I applaud my opponent. This move is something I'm not as prepared to face. Maybe I should be, but I really don't see it all that often. I know a few joseki for it, but I am far from mastering the variations.

However, it's time to take some profit. I've got outposts on D10 and Q10 set to reduce any influence he might build up, and my Q4 stone is still untouched. I need to offset the difference in territory now. Taking the corner solidly gives me my first real piece of (reasonably) unassailable territory. Black has a solid shimari of his own, plus a solid extension from that shimari. If you add a few points for my top group, I'm still behind in that respect, but I have positions across the board. IF I can use my stones effectively, I should be ahead by the end of the game. The trouble comes when it becomes time to use those stones ... an aspect of my game that is sometimes lacking.

Anyways, a quick estimate of territory ...

Black:
Upper Left - 25 points
Upper Right - 16 points (I'm being generous, I think, but it's early on, so the estimate is rough)

White:
Lower Left - 12 points
Top - 4 points (I'm guessing low here, I think, but not by more than a few points)
Komi - 6.5

So, in territory, I'm behind by about 20 points. I need to make my influence work for me to make up the difference.

I need to watch for opportunities for more big tenuki plays. This game is probably going to be decided by who has a better idea of how to use the whole board, not just local fights.

I love this game.

We're going to transpose into a one space high approach joseki. I have a better grasp of these. I've also avoided the pincer. I'm going to consider this a success for me.

A nice, big corner for me, and I'm not going to be closed in. Good enough. He's kept me from growing a huge moyo ... but we can't be too greedy in this game. Right now I'm going to take what territory he's letting me take and keep an eye on the center to make sure he's not surrounding it completely.

Whole-board thinking is tough, and balancing territory and influence is still difficult for me. I need to keep calm and make sure I don't jump off any metaphorical cliffs.

When I said this would transpose, I was wrong. This is another possibility. He'll descend, and then I'll play the side star point.

And the sequence is over. Where will Black play next?

Can be this be called white's mistake here? It's basically enforcing black to become stronger on essentially both sides. White says here, "Hi, I want to live small and crowded, please help me do so". In which case, I would recommend a move at n15 to jump out. Since there is much aji in the corner, there's no reason to play the life move right now that ends in gote.

Ketchup, I agree with you if you reverse the words "black" and "white", which you seem to have gotten backwards.

Getting a base. Playing high to help against his high stones.

this last move is not in Yoshio Ishida's Basic joseki

Hmmm ... that IS a big point ... however, Black has at least two weaknesses.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm24 Black has an open skirt on both sides
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X O O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . X . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O X X . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . b . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . a . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So, the question is ... do I play b right now? What are the options on the board that I am considering?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm24 Options
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X O O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . X . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O X X . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . a . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I must admit, playing while keeping track of influence and territory is not my strongest skill. Let's look at these three moves.

A) Attack the bottom.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm24 Attack the bottom!
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X O O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . X . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . y . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O X X . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . 1 . x . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . z . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I can see three different responses. Of them all, I'm only really unsure about O3. All the others are fine by me. However, getting split like that becomes a complicated fight. There's the possible ko:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm24 Ko sequence
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X O O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . X . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O X X . . . X . . 4 3 6 O . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . 1 5 2 7 . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I THINK I can deal with this. Black may steal the corner, though.

What about my other possible moves?

B) Attack the upper right.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm24 Attack the corner!
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X O O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . X . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O X X . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

There's a huge upside to this move ... his corner stays relatively small (and cramped), while I make good use of my stones on the right. The downside ... he next gets to attack my weak group up top. I'm still no convinced this is the right time for R13. Perhaps there will be no better time for it, but for now, I think I can gain more from other moves.

C) Solid Territory on the left.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm24 Move 24 - Prisoners: B=0, W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X O O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . X . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O X X . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The big gote move. I give up sente to take a lot of points. How much? Well, my lower left would then be equal to his upper left (more or less).

Giving up sente is huge, though. Black can take over the game and take a number of big points. Best to play something that he'll at least have to consider responding to.

So, all in all, I choose to attack the bottom from the right, using M3. He still has a weak point on the left of that group, but that can be left as large endgame play.

This move is very annoying. It took a long time for me to realize that there was a reason why any of my attempts to keep my base where failing. I don't in fact have a strong claim to the area underneath my stones, because white always has this move.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm25 Move 25 - Prisoners: B=0, W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X O O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . X . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O X X . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . 2 . . 1 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

As such I'm going to strengthen my group by attaching. I really must find a way to 3-3 his corner, though. Otherwise his corner is huge. I thought of doing this immediately, but did not like giving him such a weak group to attack. I like none of my options here. So i'm going to go with this, as I don't feel like I can keep a base without giving up too much in thickness. I feel like this move is my first giant blunder. I'd love to see a better option.

I never considered this move. Let's just play lightly. Black still doesn't have a strong grip on the bottom, and my corner is becoming more secure.

This wasn't I move I saw coming. I feel like he just let me get shape too easily. Also, I can still reduce his corner pretty easily. I'll see what he'll do next.

Still very little profit for Black, which was my goal. I still ahve two ways to reduce what little territory he has on the bottom.

My lower right corner is becoming nice and big. The 3-3 invasion might still be open ... but if he decides to jump in like that, I can easily seal him in and make a nice wall ... facing my Q10 stone. I can be happy with this.

I feel like my group isn't very weak. It's not unassailable, but I feel like I can manage without giving him too much if he attacks. I'm now reducing his right side. I cannot let him take this entire corner. My move is a standard move for reducing the shimari. I don't feel like his two extra stones make much of a difference here.

Overall, I feel white does not know the proper worth of influence in this game. He is sometimes overly territorial. It seems he definitely prefers territory, but I don't think he can win this game if he keeps up his slow pace. He likes to try to settle fast, but in doing so, he almost always makes his opponent stronger.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm24 Move 24 - Prisoners: B=0, W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X O O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . X . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O X X . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . . W . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

On one more note, this marked white stone seems wrong to me. I'm not sure how he is aiming for a weakness here, and in the terms of trying to create territory like this using a 4-4 stone is simply awkward. I also feel that this area of the board is very unimportant. Black is no real rush to get in the area around o4 due to the high placement of his stones. This white stone is also a bit lacking because it is simply too close. If he was one more space back, I think it would be a decent move that would still aim for black's weakness or at least some sort of sente sequence.

As I have mentioned previously, I'm not interested in the corner as much. He can take the corner, I'll take the outside.

Of course, I'm not as sure of this response ... I don't see the 2-4 approach very often.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm29 Move 29 - Prisoners: B=0, W=0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . X O O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . X . O . . O . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . X . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . X . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 . |
$$ | . . O O X X . . . X . X . . . O . X . |
$$ | . . . . O X . . . . X O . O 4 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . O . . . 5 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If I recall correctly, this is the sequence I saw a 5d play out at go club last week. I'll have to read out 31 a bit to make sure I'm right, but I'm certain that 29 is the first move he showed. Also, it makes sense. White can't hane against 29, as even if I don't cut or clamp right away, it leaves a huge weakness.

Also, I'm glad he gave me the corner. He will get influence, and then when I survive with my bottom group, that influence will be of no use to him . Unless he uses this to get a really good attack going, but I see no severe attack.

That White approach seems pretty standard to me, it threatens to take away the Black base with either H3 or just the slide at L2. Any further back and it would lack severity.That said, I really feel that O3 needed to be at N4.