O . X O O X O . . . . O X X X X O |
$$ | X X O X . . . O X X . . O . O X . X O |
$$ | . . X O O O . . O , . . . O 2 X 6 X X |
$$ | X X X O X O . . . . O . . O . O X X . |
$$ | . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . O X O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 O O . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Bcm171 Prisoner Count :w4: :b2:
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O X . . O X X X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . O X . X X O O O O O O . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . X X O O X X X X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . O X X O . . X X X |
$$ | . . O . O . . . . O . . O . O X O O 3 |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . X X X O |
$$ | . O X O O O O . . . . . . . X . X O 7 |
$$ | . O X X . X X X . . . . . X . X O O O |
$$ | . . X , X . . . . , O . X 1 X X X O 5 |
$$ | . . X X X . . . . . . . X O O O X O X |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . O O X X O O O . |
$$ | . . O . X X X X . X . . . O X O X O O |
$$ | . O O . X O O X O . . . . O X X X X O |
$$ | X X O X . . . O X X . . O . O X . X O |
$$ | . . X O O O . . O , . . . O 2 X 6 X X |
$$ | X X X O X O . . . . O . . O . O X X . |
$$ | . . . X X O . . . . . . . . . O X O X |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 O O . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]
- the ko starts, but what precisely was I afraid of? White still needs three more moves to capture me, and of course he can't afford to fill the ko (or he leaves himself in atari). He makes a big ko threat on top, let's say - I respond, and then what does he do? If he retakes the ko, I can even afford to simply remove a ko threat on top, and he is then still two moves away from capturing me. All he can do is make another, smaller, ko threat - of which he has several, C2 in particular will be mighty annoying, as losing the lower-left corner would still be game-losing. But I think I can see ways to resist and perhaps capture the C5 group first if it comes to that - even if not, I can at least force him to find some accurate moves before calling it a day.
But this position is still mightily confusing me, and I'm sure I'm still missing something key. Oh well, I can't stand the suspense any more, so let's just play it out and see what happens
