This is the only move. It is worth a lot territory-wise, but it also has a lot to do with the base of my group. That and I expect it to be sente as I doubt that he'd want to allow me that hane.

Anyhow, next, I want to play at what appears to be a weak point of his shape to seal him in, but I don't like something like the following sequence and I don't see a way to get something better.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . 1 O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 3 4 6 . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 5 . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So I'll probably do something like jump out again, threatening to seal him in.

Or, eh, I'll decide later, but I decided to play this move here.

He's very much settling his group here which is why I feel pretty good about my play so far and my use of influence to invade his four space formation earlier. Because it has made him revert to this type of move and because I am getting some territory and influence and he still has a weak group where mine are pretty strong. Also, he has a nice looking invasion point and closing my corner on the bottom right might be in order to make the invasion point near there better looking. If I can manage that, I think that he'll have a hard time finding territory on the rest of the board with my stones being pretty solid and with my groups having a lot of say in the center.

Right now I feel good about this game. But I've lost games that I was confident about before.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm21 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 9 . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . a . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Anything less than a second hane would be too conciliatory to Black, I think. Forgot to mention it before but a) is an interesting possibility that Black might try; yes, I did try to read through it, but first we'll see what Black plays.

Suddenly, I felt that this looked a lot better for me because I think that white is spread a bit thin.

I think that I can either seal him in or take a larger corner here. We'll just have to see.

If he doesn't respond locally, I think that I can kill a couple of stones and get thick.

I'm still a bit concerned about variations that would allow for him to kill one of my cutting stones because I don't want him to get off the hook with his weak group, but we'll just have to see what sort of compensation I'd get, but I like to play actively, so here it goes.

His move was interesting though.

Allowing a ladder on this stone is not an easy choice, but it gives me the potential to play atari and connect my other group. That said, though, I'll probably resign in maybe 10 or so moves if I can't do something positive. This is worse than a two stone game now, as Black retains more territory than me while still being powerfully thick. Oh, the remorse.

The double hane was probably too much, I should have jumped instead, maybe, but that makes the kick questionable, along with earlier moves. A looser pincer in the opening would have made the it easier to handle the top, maybe.

My judgement may not be improving with the extra time, and may be a bit too reliant on players who insist on fighting, even if it is at a difficult time.

Seems the only move; (a) and (b) are miai. Does W have a good reply?

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[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O b . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X 1 O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . a . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

I don't think that any other moves make much sense. This leaves him with a lot of cutting points.

The move that jumps out at me for white that I'm not exactly sure how I'd respond is this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . 1 X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

We'll see what he does.

Fixing the way that I do is the strongest on the outside. Otherwise Black will be able to force with atari and have a stronger shape on the outside. I can't play atari myself to try to change the direction and get an outward oriented position:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoner Count: B-1 W-1, capture at a,b
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O 6 . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X a 4 d . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O b 5 c . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . e . . 3 . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I can squeeze out life in the corner later, but this is still a pretty crummy outcome for White. I cannot fight ko; even if I can exchange c) for d) I'm not connected, and I've given Black significant profit without any efficient way of using my ponnuki to make territory; I'm undercut at e). I'd prefer to make a move in this sort of position:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O 3 . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X a . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . b . 4 . . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The Black influence isn't too well-coordinated with the 3-3, and besides the a) atari, I can instead use the aji to play forcing moves like b) if Black tries to build the left.

I think that white's result isn't too bad here because he's going to get the corner, but I feel good about sealing him in, so I think this works for both of us. But I'm very curious about what stronger players think of all of this.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm13 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . e . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . a 1 . c . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . b , . Q . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . d . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I didn't care for this move from white. I think it should be at (a). Furthermore, when black splits at (b) I think white should forget about and play (d) and leave (e) for later.

Curious to hear other thoughts on the jump at (d).

This results looks very good for B. W's upper left corner pales in comparison
to the massive thickness which not only greatly limits W's right side --
with weaknesses at (a)...(c), etc. -- but exudes power across the whole board.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ -----------------------------------------
$$ | . ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O ? ? ? ? ? O . . . . . . # . . . |
$$ | . . X O ? ? O . O # # # . # . . O . . |
$$ | . . . # O O . . # O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . # # O . # . O . . . # . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O # . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . # . # . . . . . # . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ -----------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . a . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Black's move preserves the cut on my stones very well for now, but leaves some interesting aji at a) and b). There's some potential to catch some stones and make the corner much bigger. However it is pretty poisonous to try capturing these stones in gote right now. b) shows it most egregiously:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 9 7 O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 0 8 6 X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Soooooo. many. sente. It doesn't even stop here, but Black is already very primed to develop the outside.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 8 5 . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 7 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The kosumi is a bit more interesting to play sooner rather than later; it offers to take a bigger piece of territory and creates more cutting points for Black outside, but the direction of play isn't uniform. Black has a tesuji to connect, which I've shown. Whatever White plays next he cannot save the cutting stone. White does get to choose which stone to catch, however:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm35 Prisoner Count: B-1 W-1 37 captured at a), capture at b)
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 6 b X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 4 1 8 X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 3 a 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm35 Prisoner Count: B-1 W-1 39 captured at a), capture at b)
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 5 8 b X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . 7 a 1 6 X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |[/go]

I can choose low or high, in other words. I have to be content with at least one should I actually try to capture.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 5 a . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . d c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . b e . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm picking this move because it's reasonably easy to work with either. Just picture the results in either of the two diagrams over this one. The low one can get a linking move, and the high one can possibly go without a connecting extension.

I don't want to be undercut by playing something like at a), or clomping at b) to get a gote, centrally facing, undercut position, and I fear that if I play c) or d), then Black e) is a bit in-my-face; Black can easily enlarge the structure while flattening me by pushing up, and can easily take a very big territory if I push-to-remove-the-push. I figure that if I play from the other side Black can still use the thickness pretty well since it's not too excruciatingly painful to give up the stones, and since I will tend to lose sente making a meager base on the bottom so Black can play an extra helping move wherever he likes even after helping the lower left corner with a move on the left. If I don't play in this area Black will enlarge both sides with something like a).

Also there's some trickiness depending on the way the aji is settled in this position:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm35 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X b O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X a . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 c X d X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . 2 . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Like this I can still probe the connection at a). If Black protects against the offer to cut at b), I'll have stuff like c), offering to march out at d) even if Black blocks.

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[go]$$Wcm35 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 5 X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 3 O X a . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . 1 2 X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

In this sort of local continuation also you can see the cut b) asking about the cut at a).


So I feel pretty good about playing this move, as good as I can for not having a comprehensive understanding of the game, and being unable to deal with planning a positionally complicated middlegame in a systematic fashion. In terms of gross directional switches...

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[go]$$Wcm35 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . b . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If White invades me I'm quite likely just going to try to quickly connect my stones and not worry about getting territory too much. If Black tenukis to play a gote, a double approach should be severe enough to help me get a position on both sides. I'm thinking it's a bit difficult to pincer effectively right now, too, with that double approach still available and lingering aji in the the insufficiently fixed shape up top. I'd want Black to choose complicated paths anyway since I still need Black mistakes to win the game, so even if I'm wrong for a deep and complicated reason...

I didn't expect him to tenuki here.


I think that he could take the corner in (almost) sente.

If I take sente, his stone has a lot of aji that bothers me a lot.

If he plays at a, I have to respond at b and I don't like that. Also if he plays c, I probably have to respond at d

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[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 3 X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . 1 X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . a 2 . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . b . c X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . d . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

His stone still has a lot of aji, but I can diminish that aji a lot if I play in the top left area first.
I'm not sure that I want to do that right away though. I don't want to miss my chance to attack his newly played stone and use some of the influence that I just got. But I'm going to consider going back to that area a high priority. I decided to play two spaces away so that he can't jump up then press me down. He'll probably settle himself easy enough with a contact play, but I should make territory in the process either way.

Possible?

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

If W tries to start a fight, maybe it's good for B?

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

There are many many ways Black can settle the cut here. I want to see how he defends before helping my stone. The pincers are relatively distant, so it's a little bit difficult to attack this stone, but settling it by leaning on the corner tends to give territory to Black on the bottom. Depending on the outcome on top, I may try to give it up and switch to the bottom or something.

Two moves instantly jumped into my mind here.

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[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . c X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . b . X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . a O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

a and b entered my mind with a thought that I might want to look at c as well. Also, I wondered if I should have played here first.

a has a couple of possible outcomes with him getting a ponnuki or the corner.

With b I have miai to live in the corner and to play a.

I feel like his group is still weak if he forestalls the connection, so honestly, that's what I'd prefer, but he'll have sente to strengthen his stones and may lean on my corner stone to strengthen his stones and try to attack my stone. If I can weather that storm, I might come out great otherwise, this might be a great chance for him.

Either way it will be fun.

Oh, and I just realized that there are double digit numbered stones for smilies.

How about instead of :

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

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[go]$$Wcm39 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 3 O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 1 X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X 2 X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . # O @ X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . # @ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Presumably Black is willing to play the sequence as kikashi. Otherwise the meaning of the stone he just played is lost. Presumably he wants to play atari from the left next, since his tiger mouth fixed some shape problems there and allows stuff like double hane to make eyeshape, though he may still play from the bottom. I would not connect immediately because it is kikashi pretty much anytime and would induce Black to reduce my liberties.

If I don't restrict Black's eyespace, the cutting stones aren't very meaningful because Black can play at to cease being weak and it's pretty close to sente. I could tenuki once and still live, but it really spoils the outside for White.

The sequence that I play is worth many points in the corner, especially if Black later takes the top left as territory, and it costs me a liberty on my kosumi stone. I retain sente reasonably well, so that's good enough of a trade for now. My job (as always) will be to make these exchanges look good for me now that Black can't undo them.

To touch or not to touch?

I decided to touch his stone. He gets to push me low if I play on the second line, so I prefer this.

After the exchange in the corner, I don't have to play the cross-cut tesuji giving him a ponnuki. I can connect under.

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[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . 3 1 O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . 5 2 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | 9 6 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 7 . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

An influential position in the lower left will help to negate Black's general influence. It will help me to use the cut on top, for instance by making an isolation on Black's left side stone more severe. My move is ahead of Black so I'll tend to keep sente. Switching to the bottom would be hard:

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[go]$$Wcm41 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . O X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . X X X O O . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X X O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . @ c . b . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . 6 d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 5 . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . 3 . . . a . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm not so comfortable here. If Black played the last move at c) I could get a lot of forcing moves in sacrificing the left side stone, but like this, it's very difficult to run, given Black's general influence from the top. b) for c) would hurt it very quickly, I still need a gote extension somewhere around a), and letting Black have d) poses it's own problems.

The bottom is pretty wide open, yes, but it's low. The left seems more interesting still. Let's try to press Black to the bottom.

From a very beginner level, you learn that to not respond to a shoulder hit is usually pretty severe. If I ignore this, it's the same as invading a knight's enclosure. This gives me some solid points. I'll just watch and see what he does.