What to do next?
Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2017 8:54 pm
Would someone be willing to check my assessment of this position from a recent game that I played as white?
Black just played the marked stone to enclose my corner. I struggled to find the next move largely because it wasn't clear to me what to aim for next. I had a large advantage on the stones on the right that should allow me to kill them if necessary. Without any additional black stones in the area, I judged that I could handle the cuts at O9 and P7.
I don't think it threatens the life of my corner group and while it starts to link up the black stones, there does not seem to be much value in linking those stones at this point. So, I chose to tenuki. However,
I considered the following:
1. I think G5 effectively encloses me. I can't see a way to break through and playing to cut the connection did not seem useful at this point.
2. My lower left corner is my weakest group. But without the ability to break free, it's strategically useless. I could strengthen it with D. But it seems too early for this. I don't think black can kill me. So, the only issue is whether it is the right time to protect the points. Seems too early for that.
3. Black built up some influence in the earlier fight on the top right and has the start of a moyo. So, this is a high priority. I don't think the cuts in the wall on the right work (P15 and Q17), but the wall is still thin enough that I can get in a forcing move (at A for example). B and C also seem like good starting points. Seems like I should be able to live locally.
4. Black's biggest weakness right now is the bottom group. The O3 stone is a tempting target. However, I don't think I can play E immediately. I figured that if I did, the best I could do was to live small on the bottom. The problem is that while I can make the initial play at E, I can't chase the stone up to kill it without jeopardizing by ability to kill the stones on the right. The threat of the black cuts at O9 and P7 would prevent me from killing the black group. And when I defended the cuts, Black would turn around and play against my stones on the left. Black admittedly wouldn't have much use for the central influence, but I figured that if I was going to play to limit black's points, the top was the logical starting place.
5. However, killing the O3 stone would be very valuable. So, F seemed like a good way to hedge my bets at this point. Directly, F allows me to move to the center, but it also threatens to make the invasion at E work. (If we both run up with one-space jumps, F is the move I would not be able to play to trap black due to the cutting points.) I figured that if black responded on the bottom, then I'd have gotten a forcing move and I'd then play to reduce the top. But if black did not defend against E, I'd gain enough points with it to justify ignoring the top to play F.
Black just played the marked stone to enclose my corner. I struggled to find the next move largely because it wasn't clear to me what to aim for next. I had a large advantage on the stones on the right that should allow me to kill them if necessary. Without any additional black stones in the area, I judged that I could handle the cuts at O9 and P7.
I don't think it threatens the life of my corner group and while it starts to link up the black stones, there does not seem to be much value in linking those stones at this point. So, I chose to tenuki. However,
I considered the following:
1. I think G5 effectively encloses me. I can't see a way to break through and playing to cut the connection did not seem useful at this point.
2. My lower left corner is my weakest group. But without the ability to break free, it's strategically useless. I could strengthen it with D. But it seems too early for this. I don't think black can kill me. So, the only issue is whether it is the right time to protect the points. Seems too early for that.
3. Black built up some influence in the earlier fight on the top right and has the start of a moyo. So, this is a high priority. I don't think the cuts in the wall on the right work (P15 and Q17), but the wall is still thin enough that I can get in a forcing move (at A for example). B and C also seem like good starting points. Seems like I should be able to live locally.
4. Black's biggest weakness right now is the bottom group. The O3 stone is a tempting target. However, I don't think I can play E immediately. I figured that if I did, the best I could do was to live small on the bottom. The problem is that while I can make the initial play at E, I can't chase the stone up to kill it without jeopardizing by ability to kill the stones on the right. The threat of the black cuts at O9 and P7 would prevent me from killing the black group. And when I defended the cuts, Black would turn around and play against my stones on the left. Black admittedly wouldn't have much use for the central influence, but I figured that if I was going to play to limit black's points, the top was the logical starting place.
5. However, killing the O3 stone would be very valuable. So, F seemed like a good way to hedge my bets at this point. Directly, F allows me to move to the center, but it also threatens to make the invasion at E work. (If we both run up with one-space jumps, F is the move I would not be able to play to trap black due to the cutting points.) I figured that if black responded on the bottom, then I'd have gotten a forcing move and I'd then play to reduce the top. But if black did not defend against E, I'd gain enough points with it to justify ignoring the top to play F.
is that Black would sacrifice 
. 
