Life In 19x19

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[go]$$Wcm13
$$ --------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X X W . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . W . W . , 2 . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I know things have moved on, but just one comment.

IMO, this invasion means that Joaz has won the battle of ideas on the bottom side. It concedes that the stones are not strong enough for an attack on .

Or another point of view (not necessarily mine): white taking the corner says white's hanging connection group is strong enough that black's move 14 is not a severe attack on them, they are strong enough to handle themselves, and so white can afford to take the corner cash.

Uberdude wrote:Or another point of view (not necessarily mine): white taking the corner says white's hanging connection group is strong enough that black's move 14 is not a severe attack on them, they are strong enough to handle themselves, and so white can afford to take the corner cash.

Sure, but it is not just a question of making a viable group. The group has to be strong enough to justify allowing Black to secure the bottom left corner. And what was the point of White's approach to the bottom right corner? Sure, White can jump into the corner after a pincer, but then amatterof felt the necessity to bolster the hanging connection.

Edit: In the bottom left White traded thickness for territory. But White ends up using it neither for building a framework nor for attack.

Yeah for sure I wouldn't have let black take the lower left corner. Tengen doesn't scare me in a 2h game, just one more stone to die or be dame!

Thanks! That was much clearer than what I tried to say.

We are essentially finished over in the lower right.
Sure, now that he has strengthened himself, there is some aji in his favor: He can capture one of my stones if he wants to.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . . X 3 X 7 . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

For this he gets several points, and I get a stronger group facing northward to work with my tengen and star point stones. That's fine with me if he does it. ( But he probably won't do it anytime soon. )

So we can get back to the unresolved issues in the center / lower left, where he most recently played.

His G5 group is an odd one. I can't figure out what he intends to do with it. He doesn't have much of an opportunity to the south, for I have groups on both sides and can push in.

He can't do much going eastward, for my L4 stone is backed up by a wall in the lower right.

Hs best opportunities seem to be north or west.

If he gets a little stronger with another tobi, he can then use it for a base to invade my framework in the lower right.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

That looks way too good for him, so I would like to cap him like this:

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[go]$$Wcm21
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . 0 C . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

...so that if my L4 stone becomes stronger in a fight, it becomes a serious threat to kill him.

The other direction that he would like to go - primarily for tactical reasons - is westward.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

This strands my C9 stone ( he may be strong enough to prevent it's connection to the tengen stone. ) and eliminates most of my potential for making territory on the left. It may even turn small gote moves like 'a' into sente.

So I could play the solid but unenterprising move like D7 ( I can hear Kajiwara's ghost groaning 'Yesss... do it... it... isss the... proper m... move." )

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm21
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 8 . . O . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

But it is so passive. I've got a substantial advantage in stones in the lower side of the board, and I want to use it rather than letting it evaporate. ( And that groaning may just be an auditory halucination. )

So I want to prevent his play to both the north and the west. The shoulder hit does it. It also improves my grip on left side territory.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What I expect next is for him to get some eye space by pushing against me like this:

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

...or this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

...either of which is fine with me because I get territory and it saves me the trouble of going back to terminate the O3 aji in gote.

Or he could try to fight his way out with C6. It gets bloody and complicated, and some lines do appear to allow him to live small, but at the cost of giving me more influence facing northward and eastward.

I won't even try to show those lines here, for I don't really know what is best. But the general flow seems to favor me.

My first reaction on seeing was that it was a bit greedy and very thin. For those of you who enjoy watching HayleeL's videos as much as I do, I heard her voice in my head saying "Can you do that?"

The good news is that it seems to me that does not kill off C6. I'm convinced I can save it with something like:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc A and B are miai to save C6
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X 2 a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 1 5 X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . 4 3 O . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . b c . . . . . . . . . . O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The problem is that, currently, a Black play at C is also a huge threat against the G5 stones, and removes the option of playing B. (It took me awhile to find this strange shape, but it works annoyingly well for Black.) Therefore, I need to find a way to strengthen them before playing this sequence.

Fortunately, because Black has not played another move on the right, there is some aji in O3 that I can exploit to do just that. The question now is the best way to do so. The main contenders I'm examining are:

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[go]$$Wc A and B are miai to save C6
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . a . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . b . . . . . O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . c . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think the shape point for the G5 stones is A, and it is enough to protect the cut for me to save C6. It's the kind of calm, steady move that tends to get a lot of praise when professionals play it. However, I'm worried it's a bit slow. Would Black regard it as sente against the lower right?

So, my next thought was to see if I could induce Black to help me play C6 in rhythm, and that's where the more aggressive options of B and C come from. (I would probably push at Q6 before playing C.) However, Black has tons of options to resist, and that's what makes this position so complicated.

I'm going to need to think a lot harder before I'm confident about a move here. Key questions are:

• If I play B or C, what happens after Black peeps at H6? Connecting is also enough to save C6, but the lower right starts to look large then.
• If I play A and Black plays something to kill C6, what is my best follow-up against the lower right?
• If I play A and Black takes B, is saving C6 enough? Or do I just end up with two running groups?
• If I save C6, how much damage can I do against the corner? It looks alive, but I should be able to settle at least 1, if not both of my groups.
• Am I sure I don't yet have a sequence that saves C6 more cleanly than the one above? F8 still looks curious.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

This is a tricky one. I've decided that simply playing the shape move at H7 makes life too easy on Black after L7, which not only expands the lower right but threatens to seal off the entire upper right.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . B . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . 1 . 2 . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I also don't like the O5 anymore. It doesn't really gain me anything and just removes aji. That leaves me continuing to explore the L6 cap and the related ideas of K7 and K6:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . B . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . b . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . c a . . . . . O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

These all work to prevent the right from becoming too big, and hopefully I can find a way to come back to C6 later. The H6 peep is still an annoying weakness.

I could probably look at variations here forever without coming a definitive conclusion. I ended up picking this move for two reasons. First, it seems to have a pretty strong follow-up at M5 if Black ignores. Second, I came to the conclusion that virtually any move I picked still had a weakness at H6, but this is at least close enough to (mostly) maintain connection:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Black can't cut with A.
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O 4 a . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . 2 1 . W . . . . . . O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . 3 . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Finally, now if Black plays L6 to try to close off the lower right, it's a contact move against a group I'm trying to strengthen, so it should end up helping me in the end. Something like:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Really not sure what to expect for Black's next move, but maybe L6 is still enough. I feel like I've lost the flow of the game a bit. I'll be curious to see what Joaz actually decides.

amatterof wrote:

$$Wcm21
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . a . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . 4 . 6 . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . 3 7 . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O 2 X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm21
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . a . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . 4 . 6 . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . 3 7 . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O 2 X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

As black, I'd be tempted to tenuki for A or something similar, and let the bottom turn into dame through fighting. It then becomes unclear where white's going to get a lot of points in this game.

I feel pretty good about this game. My opponent has to make moves to defend a group that is out in the center with no definite eyes and no clear purpose. He gets some eye space with this, but he encourages me to respond in a way that helps me.

'Encourages' is an understatement. I have to reply. If he keeps going eastward, O3 becomes a problem. So the only question is where to block.

The contact move at L6 will block, but contact moves usually lead to small, quick fights which tend to resolve aji. He has a dubious group, so I want to keep the situation fluid and uncertain. Thus I step back one space. ( Proverb: "Don't play with your food." )

I want to eventually play H6, for it looks like the shape move. But I don't want to do it too soon, for one of my defensive moves to keep C6 under control is a well-timed F6 threatening both the push through at G6 and the connection to 28 at F7.

This is somewhat encouraging. I am inclined to strengthen my group with L5 and K4, which both should be sente. Then I can pull out C6 if I want or take the big point at K16. Diagrams and better analysis to follow once I am back from travel.

After thinking about it more, I want to find out how Black is going to deal with this before deciding whether to play the L5 and K4 exchanges, because in some instances they are good exchanges and in some they are bad. Black has three main options:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Black Option A
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , , . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X 1 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 9 W 4 X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 7 3 2 O . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O 8 6 0 . . . O . X . . . . O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Black Option B
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X 1 6 . a . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . W 4 X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . 3 2 O . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . 5 . . . O . X . . . . O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Black Option C
$$ ---------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X 1 a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 8 6 W 4 X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . b 7 5 3 2 O . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . O . X . . . . O O . |
$$ | . . . . X X O . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . O . , X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If Black plays Option A, then I get to connect all my stones, and that is enough to settle the G5 group. That means the L5/K4 exchanges were bad, because I've settled twice. However, if Black plays Options B (splitting White) or Option C (sealing White in), then I'll want to play the L5/K4 exchanges as soon as possible so that my G5 stones don't become too weak. The timing of this will be tricky (read: this is somewhat risky), but I think I need to push the envelope a bit to avoid falling too far behind.

A few additional comments on this position:

• K16 still looks really big. I'll probably end in gote here, and it's sad that Black will likely get to play there first, but I felt like jumping there now violated the "urgent before big" principle.
• This line does have the unfortunate impact of making C3 look like a more reasonable move, since it is what helps ensure the Black corner does not die.
• Black does have other options besides (such as E10), but the rest of them all seem to to create positions similar to Option B (splitting White into two groups)
• In option C, there are some tricky life-and-death problems, but I'm convinced I can still make the White stones live. Hope I didn't miss something.

Here goes nothing...