Life In 19x19

dfan wrote:

schultz wrote:I agree. It seems really early for this type of correction (of course I didn't post this until someone much higher in rank than me said something...what a coward).

And wasn't Joaz just talking a while ago about getting W to use up all (or a bunch) of their change "tokens" so they could be at an advantage later in a big fight?

Based on Joaz's correction frequency in the other Big Brother game, I had a feeling that he would not get to make use of that strategy

I agree that using up a correction on this seems pretty weird, but it's not clear to me just how costly corrections are in this game (as opposed to the 2 points they cost in the other game).

It's also worth keeping in mind that this could head into complicated joseki territory that could require a lot more corrections in the future...

I don't know, while Joaz has used a fair number of corrections in my BB game, I think Topazg used even more. Also, from my understanding of Topazg both as a player and from his comments here, I imagine he's going to try to use his corrections for big and early 'direction of play'-type strategic issues. I think by the time 100 moves have passed, Topazg will have used more corrections than Joaz, though only by about 5 or so. We'll see if I'm wrong!

I'm tempted just to take the other corner, but am not sure if that won't leave us too much at a disadvantage in this corner. I really wasn't expecting Joaz's correction here.
I'm also not sure if my move is joseki, since I don't usually check senseis or joseki dictionaries during games.

If I was to take the open corner, I would play a 5-4 or 5-3 to make an approach from joaz's stone not worth as much.

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[go]$$Bc Open corner
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I'm almost sure my move would get corrected, though, either way I played.

I've never seen that move before in my life. I obviously need to reinforce my corner some how without strengthening his connection. I'm debating between 'a' and 'b'. 'a' seems solid but I'm wondering if it violates the rule of staying ahead. If topazg approves this I need sometime to think...

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[go]$$Bc Move 6 - Prisoners: B=0, W=0 Corrections: B=9, W=10
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I'm torn. I want to get sente, really really badly. If we play this jump, can we ignore Black's followup? Probably, we're quite light, but how bad are the followups.. If we already had a stone in the top right I'd definitely play the one point jump, and look to pincer the top edge stone and attack as follows:

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[go]$$Wcm6 Move 6 - Prisoners: B=0, W=0 Corrections: B=9, W=10
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But we don't. So, what does Black do if we pass (read, take the top left)? Keima?

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[go]$$Wcm6 Move 6 - Prisoners: B=0, W=0 Corrections: B=9, W=10
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This looks kind of bad. However, with the two point in play this feels like it sort of works:

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[go]$$Wcm6 Move 6 - Prisoners: B=0, W=0 Corrections: B=9, W=10
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I'm not saying this is going to happen. But it feels possible, and the one point jump would be heavier to tenuki from without playing out the full joseki. I'll think about which top left corner point I want.

Since we didn't tenuki to the open corner previously, its certainly not consistent to tenuki now. If White gets another move at the corner the marked exchange will start looking pretty bad for us. Furthermore, the whole idea was to put pressure on the white approach stone with our pincer, if we tenuki not only will White settle magnificently, it is us who will have to leave small in the corner:

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[go]$$Bc Yuck -c Marked exchange looks horrible
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As to the actual white move, it feels...odd. However, I don't think it is a bad move as it gets out while treating the original stone lightly. White is clearly trying to set up a tenuki to the open corner now. The key weakness is its weak connection. My key goal is to reinforce my corner (which is under pressure) while not letting White fix his weakness easily. This rules the contact move at 'a' out, and I'm certainly not going to try to peep that shape prematurely. 'b' is also a vulgar move that not only does nothing against his stones, but even were he to respond the 'a' - 'b' exchange would just helping White strengthen himself. So the only moves I really considered are 'c' and 'd'.

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[go]$$Bc Moves to consider
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'd' is the first instinct, as prevents myself getting sealed in while keeping abreast of white. However, the problem with this move is that it feels thin to me. If I expect White to tenuki this shape, then this thinness will mute the severeness of any follow up I might have because White can make forcing moves against my stones. For example, the simple attempt to cut will expose my weakness:

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[go]$$Wc Can't cut with 2 pt extension
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The one point jump is far more solid and makes the cut possible if White tenukis:

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[go]$$Bc More solid position letting me cut
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$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Although I am still "behind" White. White cannot forcibly seal me in because of the weakness in his position. I don't think me trying to cut is a good move right away, but it is something I can aim for if I manage to establish a stronger position on the top side. I am fairly certain that White will tenuki to the empty corner after my move, and depending on the way he does it I might be able to establish a more solid position on top. My goal right now is not to obsess over his 2 stones, but try to get stones on both the right and top in the natural flow of the fuseki. When the time presents itself, I may either choose to cut or attack those two stones on a far larger scale.

It seems that the corner won't be open in the next move, so maybe it's better to play there first. I still want to play the 5-4, for some pressure on Joaz's stone.

And happily. I like that. Interesting choice, and the corner I wanted to tenuki to. Good on ya Phelan!

Damnit, that Phelan just keeps throwing me these curve balls. I'm vaccillating between about 5-6 different moves right now, and none of them please me.

So far white has been like a spoilt brat, prancing around the board and tenuking as he pleases. If possible, I want to make him squirm a little with this next move