My move is pretty much forced, if I let him into the corner it's too easy for him.

As for Bill's comment, I did actually consider the marked stone, but I didn't like the result.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Continuing... Next, black might play at 'a' or 'b'. It's too easy for black to settle and take a big point. I might consider not playing at 2 and playing at 'c' instead, but I'm not sure what white gained from the corner exchange.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O 2 X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . O , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X O . . O . . . . b . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . c , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . a . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm still thinking about what to do here, not sure yet...

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Please give me some feedback on my comments. Also, is there any way to number the moves past 10? For longer variations I read it's going to be annoying to have so many diagrams.

After thinking for a while, I decided to go with my original plan.


This is what I expect to happen, this way I get to make a large framework and can be satisfied.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c
$$---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X X . 3 . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . O , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 2 O 1 5 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . 6 , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This is also possible, but it feels very submissive. There isn't as much aji, but black feels flat and I don't think he can be satisfied. Also note that if he omits 3 then I will play 3 right away, the fight is very hard for black.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X X . 1 3 . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . O , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 2 O . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . 4 , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This is another variation I considered. This is the greediest way for black to play, but the aji is horrible...
For example, later I can play at 'a', if he plays at 'b' I can play through 'i', clearly black is not satisfied.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . e f . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X X c d . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . O b . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X h 3 a . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . 2 O 1 g . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . i . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . 4 , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

In conclusion, I think the first variation is the best for black, he isn't flat, and the aji is still manageable. If you have any specific questions about the game, please don't hesitate to ask, I can go into more detail about certain things if you want.

Not much has changed since my last comments, let's see what he does next.

Unfortunately I left my Macbook in my condo and I'm with my family which is over 30 minutes away from where I live, so today I'll do it the old-fashioned way.

Whenever I'm uncertain about where to play or I don't have a thread, over 90% of the time I simply ask myself "Well where would my opponent like to play in this position?". It's clear with the last move he played and the high stones on the bottom left that he's aiming for an influence game. I was a bit surprised he didn't go for the cut at H15, which would lead to a fight, but the move he played is thick and solid so it's perfectly understandable to me why he played there. Now the two questions I need to answer are:

1. Do I need to reinforce here as well?
2. If I do need to reinforce, how should I do so?

Now I think the answer to the first question is "Yes". Why? Well if White chose to cut at H15, the fight would be fair for both of us only because White had the cut at F14/E16. If I had to use the analogy of a gunfight (bad analogy? ), I would say F14 gives White a bulletproof armor. I could choose to play elsewhere and let White cut at H15, but the fight would not be fair for me at all and it's expected that the top would become a disaster for me, just like how someone getting into a gunfight with a man with a bulletproof armor would end up a disaster .

So what about the second question? I think this is a very difficult question to answer that has many possible answers:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c Move 19
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X X e c . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . O , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X d b . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O O X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . a . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So how did I choose 'a' over all of these other candidates? For the sake of consistency, I will go over these moves in a video for the next move, but going back to the very first question I brought up "Well where would my opponent like to play in this position?", 'a' starts to shine out a bit more than the other moves. If White gets to play at 'a', his moyo begins to form very well on the left side and cuts off some access to the center for me. On the flip side, 'a' still leaves open the cut at H15, so this is something I considered before playing the descent.

Initially I thought the descent was a bit overplayish for the reason I just gave, but from what I could read it should be okay. I will trust in my reading and hope my group stays safe...hmm...but for some reason my senses tell me something is wrong. However. in these situations, I will tend to lean towards my calculations rather than my senses. But let's just wait and see.

Also, sorry for no video this time (but maybe some people will like this way more? :p)

Insightful as usual, but I must say by way of encouragement, I do look forward to the videos.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c My guess for move 20.
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O X X . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . O X . O , W . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O O X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I expect white to strengthen his lone stone a bit, then come back and start cutting.

I will simply play the big point I have been eyeing for a while. The aji in the top left is bad for him, but I do not want to start a fight right away. If I started the fight right away, I may end in gote, and then he can take the huge point on the bottom.

Not sure what he will play next, I'll give some variations depending on what he plays.

How did you go about choosing the two space high pincer? What reasons are there for choosing it over another kind?

C3 -> C2 -> E3 -> D2

Is there any reason for white not to make the exchange D3/F4 before playing the pincer?

The counter-pincer at L4 or M4 then becomes playable.