does that exchange really benefit black????
yes he will gain few more points but i also gain ideal shape.
i am thinking it is joseki (neither black or white gained advantage)

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[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O . O 9 X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

then why didnt i see this variation among professionals?
i guess professionals think that black has advantage.
how much advantage??? i can not say exactly but now more than one or two points if any.
and i am thinking that this variation fits my style of playing perfectly.
i am perfectly satisfied with this board sofar.

White's position is good. One change that exists in a few pro games is to play up first like below. If Black continues with , White can force with or "a" before playing away. If Black plays at , White just plays away and keeps sente.

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[go]$$Wcm8
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . 3 . O 4 X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . a X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

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[go]$$W Kobayashi Koichi (White) - Cho Hun-hyeon, Insei Game(!) 1966-11
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 . 3 . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . 1 O X 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

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[go]$$W Seo Pong-su (White)- Yang Chae-ho, 6th Maxim Cup 2005-01-11
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 3 . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 1 O X 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

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[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . b . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I truly, truly, truly couldn't decide between playing 'a' or taking the open corner such as 'b'. Both are very big moves and each have their own merit. For instance, 'a' looks more steady and solid. However, 'b' looks faster and more efficient. So I took a coin and flipped it, heads for 'a', tails for 'b'. I went with 'b'. I didn't check to see which side it landed on.

below was my initial thought...
i changed my mind because if i get to play at "a" then it will be better to play as i did.

really dont make much difference..

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[go]$$Bcm11 Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 , 2 . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Why not the one-space low pincer? Or the three-space high pincer? Or attach? Why not Zoidberg? Honestly, I just like the two-space high because it has a lot of interesting variations, and I want to be high instead of low to keep White's influence in check. I shouldn't be making a move at this time as I have a Chinese exam in 20 minutes, but oh well.

i am very confident that above variation is only correct move white can make..
then again..i am not professional...
but i read many books by professionals who discussed this shape..

The attachment, Magicwand played, is not even mentioned in Takao's 21st Century Dictionary of Basic Joseki.

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

'a' and 'b' are the most common moves.

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[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3 4 . |
$$ | . . B , . . . . b , . X . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , d . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

This is mentioned, although it is not labelled as a Joseki (see below). After , Black can either defend at 'a' ("correct shape") which would locally invite White to make a pincer at 'b' or he plays 'b' himself and when White plays 'c'. Black can extend to 'd'. That is, when the top is more important.
Here I would play at 'b' because of the marked Komoku.

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[go]$$Wc One example
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . B , . . . . 3 , . X . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 8 . 4 . . 1 . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . 5 . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

This is labelled as a "quasi-Joseki", meaning "a Joseki that is less well established than or not as important".

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[go]$$Wc Another possibility
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . X . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

Black can play 'a' or 'b'. Both are quasi-Joseki.

Ishida says: The attachment below is unfavorable with this pincer. But he does not give further explanations.

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[go]$$Bcm11 Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . X . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I don't think I've seen this before? I was expecting him to 'a', the most common response, which I'd follow up with Q16. It feels better for me because M16 restricts White from extending along the top side and forces him to move out.

An interesting thing to ponder on is why 'a' is the most common response. Even I'm not too certain why it's so common; if I hadn't looked at pro games or joseki books, I would think 'b' is the best (and most common) way to respond to a two space high.

i will comment after his move..

Interestingly there are 25 games in the latest GoGoD with this attachment in an otherwise empty quarter of the board. However, 16 of the games are pro-ama or ama-ama games. So indeed the pros do not seem to have too high an opinion of it. Five of the nine pro-pro games continued with - below and then split apart with White play from "a" through "d". Naturally there were a wide variety of outside situations. In choosing "b" (which is close to "a" as well), MW is in company with people like Sakata and Rin Kaiho, so let's not be shaking our heads too much at this stage!

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[go]$$B Search Pattern
$$ ----------------------
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . d . . 2 O 1 . |
$$ . , . X . . O , X . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . 3 . |
$$ . . . . . . b . c . . |
$$ . . . . . . a . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

This shoulder hit aims to make it painful for him to push out directly (since he'd be pushing me on the 4th line). So he'll have to figure out a way to dance out of here without pushing me. Furthermore, this move adds some stability to my group. Don't get me wrong though; his group isn't really in that much danger. It's just a matter of pressuring.

my style of playing...

Looks like it should be an interesting game. I already like Black a lot (though I'm not saying Black is ahead). Magicwand has the completely opposite style to me. I'd feel so uncomfortable as White, I don't know how to handle groups like the upper right or lower right properly whereas Black's groups all have a clear meaning. Playing against groups like White's is much easier (for me) than playing with them. It feels like the burden is on White to find efficient ways to use those stones - which, thinking about it, probably explains why Magicwand likes to play this way.

The White stones seem to make perfect sense to me from this board. I might not have thought to play like White is playing, but I like the strength that seems to be in the White positions. Have I watched too many MW games, maybe? His play is very influence-oriented, to my eyes ...

My eye keeps coming back to a point like this:

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[go]$$Bcm11 Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . Y . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Playing on the top feels very slow, but I'd want to help out somehow. Another big move is the approach in the upper left, and potentially helps support a pincer. Also I'd want to get some influence to limit White.

Can't wait to see where this goes.

Especially as M16 is high, having it swallowed on an epic scale is just so painful, so much of the stuff I like about Black's position would disappear in an instant. I'm feel araban will respond to this latest move on the top.

Isn't this like a textbook example of m16 being placed perfectly to prevent W from developing? I find it real interesting that MagicWand resisted like this.

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[go]$$Bcm21 Prisoners:
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . X . . W , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . W . . W . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . O . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

My last move clearly supports M16. But why is supporting one stone so important? Simply, White's group is still not stable. In particular, the connection (marked) has holes that I can now look to exploit with the support of K16. Without it, I have to worry about moves like L17, so it'd be an overplay to try and exploit and peep White's group with just 1 stone.

Now White needs to figure out a way to support his group without being slow. If he plays elsewhere, I may not attack it right away but it will always be a thorn on his side. And I think that's an important concept that took me a long time to grasp: you don't need to try and exploit weaknesses in your opponent's group straight away. Put yourself in your opponent's mindset; if you find it just as painful to play a slow, reinforcing move, then maybe it's better to just leave it be and let the weakness haunt and worry your opponent.

My instinct was one space further, at J16. Is there a specific refutation to that, or would it just be a liability in an upcoming fight in this area? What specific weaknesses does J16 leave?