Life In 19x19

85

*Grips the stones with a sense of purpose, anticipating a clash of the minds of the, um, highest level as an enormous sweatdrop is emerges*

Not even at the first move yet...

I've been thinking about mukai komoku lately, so assuming my opponent plays to allow it, I think I will play that. Otherwise, maybe a cross opening?

I decided to take a star point; if another corner is taken, I'll approach the upper right.

This is a deep and meaningful post about the advantages and disadvantages of this particular opening strategy and prepared move. I'll grant it's rather opaque to the uninitiated, however.

I plan to see what white's move is before I formulate a plan. Possibly repeatedly.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . |
$$ | . . 3 , 6 . . . . , . . . . . , 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

that's the reason I approached from a further distance, however I don't think black will yield with a move like 5.

Oh, interesting. I'm inclined to take the last corner and let white figure out how to use the omokuhazushi. The alternative, responding, makes me think that white could treat as a forcing move to prevent an enclosure and move on to the open corner.

That said, I'm not being facetious when I'm saying this is interesting. I much prefer a game like this to YACO (yet another chinese opening) or similar.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 3 , . . . . . , . . . . . , 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

White's game is in its last throes.

I think it works well with 4?

So, I want to play in a way that I don't make white's move work well with his stone in the upper right. First, a few rejections:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

This type of play seems to help white make his stone in the upper right look well placed. I'd also rather not invite the possibility of an avalanche, as white's bottom right will break ladders and giving white the left side strength begs for white to get a favourable approach to the bottom left.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

I don't like this, or other moves on the left, either, since white still has good shape across the top. The outside attachment (not shown) does build the left, but at the expense of the corner and giving white decent strength on top.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

I have considered this pincer, but I feel white can counterattack too easily while fixing his shape. The three space pincer instead is tempting, but I think it gives white a lot of scope for action in the corner, and it doesn't impede O17 from making a base later either. On the other hand, it could be played as a kikashi of sorts, making it hard for white to get a lot from the top. Black could treat it lightly and then move it out later as the circumstances allow.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

This joseki is old but I think may work ok here. Black gets thickness to later harrass the upper left a bit, and can aim at the cut at A. There's no guarantee my opponent will play it though. In addition, black loses sente, so white will likely approach the last corner. I expect I could play a loose pincer if it comes to that. It's also not the easiest to attack the upper right stone, so maybe it's not that ideal here.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

If white plays to split, I think I could be comfortable with something like this.

And now for tenuki...

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , O . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d . . |
$$ | . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . c . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

A move like or the low enclosure to simply enclose the corner seems attractive. It increases the size of a move on the bottom. If white A or B, black can aim to end in sente for C. If white C, black can approach at D and end in sente if white pincers. That doesn't tell me what to do on the upper side, though.

Indeed, because Q4 is low, I'm inclined to think that C3 and R16 have already limited its potential, and so I should move on to my own.

This leaves me thinking about the 3 space high pincer, the 1 space low, the corner enclosure, and now I'm revisiting the knight's move extension.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

At this point, black has sente and there are two points that come to mind, A and B. If A...

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

The bottom becomes big and I think white will play there to limit black's development. On the other hand, it calls for black to approach the corner on the other side. I think I would be satisfied as black to either take the corner in sente or get a good side position here. I'm not very clear on 6-3 joseki myself, but I imagine white would later aim to press black's top right down while building in the center.

If black were to take B, on the other hand, I'm sure white would immediately approach the last corner, and black does have an invasion to aim at later, but it's not the most compelling. White is vulnerable to a shoulder hit on the central stone or a cap there later anyways.

I think I'm going to play this last way (A) because I want to make sure I stay high enough to compete later. If white tenukis a high pincer followup is quite severe.

I may have just overanalysed this, though, and am waffling. Perhaps the other move order, enclosure first, is better. It's certainly an orthodox move, in terms of completing a corner. The other two can go into 5-4 or 6-3 joseki fine. I need to think about these things less.

Nothing special, it just felt like somewhere that wanted to be played.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

One may wonder why I didn't play 8; well, I'd be the last person to give advice on the merits/disadvantages of an opening move in most situations, so there! Okay, but in fact, I've settle to just playing what feels nice and figuring out why I liked a move (or not).

This may be a natural direction for the shimari, but for some reason white felt clumsy on the top side and it didn't feel so big to play here if I could put 6 to good use. I have no idea. Well, here goes...

I'm confused by this move. It feels too loose to be urgent for me, but at the same time, it would be nice to not be sealed in. In that respect, I'm looking at the elephant jump, the keima, ogeima, and attachments a little, but I'm still inclined to tenuki.

Looking at the bottom side, though, it feels a little remote. I think I'm going to play the three space pincer now because whites moves seem to aim at the top side, and this will make it smaller.

I thought that it may be possible for a rough-and-tough approach to succeed, given this is in black's area of influence.