Played this game today on Tygem. Unfortunately it ended prematurely as my opponent left the game. But the opening was particularly interesting, and it would be nice, if any of the stronger dans would care to critique it.

[sgf-full](;CA[hz-gb-2312]SZ[19]AP[MultiGo:4.4.4]GN[Rank]DT[2011- 4-13-15-39-54]PC[Tygem Baduk]
PB[nagano1 ]BR[3D]PW[wnr08 ]WR[3D]KM[6.5]TM[Time limit 20minute \: 30 second countdown 3 time]
RE[black wins by resignation]AN[Even \: Black 6.5 Dum]MULTIGOGM[1]
;B[pd];W[dc];B[pq];W[cq];B[de];W[fd];B[cc];W[cb];B[cd];W[eb];B[ci];W[ck];B[fp];W[do]
;B[ei];W[ip];B[kq];W[ir];B[jo];W[io];B[jn];W[in];B[jm];W[il];B[pk];W[el];B[nc];W[po]
;B[qp];W[oq];B[pp];W[pr];B[qr];W[op];B[oo];W[nr];B[mq];W[qo];B[rp];W[no];B[on];W[mr]
;B[lr];W[nn];B[om];W[nm];B[ol];W[lo];B[mp];W[jp];B[kp];W[np];B[mo];W[lm];B[mn];W[mm]
;B[ln];W[jl];B[km];W[kl];B[ll];W[lk];B[ml];W[nl];B[mk];W[nk];B[mj];W[nj];B[lj];W[pj]
;B[qj];W[pi];B[qi];W[jr];B[ko];W[kr];B[ph];W[oh];B[pg];W[og];B[of];W[nf];B[ng];W[nh]
;B[mg];W[mh];B[lg];W[lh];B[kg];W[qk];B[ql];W[pf];B[oe];W[qc];B[qd];W[rd];B[re];W[rb]
;B[sd];W[sc];B[rc];W[rk];B[rh];W[rd];B[se];W[ob];B[nb];W[oc];B[rc];W[pl];B[pm];W[rd]
;B[pc];W[pb];B[rc];W[qg];B[qh];W[rd];B[im];W[hm];B[rc];W[nd];B[od];W[rd])[/sgf-full]

_________________
"Those who calculate greatly will win; those who calculate only a little will lose, but what of those who don't make any calculations at all!? This is why everything must be calculated, in order to foresee victory and defeat."-The Art of War

Admittedly I'm not strong enough to critique, but just a question/comment -- Perhaps B57 could be at K8? I feel like B getting shut in hurt in the fight that ensued and gave white a lot of outside power. If B just pushes out you still have the running fight, (and B ends up eyeless...but white is too, and can't threaten to connect anymore) but it seems like a fight that would be better for B? Perhaps I have missed something though.

I don't know, I thought it was better to live. Yes, the result favors White, but that is because B53 was a mistake. it should have been at 54 instead. Then black gets an OK position in the fight.

_________________
"Those who calculate greatly will win; those who calculate only a little will lose, but what of those who don't make any calculations at all!? This is why everything must be calculated, in order to foresee victory and defeat."-The Art of War

is ugly. Maybe P4 is better? No white ladder breakers seem to do anything.

Also, I might be wrong about this, but threatening to capture the one M9 stone at looks small. Since white only has a gote eye on the bottom, I would keep the pressure up by playing at N11.

_________________
We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

You're probably right, though in that case white has a couple of tricky continuations I'm not sure how to deal with.

The intent was not to threaten to capture but to reinforce the cutting stones. It was probably better to extend directly, but the idea was to provide support in case the H8 cut ever became favorable and to make better shape.

_________________
"Those who calculate greatly will win; those who calculate only a little will lose, but what of those who don't make any calculations at all!? This is why everything must be calculated, in order to foresee victory and defeat."-The Art of War

I don't like 13, I think it should be either an enclosure or the chinese opening on the right. If white extends from the corner on the bottom, you can keep his 3-3 stone low. If he doesn't, taking the bottom is large for you. After that I don't like k5, you've given up a stone for nothing in return (the aji in his territory is much reduced by f4-d5 exchange).

Right, I thought 13 was questionable, and I agree that would probably give a better result. But about K5, what should be the alternative? Obviously L5 is not an option, and so if I want to strengthen that area I guess the best move would be Q5, but I don't like giving white the chance to cap at L5 later.

_________________
"Those who calculate greatly will win; those who calculate only a little will lose, but what of those who don't make any calculations at all!? This is why everything must be calculated, in order to foresee victory and defeat."-The Art of War

Well, there isn't a great alternative, which is part of why 13 is wrong in the first place. I think l5 is the best way, though.

Isn't L5 slack? That's why I chose K5 instead.

_________________
"Those who calculate greatly will win; those who calculate only a little will lose, but what of those who don't make any calculations at all!? This is why everything must be calculated, in order to foresee victory and defeat."-The Art of War

Good point.. I don't see any decent local moves, so maybe black should tenuki. That's probably what I would do if this came up in my game, now that I think of it. Or maybe l3 should be at l4 instead?

I think L4 is better. It was actually my first thought, but I chose the low move in the hope that it would be better able to help the F4 stone later. I did not expect W J2. It seems slightly unusual, but quite good in this case. My opponent in this game felt a couple stones stronger than the average Tygem 3D to me.

_________________
"Those who calculate greatly will win; those who calculate only a little will lose, but what of those who don't make any calculations at all!? This is why everything must be calculated, in order to foresee victory and defeat."-The Art of War

There is a lot of things to consider... f4 would be bad with the way you played afterwards. However, it wasn't a bad move on the moment. You could consider e11 instead of f4, or d6 perhaps. After f4, maybe you can j4 instead of e11. Else, I spotted e9 instead of k7, but that would lead to a bad shape if w does not defend and press k7. I don't really like it though, after l3. I like d6 instead of f4, it works as a good probe too, and is much lighter than f4 in my opinion.