Hmm... seems this is the best move i can play here. I really don't like that he gets away with this but I can't do much against it in my opinion. Still, the corner is open, but he gets good thickness. My ponuki will help me later on, I am sure, but now it seems I don't get much.



I thought about pushing, but he has some nice sequences here:

This way I get 3 stones and I am really thick on top, but his left side looks extremely attractive for him. And also, his corner seems too big in comparison with what i have got.

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[go]$$Bc Captures: B:0 W:0 Move 33
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . 1 O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O 3 5 7 . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . 8 4 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Another variation, when I push otherwise instead:

Now this seems similiar, only that I broke up his corner. But here he can decide whether to take the corner or have influence on the left side.

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[go]$$Bc Captures: B:0 W:0 Move 33
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . 4 3 1 O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O 5 7 9 . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . 6 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Besides, he could block at instead of . This seems to destroy my aji and give him a better thickness. It seems to be a thank-you move.


I also thought about this:

Playing a bit flexible locally but trying to attack his formation on the right fiercely. It seemed too early, too immature for me. I don't have a good feeling with this. I don't like playing too stiff and having only one purpose in mind.

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[go]$$Bc Captures: B:0 W:0 Move 33
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . 3 . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So I will stay calm and see what he will do next. But it seems I will have to be slightly more active. But no problem with that, I am confident with my positions all around the board.



I guess he will tenuki and take a big point like in the following diagram. Playing another move locally is a mistake in my opinion.

So I guess he will go with something like b. If he plays something like a, I will take b of course.

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[go]$$c Captures: B:0 W:0 Move 33
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . a B O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . b . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

A question for later: It seems I got tricked in a way. I can't tell how or when, but I should have sente. Maybe you can answer this question. Please tell me if I am allowed to read it now or only after the game, if you do so.



But actually... When I think about it a little deeper.. I might have some techniques to break up his wall.. But I am not sure. I feel tricked

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[go]$$Wc Captures: B:0 W:0 Move 33
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . B O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 6 O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . 5 4 2 O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Or well, maybe this way?:

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[go]$$Wc Captures: B:0 W:0 Move 33
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . B O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . 2 O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O 3 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Maybe that's a good way to punish if he plays tenuki. I don't like getting tricked so I will fight back if he plays around 1

Trying to fix my obvious shape weakness with a move right now feels so BAD. I'm just not good enough. This black has too good a shape. Maybe I should have just played e18 directly, rather than the outside cut. Worst part is, this shows how incorrect f17 seems to be. The jump at g17 felt too greedy to allow for black, but maybe I could have came out ahead of that in some(better) way. I should have read it better! I'm just not reading well enough. This move feels slow, but I think it's a decent way to pressure black and try to salvage what I can out of it.

below is a perfect example of riding the rhythm.

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[go]$$cm31 Captures: B:0 W:0 Move 34
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . 5 9 7 . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 4 . 6 . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

below is too good for black.
35 can be at "a" also.

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[go]$$cm31 Captures: B:0 W:0 Move 34
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . a 5 . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This seemed really slow to me.. It is extremely solid but it is not doing much is it? It protects the cut when I push through, but this is not the only thing to pay attention to if you have a wall.

But this move has only one purpose: making his wall safe. So why not play a?

It puts a bit more pressure on my stone on the left side though. Maybe that's why he played it.

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[go]$$c Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 33
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . a O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Anyway, when I should analyse this position right now, his top is not very interesting for him because his right top group is low and his left top group is high. They don't work well together.

His right side remains a question mark for me. It seems urgent to him to play there and reinforce his group, but I'm curious about when that will happen. If he decides to, I know I will either get the corner or the side. I won't make things easy for him aswell.

Bottom.. looks more interesting to me than to him I think. And about the left side: It has developed quite nicely for him, but my move will make it difficult for him.



If he pincers, I will go like this:

So to say, if he decides to emphazise his left side, I will emphazise bottom. But no way I would call any of these "territory".

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[go]$$Wc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 35
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . B . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . 2 . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If he plays like the following, I will help my stone on the left side. I think he won't play this way. I feel he would feel uncomfortable.

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[go]$$Wc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 35
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . B . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I thought about here, but this seemed not to work so well because of this here:

This way I would fail to help my lonely stone on the left side and even would lose the opportunity to develop bottom. approaching from the other side at a seems to hurt and my stone on the left side too much.


And with this, I would not be attacking his corner as much as with the move I've decided to play.

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[go]$$Wc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 35
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . 2 O . a . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

What can I say? There's little choice here for me. My style is not one that will let my opponent take an easy extension AND support his stones on the left side easily. Pincer is best. Far pincer seems better to me. Although my reading is atrocious, I have a hard time with thinking that a close pincer is the better move. I also want to see more fighting overall in the game. Which leads me to try such crazy things as a far pincer when the positions are like this.

In my case I see something like this if I were to try to force a close pincer. 39 or x would be his next response I believe. In my views, 39 is most likely due to black's overall attraction for solidity. Overall, black is expanding more solidly while taking profit. I dislike the idea of that:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cm31 Captures: B:0 W:0 Move 36
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 9 x . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . 7 . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . a . O . 8 . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . b . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Also want to add there are such things as a and b below which are way too painful for me to think about

As I have expected. Now his left side looks good and also quite secure, but I would not call it territory. I can still reduce it a lot and even run out. And top left is also not his yet. Now I will develop my bottom, that's why I played this move. I expect him to cover my last move now, like this:

This could be one possibility. I like the jump because it threatens to get out the stone on the left side with b. I don't think he will let me do this. It would sour his mood. And besides, he should be happy with . And I still can pull the stone out later on.

What I get here is the bottom looking quite nice for me and some outer stones for attacking his group on the right side later. This way it will be easy for me to get some stones around a to make my bottom more promising.

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[go]$$Wc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 37
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . a . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X 1 . 2 . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . B 6 . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . 5 3 4 . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I also thought about this here:

This seems also very good for me. Maybe even better. A disadvantage maybe would be that my bottom is too big to be mine in the end. So to say, that he could easily invade and live. I would chase him and put up a double attack on his new group and on the group at the right side, but things could get difficult for me.


But maybe I am going to decide to play this way.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 37
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X 1 . 6 . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . B . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . 3 2 4 . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Note about Malkovich games genereally:

You seem to not necessarily read more, as I thought, but think more about decisions concerning direction of play. Before I played I did not think that it would be this way.. Quite interesting. But maybe this will come later on.
This game still seems quite simple to me.

It could get interesting if he decides to pincer my last move. But i think that is unprobable

I don't understand. Before this variation was played out, you said "I do not believe the result is fun for black to have to suffer, especially when you consider the overall stones." Why are you not happy now? Isn't it what you wanted to happen?

I do not understand. I quite strongly said I did not play the top correctly after seeing what it came to. I followed up by saying I did not read correctly as well. What do you want me to say? Is this passive aggressive way to assert a point you are trying to make? I'm not a fan of this. If you have something to say, why not just say it? Say that my move at f17 was a mistake or say that I played badly. I do not understand why you think I WANTED this to happen. Why would I be happy with an obviously uneven result(see bad) for white? That's a joke right?

Examples:

Chill out, man. I'm just trying to find out what was going through your head when you played those moves. Isn't it what Malkovich games are for. I think your reading was excellent; Black played exactly as you predicted. However, your own evaluation of the outcome seems to have shifted from positive to negative.

What do you think? Has ketchup made a reading or a judgement mistake. I'm not sure myself. Perhaps he hasn't read far enough. He stopped at move 32 (see his post #42), but Black response after that was kinda obvious. Perhaps this is simply a lack of joseki knowledge.

Maybe I misunderstood, and I apologize for that. Mostly, a lot of your comments to me looked as if you were trying to hint to me that my reading was bad over and over. It seemed to me that due to the emphasis at those portions where I spoke about my bad reading, that you were trying to emphasize that for a reason as well. I do not know the reason, and it would've been better to just say it directly. It felt like someone was rubbing salt over my self-declared weakness. I guess I looked too deeply into it. Again, sorry

To answer your question a little better, I think you'd have to be very confident to like this white's position here. It's what I wanted(in the sense that I received decent outside influence), but I gave up a lot for it(it's only move 34!). I was hoping to play more aggressive, and keep the initiative(sente), but I was unable to do so. I feel as a big part of this is due to my mistake in play. This is hard to handle. I wanted the pincer left open to be my move, rather than to keep answering his moves. It doesn't feel so good as white. I also thought I had found a good pattern that would lead me to a better game overall, but that turned out wrong as well. So it's an issue with my perception of what I wanted the top left to come out versus how the top left actually came out. This was way too disheartening. Also, I feel like I am losing my chance to use my sente effectively. Considering this is still the "early" game, it hurts a lot!

Hope that helps to see what my mindset is for that top left.

Okay he played the move I expected.. And I think it's also a good move, so no problem with that. Now his left side looks quite nice, but bottom and right side is looking more and more promising for me. I will be able to attack his right group easily and make lots of points.

I really think he will spend another move on the left because I can pull out my stone very easily. Maybe it will go like this:

I will attack his group. My groups are all safe, he has one moyo and a very weak group. So it's easy for me to decide what to do.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 37
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . 4 . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X 1 . 2 . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . B . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

However if he refuses to play , I can break through his moyo easily, creating great aji and maybe even get the corner. I don't know what he will play instead of of the last diagram, but a move to reinforce his group on the right seems urgent. So maybe it will go like this:

If he reinforces, I have a lot of stuff I can do. I have a, b and c, which all look quite good. If I decide to play any of those, the game will become interesting and it will lose it's clearity.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 37
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X 1 . 2 . . . . . . . . . O 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . B . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Anyway, the move I play has such a nice feeling, I can't resist playing it. It seems to be sente and it allows me to have a great center and bottom position. I love to make this decision

I want the most solid move(maybe I mean the best shape move?) here I can find. This seems to be it. It also seems to make pretty good shape with my other stones, so I can't complain too much about this feeling a bit submissive. Pretty much, I just want to play solidly, until I can attack. If I attack straight out, I think it just makes my overall game too harsh as EVERY group of mine would be trying to run.

-edit-
Am I too late in playing patiently now? I want to try out different things WHILE trying to be "patient", but it's proving to be difficult. I would really like a chance to take the initiative back.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cm31 Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 40
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . W . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I personally think this is the solid shape move here. Thoughts?

i think they are both solid shape.
personally i was thinking same move as actual game.

Pfff hmm... He played the move I expected, nothing wrong with that, but I really find it immensely hard to attack his group right now. When I looked onto the current board, w40 felt like it's the quiet before the storm. But what storm? How can I attack him with the best outcome for me?

It was hard, because I knew this move is important and can change the flow of the game. I don't want to lose control. My problem was: If I put too much pressure on his group, I could destroy my potential. If I attack too soft, the outcome may not be satisfying for me.



I thought about some exchanges before I attack, like the following:

I really needed to read a lot to see if
a) they are sente
b) help me attack his group when he decides to run
c) don't do me harm if he decides to fight back

the exchange is my favourite here, and I have some good things I can do if he wants to fight back. His group on top can very fast be in a bad position, for example if I play a. I love my ponnuki on top, it takes away his ability to start discussions with me concerning his top group.

I am not sure about though. Generally, moves like this are bad. I don't reduce much, I destroy my aji, and how 3 is going to help me is not clear. So this feels a lot too early.

The exchange seems reasonable. Actually why I thought about it was the invasion point he has on b. After that my two stones on the left seem to have lost their purpose. My bottom would be gone as well.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 39
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . a . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O 2 . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . 1 . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . 4 . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . 6 5 . . . b . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I decided to attack his group on the right, before attempting any exchanges. Just to see how he is going to decide, since he ignored this group from the beginning on..


But this ignoring makes me really nervous. Maybe he will not respond when I try to attack it?
It really would be painful if he played b.

So actually I just changed my mind while writing this That's why I like to post my thinkings before playing my move. I will play an exchange.




I will exchange with first. It will probably look like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 39
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . | If he tries to fight back, my
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . | helps me a lot. After this exchange
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . | I will concentrate on the attack
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . | at his right group. After much reading
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . | c looks the best to me.
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . c . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . # O . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . 2 1 3 . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

edit: Oh sad that this did not work So this is the diagram: (Comments just above.)

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 39
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . c . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . # O . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . 2 1 3 . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I am in control of this game and I felt I also was all the time, so I need to be careful and not lose it.

I dislike the implications of a tenuki here still. Every nature as a blitz player for me is screaming that I need to tenuki. Honestly, I think it's really difficult for white right now. I feel as if my opponent wants everything now, and I'm not really comfortable with that. So, I think the best way to respond is to keep solid here, and be patient. That way I do not have to worry about these things later on. Also, this will help if he makes a move that I feel is an overplay later on. I will have to decide on how I will handle that bottom when the time comes. What's most interesting for me, is the aji of r3 still. I think I can make use of it. I just hope it's not making it worse for myself in the long run!

If black plays O6, I think I am done. I might live, but I think he will win with this type of move.

I dislike ketchup's last move. It feels far too passive. Now the result below appears great for black:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cm41
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . B X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I didn't do a count, but this is a board I would much rather be black on. With , black becomes super strong on the lower-left, making any play for white on the bottom area dangerous. In addition, white has fofeited the points in the corner. Why didn't ketchup play at himself? I can't see anything too dangerous for white with my reading.

Like Duskeagle, I think Ketchup's 42 was too passive.

I would play this (assuming black cannot resist 43 to prove his sente was correct; otherwise, white can then pick up 43 himself anyway).

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cm41 Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 42
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . 3 X . . . 4 . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

44 is likely a mistake (let alone my 42 in the first place). My goal is to exploit D4 as just an aji-stone (it's not really an important part of white's grand framework on the left, and therefore needn't be clung to) and then as necessary segue into some (potentially very vulgar) ajisploitation of Q3 to get a result.

In my mind, the way for white to win is for the left to be worth lots of points, and the bottom to be worth not-that-many points.
My reason for not wanting to play 43 with white's 42 is that black has sente or at least has the option to retain sente at any point, and white needs to get something more pro-active going. Also, a number like 42 deserves more than to be a typical response to a plain black sente.

Edit: This is the sort of goal

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cm41 Maybe not good enough for black
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . b . . a . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . 3 X . . 5 4 . . 8 . 6 7 . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cm41 Hardish for white, but he can make sabaki I think
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . 3 X . . . 4 . 5 . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Hmm this move seems not so nice on the first sight but it has a huge follow up and actually I really thought about playing another move there, because the corner is so immensely big.

When I try to evaluate the value of a here, it seems sente for him. And it's sooo big. I think it's about 15 points in sente for him. Which makes it 15 points in reverse gote for me. As a rule of thumb you double the value of sente moves. So this play is worth 30 points. It humongous! I have to play it.

I can't really see any good follow up for me which would make a move played at a by me a sente move.But I do have some technique in sente to get a besser positioning in center

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 41
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . a X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think this is possible if he plays a tenuki:

I could get this which of course is pretty nice for me. Not that if he makes the mistake and does not capture after there is still some aji left and I could get a in sente if his outside liberties are gone. But I don't think he will miss this.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 41
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 5 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 4 O 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | 9 2 X O 8 X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . 3 O a . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . b . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . B X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

However he can resist here by playing at , because of which I am also thinking about this here:

I could make good use of and break in his left side. But, some of my center potential would be gone. So I guess both the diagrams are not wortwhile right now. I will take a deeper look at it some time.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc Captures: B:1 W:0 Move 41
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O X . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O X X O X . . . . O . . . O O X . |
$$ | . . . , O O . . . , . . . . O , X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . # . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . O 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 7 5 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 6 O 1 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | 8 B X O 4 X . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . W O . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . , . . . X . , . . . |
$$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Anyway, my mood about this game has shifted quite a bit. I'm still at a loss how I could attack his group on the right. It's so light - it does not feel like it is a good target. Like a single stone, which you should also not attack.

Anyway, if he decides to reinforce his group now, I will play the biggest next move and this will give me a sure lead I guess. So let's hope he does not and I can attack him so the game can get interesting