So I'm hoping to come out of the bottom right area with sente. If that happens, I'll decide between attacking his stone on the right, or maybe doing something on the top. I'm not quite sure, yet.

I also would like to do something about the open spots that are on the left. I guess that's what I get for playing high. At least I get influence from my stones on the left. I am still working on understanding how to work with influence. Hopefully I can make the stones on the left useful.

I'm kind of worried about my progress in go, lately, too. I think that I just have to study more. It is hard work to study every day, and sometimes my mind gets tired. I must get past this, though. If I want to progress, I have to not be lazy. But I am lazy sometimes.

On that note, it'd be nice if I could live forever. I have a set amount of time in life. I can spend some of it as an investment toward the future, and some time for immediate benefit. When I am being lazy, I am not investing well toward the future. But I also have a limited time on this earth... So that's somewhat concerning, too. How should I invest in the time that I have left?

I guess I'm not that old, so I don't need to think about that kind of stuff that much - but I still do, sometimes...

Well, I guess this is sort of a tangent.

Back to the game... I feel OK about this board position. Even if I don't get sente in the bottom right, white can't do that much. I feel like I have good compensation. I hope that he gets worried and makes an overplay. That's what I'm trying not to do with my game against Marcus. I think I'm behind in that game. I don't want to make an overplay, though, because then he can get more out of it, maybe. Maybe if Loons makes an overplay here, I can benefit more from it.

I guess we'll just see what happens.

I wonder where he will play.

Eh, 46 was over-aggressive and 47 was a tesuji. What can ya do.

His move is unexpected, but it doesn't seem that bad to me. It somewhat takes away from the presence I have on the left side of the board...

I guess I don't think there's much to think about here. I don't think the situation on the right changes, so I should keep an equitable balance in the area that he played. There's no need to play too much in an area he is ignoring.

Kirby is ignoring "Pillar Stone" concept!!!
even if Kirby dont answer last move there is nothing white can do to gain anything.
Kirby should have taken the PILLAE STONE!!!

Odd time for a territorial move I would have thought, but what is my opinion worth these days... I want to resolve the right and middle together somehow, but I also want to play next on top. I guess his move makes my central position a little more precarious. Back to the drawing board.

Counting should dictate your strategy. I'm going to count that moyo as half and top right ko as half.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm46 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | w w w w w . . . . . . . . . b b b . . |
$$ | w w w w w . . . . . . . . . b b b . . |
$$ | . . O . . O . . . . . . . X . . b . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | b b b X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | b b b . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | b b b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . O . . . O . . . . X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . O O . . X O O X . |
$$ | . . O , . . . 4 . X O X O O O X X O . |
$$ | w w . O . O . . . b X X X O X X O w O |
$$ | w w w w w . . . . b b b b X X . O O w |
$$ | w w w w . . . . b b b b b . . . . w w |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Black 27 White 25, white 1 captive, 6.5 komi. Black has much better potential. White has sente. (to be honest I was quite relieved about Kirby's last move, which does say something bad about my position).

So... my sente should limit Kirby's potential as a higher priority than building points. I will share some of the moves I'm throwing around in my head later.

After our exchange I have a much better feeling locally, I should have played it earlier. Still can't p6 - just too heavy. So, looking at something like P7/Q7 or more loosely O10 for my sacrifice tactics (to force Kirby to capture while I gain position outside).

I dunno.

Edit; I guess I should let you in on my keen decision-making process.

Well, the situation on the right has changed, now. Before, it'd be somewhat easy to run with my right group if it were cut off. Now, it's more difficult. With this move, I secure my stones easily, and he still has little territory. I just have to keep his central influence in check, and there's no problem.

I considered the following move, but rejected it due to the marked intersections that white could use as forcing moves:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm46 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . O . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . O . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C C . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . O . . . O . B . . X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . O O . . X O O X . |
$$ | . . O , . . . X . X O X O O O X X O . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . X X X O X X O . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I plan to invade the left.

Edit: Some reflection brings to light that while I opened on a 3-3 and territorial 3-4 and kirby opened with a fourth line moyo, it is me with half my stones in the centre. What can ya do, eh.

I feel I am ahead by a good amount, and have confidence with this board. I should simply play solidly, and avoid any trickiness.

I'll take a bit of time to think about how to do this, though.

Well, I will think more after his next move. I don't think extra thinking will rationally make me select a different move in this position.

I guess I should explain my recent moves in a little more detail. I could have played a directly territorial move of some kind, but... Anyway these two diagrams ought to capture my decision making process.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . O . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . 1 . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . O . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . O . . . O . . X . X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . O O . . X O O X . |
$$ | . . O , . . . X . X O X O O O X X O . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . X X X O X X O . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ {AR R9 P11}[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 What a brilliant diagram this is
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . O . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . O . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . O . . . O . . X . X . |
$$ | . . O X . . . . . . O O . . X O O X . |
$$ | . . O , . . . X . X O X O O O X X O . |
$$ | . . . O . O . . . . X X X O X X O . O |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ {AR O10 N16}
$$ {AR F17 N16}[/go]

And conventional wisdom: When you want to be aggressive in one direction, borrow strength from the other.

I'm kind of thinking of playing M16, but white has been getting a lot of central influence with his past couple of moves... M16 might be OK, but what do I do about the power he is generating? The left is still somewhat unsettled, and his power in the center is getting greater.

What should I do?

There's nothing I can do about his influence right now. I'll just have to be patient.

Uh-juhr-soo-upda.

what influence???
incomplete influence with many weakness is an effective influence.
there is nothing in the middle for white.
let me fastforward the possible sequence.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

black needs to play at 4 or somewhere close.
then white will throw a probe at 5 asking a or b.
this is a move that is very hard to answer.
white can not giveup one stone.. if he try to save it then his middle will become weak.
black's sequence above is very smooth and natural.

I was tempted to leave a cut, but I will be happier later without it.

Well, I have solid territory for the most part. The only stones of mine that are unsettled are the ones on the left.

I am worried about his influence in the center. I feel like I can try to do something about it, now. The question is, what is a good move to do so?

I am feeling like leaving the left stones as they are, and just trying to use them in some non-territorial way. That's because it's not clear to me how to fix the left and turn it into territory in a single sequence.

Anyway, Loon's main prospect in this game is, I believe, his influence. So I need to find a way to counter that.

Hmmm...

Split! Attack! Fight!...?