Well, my first reaction to my opponent's move was that it was solid, but slow and not very threatening, so I was happy for him to have made in. On further analysis, though, it appears that it's a rather good move, which gives me a lot to think about

It's good because I hadn't realised just how many of my tactical resources in the now-developing fight were based on the weakness of his R9 stone, which has of course now disappeared. In particular, black is now threatening to connect his two groups with a play at S8:

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[go]$$Bc robinz vs DIV - Move 34; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 O 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X 5 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

- this sequence ends unhappily for me. (Of course, before black's play at R10, I could have simply responded to S8 with the double atari at S9 - but no longer.) So, given that the first priority of my invasion was to prevent a connection between the two black groups, I must do something to stop black's connection at R8. However, that's not all that black's threatening. The cut at Q8 now looks much more severe than it did before:

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[go]$$Bc robinz vs DIV - Move 34; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

- now black has no worries about me breaking northwards along the edge so gets a free play to stop my escape (P6 looks pretty final, but in fact wherever he plays in that region he's going to be the one having fun attacking a weak group of mine, when I really wanted it to happen the other way round). So, I must come up with a move which fixes both of these issues at once, or be forced to admit that my invasion was a total failure.

Well, that all sounds pretty pessimistic - but of course I get a move of my own first The one I've made is I think the best to deal with the issues. As far as preventing the connection is concerned, the obvious choice was S8 (S7 and S9 seem to have no advantages over S8, and leave a ton more weaknesses for black to exploit as well). But this didn't seem to cope too well with the Q8 cut, given that I would be forced to move at R7 later. So, why not move there right now? It's also starting to apply a bit more pressure on that bottom group - I feel black should probably try to move out into the centre with it in some way - but then I'll follow him with my group, and hopefully create some nice extra territory or (more likely) influence in the middle there.

I'm actually quite confident that I've found the best local move here, on looking through my reasoning again - but it remains to be seen whether I'm still in trouble and thus chose the wrong moment for my invasion. (Or there's always the possibility that I've misread and overlooked something obvious, and am about to get chased and/or killed in a big way )

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[go]$$Wcm30 robinz vs DIV - Move 30; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Far be it for me to claim something like this is a mistake, especially as I'd just been saying how big the right hand side was before Black got to play there, but this is the sort of move that has a number of not so obvious implications. Let's hypothetically assume White did something different:

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[go]$$Wcm30 robinz vs DIV - Move 30; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This is a bit woolly for White at the moment, and Black won't be unhappy with 4th line territory, but there is scope for White to develop a larger lower framework. However, with the current move:

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[go]$$Wcm30 robinz vs DIV - Move 30; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , 4 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . 7 . 5 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 0 . 8 . 6 . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The second is played, Black can in principle do this, and there is no framework. Again, slightly sloppy proposed variation, but this is why it can often be better to reduce than invade, you need to ask yourself if you have your own development potential that you are damaging as well. In reality, even if White succeeds in keeping Black disconnected, he's only taken 10 or so points away from Black. That's not much potential that he has to lose to Black's counter to make the move net a total of 0 points.

Of course, building a framework reduces the invasion aji, so it works both ways. On that note, what about being a bit more severe about things?

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[go]$$Wcm30 robinz vs DIV - Move 30; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 1 9 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I actually prefer something like this. Depending on the situation, White can do a lot of damage on this edge, and there's really not a lot Black can do to prevent it. As the gap is large on both the top, and the bottom of the new right side middle stone of , White can jump in quite happily and do a lot of damage. Again, this depends on how much Black's going to get thickness compensation, but it looks ok to me

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[go]$$Bcm33 robinz vs DIV - Move 33; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

A really good example of solid and thick play. It looks slow, but as Robinz just said, it's really annoying to be up against, because all that lovely aji White was hoping to toy around with has disappeared. Black can't stop himself being disconnected, but now Black can really chase that group out:

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[go]$$Bcm33 robinz vs DIV - Move 33; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8 4 . 2 O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 9 . 5 . 3 . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm not necessarily advocating this as better than anything else, but Black does have some awkward aji to handle now in the lower right, and he's just been given another weapon in his arsenal to fight White with. Personally I'd probably try and take tenuki to approach the lower left, but it's always nice knowing this sort of thing is available.

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[go]$$Wcm34 robinz vs DIV - Move 34; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O b . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm actually not so keen on this, I think it's trying to be too clever. Kind of like a boxer that's off balance but wants to get a quick jab off anyway. It's lost most of its effectiveness, you are going to have to take time to rebalance, and any opportunities you may have got against your opponent may disappear with the lost momentum. For example, the aji at "b" I would really want to aim at. Simply connecting solidly at "a" means White has no peeps or cuts to handle, Black is still firmly separated, and Black is the one that instead has to worry about "b" being activated at the opportune moment. It feels like White's trying a little bit too hard to handle what looks like some intimidating right hand side territory of Black's.

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[go]$$Wcm30 robinz vs DIV - Move 30; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . b . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X 1 . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . a . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

EDIT: The following paragraph was misleading and read wrongly, so I've edited it a bit. Thanks to gaius for the heads up

It might be a bit late as Black's got thicker, but at move 30 would be a great time to hit this probe. If Black plays "a", White does just what he is doing in the game, and can take sente to then return to live in the corner. If Black plays "b" White instead can threaten to play "a" himself, which means he should be able to invade or live on the edge as Black's so thin on the right hand side. The thicker White makes Black on the right, the more Black can resist the probe fiercely, as he has some allies to call on if the fights break out.

I think this is a good local play. Iron pillar type thing. It does seems slow, but gives me influence in the center.

For once, a move I had anticipated - although I am a bit relieved that he chose the solid stretch rather than a jump. I want to stay ahead as we move into the centre, so I choose the 1-point jump. It looks a little bit hairy with those black stones so close, but I think I come out OK in all variations. For example:

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[go]$$Bc robinz vs DIV - Move 36; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

- the cut at P8 doesn't work due to a favorable ladder for me. Or, if black jumps, I can push through and probably cause some havoc in this fashion:

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[go]$$Bc robinz vs DIV - Move 36; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

- well, perhaps "havoc" is too strong a word, but black has still has cutting points to watch (and at an opportune moment I can remove some eyespace from below that black group - although keeping my own group safe is the priority for now), which should allow me to stay ahead as the fight spills out into the centre, hopefully building influence in the process.

Finally, black might choose to just stretch again - but then the one-point jump or knight's move look like fine options. I will analyse these in more detail if black goes down this road.

Interestingly, slow though it looks, with bump contact plays the simple stretch is normal, and I think it was correct for Black here. Jumping has too much bad aji if Black wants to maintain the attack:

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[go]$$Wcm34 robinz vs DIV - Move 34; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . X 3 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Allowing here is just too good for White - it's an eye in sente, and that's so close to being settled when access to the middle isn't too questionable.

This seems the sensible continuation for Black to me:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm36 robinz vs DIV - Move 36; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 c 1 b O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . 2 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Interestingly, the peep at "a" threatens cuts at both "b" and "c" at once. White can resist by playing "d" and netting the cutting stones, but Black can still get a lot of sealing in forcing moves here. White really has to deal with some of this bad aji to avoid actually losing out now from the original invasion / reduction move.

You say that if black plays 'b', white can play 'a'. Actually, that would be a terrible idea for white, because black can pincer at 'c', making white super-weak and heavy. It's much, much better for white to lightly play 'c' himself (or some such move), threatening to put the 2-4 stone into motion, rather than going at it directly.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm30 robinz vs DIV - Move 30; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . b . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X 1 . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . a . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . c . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Actually, I just looked up this position on both GoBase and DailyJoseki, and both indicate that, in contradiction to my comments above, professionals actually play the hane at 'a' (see hidden section above) rather a lot. That hane still feels heavy to me, but given that the pros play the move so often, my comments above are at the very least quite seriously overstated.

I apologise, I hadn't meant to imply hane-ing straight out if Black played "b". You are quite right , and I had meant to imply rather that the aji of White being able to do that gives him a lot more options on the right hand side generally - something which is gone if White makes Black thick on the right hand side first!

Thanks for the heads up, I've just looked back at it and it's worded terribly. I added it as an extra after doing the main post, and it's still looking a bit rushed. I've edited it a bit.

EDIT: Actually, if you have a couple of typical sequences, that would be a good thing to throw in - I tend to improvise those sort of positions and I haven't done a great deal of reading of examples of using that aji in this case...

FURTHER EDIT: Actually, on that point, even if Black takes "a" White shouldn't always play "b" straight away, as it's gote and gives Black a lot of thickness which, right now, is still very useful to Black. Probably better to turn first to reducing the potential of the right hand side, and either do so in sente if Black takes the time to kill the corner stone as well, or get to both reduce and live in the corner if Black allows White to get "b" in later.

FINAL EDIT:

For those that don't know, the living sequence in question is:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm30 robinz vs DIV - Move 30; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . 8 5 9 . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X 4 3 . 7 |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X 1 . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . 2 6 . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This seems big for me. I think my last move was too small and this is a much better use of a move. It's also time to approach the lower left corner, I don't know which side to approach from though...hmmm.

Black's tenuki surprises me. I really want to turn at P6 to pretty much definitively seal black's lower-right group in. But, on closer look, it's not really sente, and as I think I'm still doing OK in that region even with black to move, I'm going to hold off for now and take a big point. I guess this proves that black was correct to tenuki, but I'm pretty sure the move I've just made is bigger than black's last, so I'm happy with the exchange I was talking at an earlier stage of the game about playing at G4, but now I come to make a move here I prefer this one at H4. It does leave a weakness at F4, but I think I can handle it. I think it's more important to reinforce the group on the right than the star-point stone, especially in view of the situation in the lower-right that's been developing over the past few moves.

Of course, the lower-left corner is still open for invasion, and at some point fairly soon I'm going to start thinking about preventing that, if I get a spare moment to. But for now I'm happy enough for black to take it - I'll block at C4 to build a wall going E/W along the bottom, and feel quite happy about my moyo.

i think black's last move was very small, white cannot do pretty much anything in that area - he has very little support there (M15 nor Q9 are super-strong) while black has already many stones around - white would only end up with a small, unhappy group like Q9

for me, jump b O5 seems as the most obvious move. i think (especially in fuseki) you don't have to care about getting points of actual territory so much, but rather follow the most basic principles, strong and weak, connected and disconnected. it is the natural flow of the game. (i was trying to write more here but was unable to express myself in an understandable, meaningful way, sorry)

kakari at the lower-left corner would be also bigger for black than his actual move, and i would choose C6 of the two directions, as left side is wider than the lower and white would be divided just in the middle of his potential moyo

i would recommend the lower-right area for white as well, P6 he mentioned or maybe more secure O6. in fact, such move is sente:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Diagram 1, /b 2 tenuki/
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . X X 7 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . 5 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . O . . O . . X 6 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 3 4 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Alright, he played a big move. I want to get something over here.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm39 robinz vs DIV - Move 39; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . f . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . e . , X . . |
$$ | . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . 1 . d . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . b . . c . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

some possibilities I am seeing for my next stone, all really depends on what he plays. We'll see.

Well, I wanted a move on that side some time soon anyway - if black chooses to approach there first, I get to do it by pincering and attacking his stone at the same time

I must confess, I never really know which pincer to play, when I do decide to play one - I guess at some point soon I'm going to have to start learning some pincer joseki and figuring out what the likely outcomes are, and what difference it makes what pincer I start with. But on general principles I'm pretty sure that a distant pincer is better than a close one here - because one of black's common responses will be to invade the corner; I will build a wall going E/W, and the standard joseki here I believe goes like:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc robinz vs DIV - Move 40; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . x . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . a , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . c . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . 6 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 5 2 O 4 . . O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 7 1 3 . . . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

- here, a white stone at c looks far too close to the wall, and even one at b a little close. Actually, the 2-space pincer (b) was my first choice here, but it might allow black to cause some trouble at x - whereas now my pincer stone looks safely connected to the upper wall.

I expect black to now either invade the lower-left corner, or to jump out at E6. The former I'm well prepared for, as I have discussed. If he jumps I don't know exactly what I'll play, but the prospect of a running fight into the centre of the board, which I have far more influence than black does, is not unappealing. I'll reconsider more carefully if black plays it, but the one-point jump at H6 looks rather effective, blocking the direct route into the middle. (Oh, but then black might be able to make use of the aji at F4 that I left on my last move - perhaps playing at F4 myself will be better. I'm not sure - but I'm sure no disaster will happen either way, so let's not examine anything in detail until black forces me to.)

As I'm still waiting for DIV's next move, but don't like to leave this game for a day without thinking about it at least briefly, now is probably a good time (as we're probably just about into the middlegame proper) to do a bit of a count and try to think about what both sides might be aiming for in the coming moves.

I'm really not very good at counting, and it's something I know I don't do enough of during the games I play - in part because I'm very slow at it (any advice here from stronger players would be appreciated ). But this isn't a real-time game, so I'll have a go.

First, counting only definite territory at the moment, black seems to have (in very rough figures - this is just to get a general idea, plus I'm not sure how it's possible to know exactly how many points a given area is worth at this stage of the game):
- 5 or 6 points in the top left
- maybe 10 points in the bottom right (could be a few more or a few less depending on precisely what happens there)
- about 15 from the upper right shimari
- 25 or so below it on the right
- say 12 on top which I've not already counted (I'm not counting any left of the J17 stone, as I'm sure I can turn all those points into dame with a suitably timed monkey jump - I can't believe it's ever going to be profitable for black to prevent this before I get to do it)

So black has a total of roughly 65-70 pretty definite points at this stage.

As for me - well, I don't have a lot of really secure territory I think the only area I can call definite territory at this stage is the lower side, which (ignoring the lower-left corner, which is still invadable) is probably 20-25 points or so. I can probably make a few in the midle-left too, but only a handful. So it looks like I'm going to need at least 45-50 points out of the centre in order to win the game - whether that will come from turning some of it directly into territory, or from profiting elsewhere due to attacking a black invasion, I can't know at this stage, but that's what I'll need. There are still about 120 points there which could end up going to either side (or becoming dame), so I probably don't have to do something too desparate at this stage. I'll have to count again when black tries a major invasion or reduction.

So, where are the big moves at this stage? One is the lower left corner, of course. A black invasion there will make what looks like about 10 points of territory for him there, while I will get about 15 if I manage to shut it off and make it mine. That does sound awfully big now we're past the opening, so it's definitely something I'll consider in the next few moves if black doesn't invade first. Of course, if he does, the wall I'll build will help me greatly in my central influence, which ought to translate into points somewhere if I handle it right, but I am too inexperienced to know how many. Is a wall at this stage really worth 25 or so points?

The other really big-looking area is in the rough area of the rectangle between O10 and P15, the boundary between my central moyo and black's secure territory. A black play there will enlarge black's territory at my expense, while the opposite may happen if I get a few plays in that area. But it's difficult to see what I can effectively do there in just one move - the knight's move cap at O14 looks most promising, but it doesn't hem black in completely and is also vulnerable to being disconnected.

There is also the lower-middle of the right hand side - my group there is still far from settled, whereas black's groups on either side are pretty much definitively alive. I guess this makes a move in that area "urgent", and we all know that urgent plays should be made before big ones - but I didn't see how black can cause major damage in one move (black obviously couldn't either), so left it alone for bigger-looking things. (Note that I'm not too worried about black cutting at Q8 - I will connect at Q7 and sacrifice the Q9 stone which has served its main purpose of separating the black groups. But if that stone is lost then black does have a bit more room for expansion from the right, so it is something else to watch.)

So, I don't think that area is urgent right now, but on the other hand I think plays at P6 and R2 may be a bit bigger than they look. I think black's group is safe enough for the moment that none of these moves (S7 is another possibility) is sente right now, but if I get one of them in a second one of them may be.

OK, does that leave me with any firm conclusions about what will happen, and where my next play should be? (Although black may well get sente from the next exchange - certainly if he chooses to invade the corner now.) Not really, but I think I'm going to return to the bottom right first of all - P6 may be moderately big, and also makes it very hard to prevent that group connecting to my lower group, thus removing any threat to its safety). Then (the next time I have sente) I will look to see if I can get R2 in in sente. I think I've decided these moves are more important that the lower-left corner for the time being (the wall may not be worth 25 points, but it's probably worth an appreciable fraction of that, and I can get more profit elsewhere I hope, and as for the area on the right, I am worried about it but don't see a sensible move right now. And strengthening my lower-right group will give me more freedom to approach that area from below).

Of course, the thing about playing a game on a forum rather than in real time is that I may well have a totally different view of the situation by the time I actually have to move

PS I almost forgot to mention, but the big unknown is what to do if black tries a really deep invasion somewhere in the centre. It's too much to expect that I could kill such an invasion outright - the general strategy in such situations I believe is to make profit elsewhere while chasing/attacking it. But I'm not sure of the best way to do this - say black suddenly comes out with his next move at tengen; I honestly will not know where to play in response. But it's no use worrying about that and investing deep thought until it actually happens. (Black's move surely must be something in the lower left, if only for consistency.)

this is maybe too aggressive, and maybe doesn't gain enough, but it's fighting I want down here. I want to get under his stones on the lower right and middle if possible, or into the corner, or jump out toward the center with some strength from one or both of these stones. I really want to put on the pressure. I didn't want to play the 3-3 or contact under his stone because of what happened up top left. We'll see what happens, I'm not really sure what to do. This move is sente I believe, but what it gains me I again am not sure of.

Well, don't I feel stupid. The double approach is a perfectly normal and reasonable response to my pincer, and with the weakness of my 3-space extension on the fourth line it looks even more attractive to black - yet somehow I overlooked it entirely

I considered various local responses here, and have eventually decided on the iron pillar on this side. The 3-3 invasion no longer works, and my groups to the right and above are fairly strong, while neither of black's stones are yet, not can they easily be made strong. Black has several options now in the local area:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc robinz vs DIV - Move 42; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . a b . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O c d . O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . e . . . f . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

- a,b,c and d all threaten to split my stones apart and/or connect black's, but I think I have good counters to all, based on the fact that black is going to be left with at least one weak stone. (If black plays a, the push-and-cut starting at c looks fine, and in response to c or d I can, amongst other things, try capping black's C6 stone. For b, see below.) The slides to e and f seek to make life with black's F3 stone (e is surely better in this regard), but allow me to connect at the point d, when I can surely at the very least seal black's group in (hopefully in sente - life won't be easy) and get a healthy outward-facing wall, just as I desired before

Finally, the one-point jump at b can I think just be directly cut with good results, thanks to my nearly stones. I won't give every possible sequence, but one example (others being similar):

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc robinz vs DIV - Move 42; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . 5 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O 3 2 4 O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . 7 6 X . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . 0 8 9 . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

- 7 is captured, the stones at the bottom look to be dead, and those on the outside are floating and won't make life easily, so I should be able to get some profit out of the situation.

i think white played a good move, but i don't agree with his expectatations about b F5 w cut F4. i see at least two variations better for black than the one white showed:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Diagram 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . 5 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W O 3 2 4 O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . a . 7 6 X . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . 9 8 0 . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

not sure who captures first after b a, but it makes more sense than 9 at 10

easier and still not bad i believe:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Diagram 2
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . W O 4 2 3 O a , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X 6 7 . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . 0 8 9 . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Actually, I realised last night that, if black does play the one-point jump, I can't cut it when black chooses the following variation:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc robinz vs DIV - Move 42; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O 4 2 3 O 9 , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X 6 7 . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

- the ladder works for black. (EDIT: actually, the original F3 stone is lost, so I guess it does technically cut the jump after all. But the position has its attractions for black.)

I'm now not sure what to do if black does play the jump. I could just play out the variation given above, giving up the H4 stone - then I at least get a pretty large corner. But black's group is now out into the centre and looking reasonably strong, and my two groups in the lower-right are not going to feel too happy. Alternatively I could respond with a ladder-breaker, of which both H6 and P9 look faintly useful. All in all, no shortage of options, so I'm not desparately worried - but it's worth pointing out an error in my previous analysis (I wonder if this is what Laman's post was about - I guess I won't know until the end of the game )

So, I had explained that I think I've seen moves kind of like this. Potential for moving under his stones on the right and into the corner, also toward center and left side. I guess we'll see.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm44 robinz vs DIV - Move 44; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . X 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O 1 2 . O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The knight's move here looks like an attempt to connect his two approach stones (surely either of the one-point jumps was better if he just wanted to run out with one while sacrificing the other) - but this cut seems to work (in the standard situation where this position might arise, white doesn't have either of the stones on C4 or H4, which makes black enormously stronger in the local area, but not here); black has no easy way to capture the cutting stone, and his own stones are in some danger. My 3 stones in the corner do get cut off, but they will still have 6 liberties even after black's block, so I don't think they're in danger (actually they can surely even make eyes if they're forced to).

I think DIV will accept the trigger, as anything else seems inconsistent (and also lets me get the nice fourth line wall that I've been after - this time probably even with my corner territory behind it rather than his But it's possible that he will change his mind and try to do something with the C6/E5 group. Whatever he does, I don't think black is going to find it easy fighting in this area of the board.

His defensive play has me in a troublesome spot. Everything I'm playing is overplay, haha. I don't really know what to do here...I need to take some real time and figure out what I need to do here.