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[go]$$Bc Move 31 - W: 13, B: 12
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O . . X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 3 2 5 . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . 4 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . O . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I predict that it will be approved

Though I don't like doing it, I suppose White's not going to treat it as gote because of the lower left. The reason it has its merits is:

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[go]$$Bc Move 31a - W: 13, B: 12
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O 4 5 X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X 6 3 O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X 8 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X 0 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . O . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

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[go]$$Bc Move 31a - W: 13, B: 12
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . 6 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O 5 4 X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X . 3 O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . O . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Gargh, too late, my stupid variation sucks!

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[go]$$Bc Move 31a - W: 13, B: 12
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O 4 5 X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X 6 3 O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X 8 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X 0 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . O . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

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[go]$$Bc Move 31a - W: 13, B: 12
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O O X X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X 3 4 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O 5 . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . O . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Maybe Black can attack the left... ?

It's ok if variations don't work, this is the momentum play, and it's not like we have to try and kill or anything, the objective is to break up the situation and get better prospects. My feeling right now is that at least F6 looks good.

My comments may be a bit short this time, but I feel fairly happy with this move. This FINALLY buys us safety for our side group, so after this, we can move on to worry about bigger and brighter things. I'm not very happy with how this whole corner's gone. Black is alive with a few points in the corner. We have two ALMOST stable groups, and black has better positions on the outside. If we don't play one more move for this group, the result looks grim (Black hanes first and pushes us down to the second line, at best). However, I think we finally have enough liberties and are close enough to D7 to get off the third line. If we get B14, we get a decent number of points in gote, but that's for much later. I would feel remiss if I didn't include a diagram to pictorialize (word?) some of the thought processes I just explained. So here's what happens if black tries to cross-cut after we get this move in.

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[go]$$Bc Move 31a - W: 13, B: 12
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O . . X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 8 O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 7 O 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 5 3 2 . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . 6 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . O . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Yeah, looks like we have enough liberties once we do the hane. If we don't do the hane first, black can, and then we have to run on the second line. Also, if we don't stop at some point to block at B14, black can monkey jump most of our eyespace away. Looks grim, so let's get some stability.

This game isn't horrible for us or anything, but I figure next, black will either attack our weak group on top, or approach the bottom right. Doesn't look great. Time for tourney sleep. Catch you on the flip side. (Cheesey one-liners for victory).

My teammate has made the right move for the wrong reasons. Or maybe it is not accurate to say 'for the wrong reasons'; I should say the he has made the right move for secondary reasons, while ignoring the primary reason.
I fear that younger brother is over-focussed on the side. While he is making good decisions for it, the side group is a secondary priority. It is safe. As mentioned a few posts back, it has two directions to run, and either direction is ok with me. ( not ideal, just ok )
It is the top group that we must be concerned about. That is the primary reason for making this move. To ensure the safety of the top group, it helps to short the liberties of the central black group. When the top group runs, it will be able to attack while running. The fewer liberties that the black group has, the easier it will be to attack it.
I hope to have time later to post diagrams explaining this.

I'm now back home with a reliable internet connection.

With black's last move, they got enough liberties to threaten this:

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

...which continues like this:

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

And we end up like this, in which white's upper group is almost certainly dead:

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[go]$$Bc The crucial position, that black threatens to get after their last move.
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O O X X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X O X O O a . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . O . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Black has simple connecting moves like 'a' and 'b' to ensure that his surrounding groups stay alive long enough to kill the upper white group.

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[go]$$Wc White's best try
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . 9 8 . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O 0 5 1 2 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O 6 . 3 4 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O O X X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X O X O O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X O X X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |[/go]

White can struggle, but even with sente we still can't quite live.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've just shown the main line. For the sake of completeness, let's look at a few of the branches that were not taken:

1) Way back at the first diagram, there was another option for white:

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[go]$$Bc They cut and we live small
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O 8 . 6 9 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . 4 5 7 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O 3 2 X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X . 1 O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . a . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |[/go]

Black locks us in, then finishes with 'a', and has great center strength. Living like this is as bad as dying.

2) Or we can go low and try to sneak out along the bottom.

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

And here we are fighting a ko for life. Black risks a few stones, we risk an important group.

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

Now that we have a complete view of the threat, we can put our move back on the board, and see how it changes things.

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[go]$$Bc The crucial position with white's latest in place.
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O 2 3 X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X 4 1 O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X 6 5 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X 7 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . W . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . O . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now it favors us.

Black can try to avoid that by letting us run one more before blocking:

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

But now we obliterate black with 'a'.

It's necessary, we really can't allow them to push us down, otherwise their attacks on our upper side become too strong. I agree with Joaz on a number of his diagrams, although I think we should consider alternate lines than simply the direct cut. For example:

for example, the following is the quickest way to live on top if they play "1"

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

It's not a coup for us, but we have a fair amount of very useful aji here which I believe makes black quite ineffective.

I can only imagine two (correction: three) different plays here for black.

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

I outlined the above sequence earlier. The question is whether I ought to omit the first exchange and just play now. Is aji keshi? Does it weaken my lower-left group by forcing white to strengthen his? I can't evaluate aji keshi but I probably would prefer to omit the exchange—I can play on one side in sente and return to the other, but either sente will close one door.

My knee-jerk continuation from is this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

The dans won't let it happen. Now black is cramped in the center. White F8 is powerful but black F8 thin and dame, and I can't span that gap to connect my two groups. F8 is white's privilege and I will do well to neutralize it. Suppose I sacrifice H16 for a thick center?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

( = )
Now this black position looks like my kind of game. White will extend on the right next and I must prevent him from getting H5.



Oh, one more idea occurs to me, and it looks rather interesting despite, or because of, an initial feeling of counterintuitive direction:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

I can't decide between which of the last two diagrams to aim for.

For all its static beauty, the black position which I conjectured to emerge from my other option (G13, then sacrifice H16) feels too soft and exposed. With this sequence I should have no immediate problem with any of my groups, and no possibilities have been prematurely squandered in the lower left.

I can see where Black's coming from here, but I think White's going to stay floating sometime longer if we let White push us from behind along the top on the 4th line. Settling that middle black group efficiently is urgent, and forcing White to enclose it a bit more is not good. Black intended to push up and then cap, but why we would reduce our running space? I might consider it if H16 was on the 3rd line, but Black should be delighted to be pushed along the 4th line, and if Black was concerned about White pushing twice and then sealing in, why create a similar position with his suggested move that's that bit harder to run out of in the middle for Black?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Move 33 - W: 15, B: 12
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O c . X 3 5 . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X . . O 2 4 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . 1 . 6 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O a . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . O . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm happy enough with one of "a" or "b" here - If Black "b" gives White "a" in sente, I'll take "a", otherwise "b" seems better. White's group at the top is still floating badly right now.

EDIT: Hmmmm, I still like "c" actually - it looks annoyingly nasty once Black's a bit more secure in the middle. I'm happy with Black's position up here right now.

Hmph. That was what one might style a "What about these moves, Kageyama?" moment.

I don't think I would've changed either move here... the difference seems stylistic to me.

Okay, this decision seems fairly easy for a change. Obviously we need to do something for our top group. I think I would rather get out than try to live small and shut in. So I play here, or H14. This feels a little safer, so I like it. I feel that, despite the knight's move, this cannot be separated from the weak group, so let's get out. I sure don't like pushing black along the fourth line, though...

I'm not too sure about younger brother's move. This makes me queasy:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

White dies like this. I've got to look at other options. If they are no better, I'm not going to approve.


My initial reaction is to substitute this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Then if black tries the cut, it looks like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

And I think we win this fight because we have the ladder breaker down in the lower right. I must read more.

( The long term concern is how long we can continue protecting the cut with a tactical refutation. We're living on the edge like this. Sooner or later we will have to come back with something more solid like G16. I hope that it is sente when we do it. )

Huh... maybe Topazg's move was worth 2 points. I didn't think much of it before, but actually, looking at it now, it helps at aim at cutting the knight's move...

I'm still not sure if it works, I think I have to read some more. It probably needs another preparatory move, but this one is looking better to me than the other one now...

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Move 34A - W: 15, B: 12
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O O . . X . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O X . B O O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . O . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Mmm... it looks pretty tasty, actually. There's a lot to read though. I'll check up on it. I wonder if this move will get changed.

As suggested in my earlier post, the cut at F15 hurts if we play it like younger brother wanted to. I looked at variations other than what was decribed in that post, and they did not look any better.
White must run out.