Life In 19x19

Not the only way to move ahead of Black, but this fairly ordinary-looking reply is probably best in this case. Slow and steady wins the race; not the race to get ahead on the bottom, but the race to tenuki and continue up top with hane. The solid move makes it hardest for White to ignore (the corner would be hurt more), and tends to give me a reasonably solid group. What I really don't want is for Black to take sente easily:

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[go]$$Wcm45 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . 3 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . c O 2 1 . . . b . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X 4 . a . . . . . . # . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

White's extra weakness toward the corner with the possibility of stuff like Black atari at c) makes it tough to adequately punish the corner. Moves like a) and b) are roughly Black's miai; I get an outside position but it's hard to use it now that Black has made the outside solid. The low stable Black stones check against efficient White extensions along the sides.

This move threatens a pretty big cut for him. I considered jumping out, so he couldn't hane and I don't think that'd be bad, but I think there's a good chance that he'll respond to this. If not, I may very well cut here. Also, I'd love to go back to the top left and get in another play there to diminish his cutting stones. Though, invading on the right is also big. We'll just have to see.

I'm resisting, I'm trying to use the cut. As I was saying, I don't like it if I make a nice thickish shape but Black just takes sente:

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[go]$$Wcm41 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I don't quite like switching to the bottom, either, for a similar reason:

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[go]$$Wcm41 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X 7 . . . 9 . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The profit for Black looks very huge on the left, considering how hard it looks to move the White stones.

So I resist. Whether I'm probing or fighting, I must choose a move with a strong followup, because Black can easily attack my shape locally and that's a punishment in itself. Leaning on the pincer stone is a natural candidate because it can help provide aji to help my left side stone so that I can try to forgo direct reinforcement. However I don't like it if Black just plays simply:

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[go]$$Wcm47 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 2 , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X 3 . . . 5 . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

It feels like I must still switch to the bottom with . The attachment doesn't look very effective now. It's just cut off.

So I'm attaching on the other side, to try to use the aji of the cut. Whatever Black does I will probably fight to get a position on the top part, which could make the stone on the bottom part easy to discard.

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[go]$$Wcm47 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 2 . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . # a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . @ . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Of course I will be willing to use the cutting point on here to take a position using if need be. looks pretty useful with respect to the cut on top.

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[go]$$Wcm47 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 3 4 . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . a X 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think I can resist this kind of hane, too. the hane underneath at a) is probably enough to live if I need it.

But I'm basically just fighting to try to bring the game closer. In other words, here goes nothing.

The proverb says to hane when attached, but I think I would just play D12 here as Black. It leaves Black with no aji, and White still has to choose between answering the weakness at D5 or haneing

My last move threatened a cut. He responded with a move that asked me exactly how bad that cut would be. It's a tough question. Two things come to mind: I must make the threat to cut meaningful to make my last move worth playing. If I can't, it was an overplay. And I must makes sure that are able to live.

a, b, c, d, and e. flashed in my mind pretty much in that order. b and c were just about simultaneous.

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[go]$$Wcm41 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O B O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . B B B O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . B B O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . B O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . c O b . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . d X a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

a is simple. It makes the threat to cut bigger. If I cut after a, his stones are in trouble. It makes a big difference. The downside is that it does the least to protect the stones. I like it because it also helps my outside influence which I think is pretty good at this point in the game.


It's a problem if I have to live with and .

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[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O B O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . B B B O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . B B O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . 9 . 7 O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . B O 8 X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . 5 . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 6 O 2 . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X 1 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

b invites a crosscut after which he'd get to strengthen one side or the other. He'll either make my threat to cut weaker or he'll get seal in my top right stones.

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[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O B O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . B B B O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . B B O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . B O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 1 6 . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O B O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . B B B O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . B B O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . B O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 6 7 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 1 . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X 2 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 5 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O B O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . B B B O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . B B O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . B O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 7 O 1 . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . 5 X 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 4 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

b Makes my head spin really. I see all kinds of alternatives and I have no idea which is best.

c is too low. It is submissive. He can just ignore it and be happy that I played such a worthless move. If I had a giant and I mean giant lead, I might consider such a move.

d is also too low. And it has the same issue as b.

e is the type of fancy move that I'm never quite sure about. I think that in most cases, it just invites the opponent to give you bad shape . If he just extends, it is like he peeped and I ignored and he pushed. For beginners:

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[go]$$Bm1
$$. . X . .
$$. O X O .
$$. . O . .[/go]

The above is usually bad shape for white. Black has two cutting points to exploit.

Anyhow, so after much head spinning trying to figure out if I could get a good result from b, I decided to go with a.

I just want to know what the hell you guys would do in this situation. Also, I wouldn't mind comments about timing of moves also.

Sometimes when I'm critiquing the moves of my fellow equals who I know are equal, I see moves that I think look obviously bad. Have you guys felt like I've made any moves like that? If so, which moves. I think it would be interesting to get a different perspective on this. Maybe one or both of us is wrong.

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[go]$$Wcm41 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . d . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O a . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . b X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . @ . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Basically my choices for this move are things like a) and b), or things like c) and d). Anything else is neither here nor there; Black will fix the cut and I won't have a strong enough followup with respect to the two Black stones. a) and b) are bad, in the sense that I don't want to play such moves until I have to. The general pattern is that these are kikashi from the inside, and the outside moves that Black gets in exchange are nice. More specifically, a) leads to hane at the head of two is bad shape for me, b) induces Black to take a good tiger mouth shape while damaging .


It's better to leave these possibilities open and unplayed, if possible; besides there are other ways still that I might try to threaten breaking out, for example:

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[go]$$Wcm41 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . b O , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So using the cut directly is a desirable rythm, now. If I play inside,

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[go]$$Wcm49 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 2 O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . 4 X O 5 X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . 6 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This is really really bad news for White. Connecting solidly is just heavy, but I'm about to be captured directly. At any rate, I can't block Black from expanding the eyespace. This would be horrible.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm49 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . b 2 O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . a X O 3 X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

To put it more bluntly, you don't want to answer Black a) in the diagram above with White b) .


It's true that I can think about this other variation, too:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm49 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 2 O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

But it's the same possibility in both variations, no?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm49 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 3 2 O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Thus it's better to hane from the outside.

Tough spot for White and Black depending on how they respond to each other. I'm prefacing all my comments with the fact I think generally White isn't in a good position so he is only going to get so much.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . a b O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O d X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 1 c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The tesuji here is to cut. Now if White plays A then Black B and if White C then Black D. Black can connect his inner group and his center group at the loss of a stone. White's shape would be stronger.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . 6 1 2 O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . 4 X O 5 X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

White might be able to squeeze out of the way. Btw 6 is mandatory.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . 7 . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 2 O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . 4 X O 5 X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . 6 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

With no ladder or net or squeeze play to catch the 3 middle white stones, White captures black in snapback.

This captures a cutting stone, but allows him a ponnuki.

It's basically the only move. I want power, I need to keep the attacking pressure on Black's two stones, therefore I can't play the other atari to live submissively while Black builds the outside even more (and my lower left stones get punished). I'm playing atari on the outside stone for thickness. I fully expect this much to happen:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm51 Prisoner Count: B-1 W-1 capture at a),b)
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 b X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O 2 X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O a 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

...but you never know, Black may nobi or something. Of course the line that I have read out is a bit longer than this, but since we are for the most part going to be fighting tactically for the next few moves, I'll explain each bit of reading as we come to it; there's not too much else to explain.

This crosscut tesuji is very common. 3 or 4 stones ago, I wouldn't have known about it. There is a shortage of liberties here, so I get to kill the cutting stone and he gets a ponnuki. This makes his group stronger, but it keeps my stones connected. I feel like my stones are working pretty well. Next, I imagine that he'll protect that cutting point with a table shape. I'm getting a pretty big corner this way on the bottom left, but it did allow him to make his group pretty secure. There is still the issue of attacking his weak group and invading his side.

I want to attack those weak stones, but I also want to profit from the attack. I'll have to think about how to do that.

what answer does white have if black play as below???

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm51 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If I was him, I'd want to do something like cap those two stones to attack them, but I'd probably just protect the cut with a table shape. I think that it might be too early to fill that ko. If he plays the table shape, I jump up with my two stones after bumping underneath.