Chew vs Topazg: Thrashing 101
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 3:37 pm
See, the title's a joke, because it was one-sided and because there were 101 stones played. Get it? =P
Hey, I figure it's been a while, so I may as well post a game for review. This one was a really epic game that turned into one of the most brutal thrashings I've experienced in recent history.
And I'll start: 96 should have been at E13. I didn't even notice the possibility of the move Graham played in response.
One minor question: Can black kill if white plays D17 at the end? That's part of why I resigned so early: even if I fought a ko for D11 or played M11 to save my stones, I have very, very few solid points.
(What? Already!) Yep, already! Know what you want to do. This play takes the corner away from White. If you want the outside D5 makes more sense.
What does this mean for Black? White is looking for a fight. In even games this is only played from a White position in the upper left. That does not exist here. So White has two disconnected, low (i.e. potentially heavy) stones. As much as possible you want to avoid fighting, keep White disconnected, and have him settle for small groups on the sides.
As Graham says, C3 is your friend. It would anchor Black while destabilizing White. You may know that Black does not have two eyes yet after C3 (it is a well-researched part of the joseki), but that is only an issue if Black becomes completely surrounded on the outside in later play. F5 feels heavy, pushing from behind and helping White settle the bottom stones. E7 is an alternative that pros have played. If E8, Black comes out with F7 and looks for the opportunity to squeeze White on either the left or the bottom.
This looks thin. Imagine that you attacked on the lower side with J3 in the future. A White play at G5 more or less forces you to answer at the top because of the thin connection. But another stone in the gap will not help because 
This feels slack. If you read Graham's comment, in retrospect Black fell in with White's plan and gave him the opportunity to tenuki here. Beyond that, the shape of the Black group with this and F8 just looks weird. I think Black would have been better off to push at G5. If Graham really wants to tenuki here, the hane at H4 is going to hurt a lot more than anything you could do in the game. If he answers, you keep sent and have the choice of pushing again (how does that saying go, "one good push deserves another"?), giving him a whack at F11, or just taking your favorite big point on the board. BTW, personally I hate aji-keshi moves like G5. In my own games I commit the besetting sin of ignoring them on general principle and failing to read out the advantages that might go along with them. So this comment is definitely a case of "Do as I say, not as I do!" 
... two space high pincer, how would white continue ? Just out of interest. I was trying to think where I would have played 
, but I feel like Joaz' pincer suggestion makes the question almost moot...