Warning: this was first posted yesterday, but seems to have vanished.
There was nothing in it that could have disturbed the admins, so either
the site had a problem, or I never actually pressed "Submit", or something.
Apologies in advance if the result is a double post. And in future, I'll copy
every post to a text file as a backup just before pressing "Submit".

The following position arose in game 2 last Saturday.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W Moves 24 to 24
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O Y . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Black has just played the marked stone. The question is, does it now make a difference whether White
plays next at a or b? During the game, I thought at first that it did matter, then that it did not and then again
that it did.

In the end, I played at a, on the grounds that if Black was forced to play a or b in reply to White's b or a, Black
would surely prefer to play a, and the enemy's good point is also mine.

If it does make a difference, what should one really be thinking about in such a position?

Here is the whole game, so you don't think I'm being a tease. I am not asking for comments this time.

I feel cheated, this question isn't simple at all!

Overall, I don't think there is in general a good rule to pick an answer, it depends a lot on what's nearby. In my own game, I would always have to read it out and pick an option that seemed to work well in that particular game. That's exactly what you do, picking a line that gives black some centre shape whilst connecting to the corner, which seems reasonable - a later part of the plan is that this makes your corner very alive, so black's invasion on the bottom doesn't threaten much. Plus, on the right you can maybe attack his shape later.

Personally, the shape always seems pretty boring unless white can actually cut something or attack black straight away. That is, rather than connecting on the second line, cut on the third. If I can't do that (or have some other directly useful attack), I'd probably strongly consider just tenuki - such as to strengthen the bottom. That way it's black that has to worry about whether white will cut later, or maybe white will get a different forcing move.

A point along the way is that white would really like a move at R12, that's an important shape point that opens up more cutting/attacking possibilities. In fact, move 18 possibly actively should be played one space lower to put more pressure on black. After that you can invade directly rather than playing the 3-4, which makes cutting more interesting - if cutting makes the corner strong, that's getting the same effect as the 3-4 point in sente!

Maybe the L19 forum software has become sentient and rejected your post because the title did not make sense in conjunction with the content .

First of all, you should not expect your opponent to pull back when you hane as then you connect and his other stone is blighted. In the vast majority of cases cut is the only move. The next few moves will probably be black building a wall over the top and white taking the stone, so it comes down to deciding which of these two pictures you prefer and reading and judging what to do next.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W Hane above
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 O Y . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 3 . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . S X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W Hane below
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . S X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 3 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 O Y . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

White may then cut at the marked point so it's a question of can you save the cut stone, do you want to and is there a good way to sacrifice it? In the hane above line black can't save his stone when white cuts, but he can sacrifice effectively to build thickness using a standard sequence (you can also see this with 3-4 joseki). I like this for black because it has turned the iron pillar in the corner into a wasted move and the thickness is nice (perhaps 16 could also be at the triangled points, or tenuki). As a future, or perhaps immediate, aim black has a-e to gouge out white's territory and eyespace as x or y are his sente using the aji of the sacrificed stones.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wm7 Hane above contd
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . b a . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . d c . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . O e . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . T , X 8 y |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O X 3 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . T . X O O 5 |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1 X 2 4 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . 9 . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The cut after hane below is complicated and is not something I can rely on standard sequences I know but have to read afresh. Instead of cut white could of course crawl underneath on the 2nd line but that feels a bit miserable. So can black capture white?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wm7 Hane below reading...
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . O c . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a b e |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5 0 . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . 9 1 X 2 6 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O 7 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O X 3 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X 4 d |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

No, trying to capture directly white wins by one liberty. So how about something like this? Now black captures white.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wm7 Hane below reading take 2
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . 7 O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . 5 1 X 2 8 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O 9 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O X 3 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X 0 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

But maybe white ignores to save his lower stone and suffer damage above. Black's 4 stones below are pretty crappy now, but his stones above are getting stronger and white's top right corner is getting weaker. Those two white cutting stones poking out into the centre could be weak if black's below are strengthened. This will be complicated fighting, how do you judge it?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wm7 Hane below reading take 3
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . 8 O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . 5 1 X 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O X 3 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X 7 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Really simple you said?

P.S. And those first 6 moves I gave as an almost forced sequence are not the only things that can happen in similar positions. Note that white's iron pillar in the corner is very relevant here as it means black isn't threatening to jump in to 3-3. A common joseki sequence is as below. Also the checking extension above is a one space jump away rather than two as in your game, yet more complications and differences. The hane nearer the corner is the usual move and then black plays atari on the 2nd line instead of over the top so that he can jump into the corner.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

You can study more of this at http://www.josekipedia.com/#path:pdttppqjqlqfqhrh

Why not at ?

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wm7 Hane below reading...
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . O c . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a b e |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5 7 . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . 9 1 X 2 6 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O X 3 |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X 4 d |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Because black can make that exchange before 10 if he wants to so I didn't bother thinking of a different answer for white. But yes indeed that works too and is actually even better for white as black no longer has an atari above to try to get something back from his disaster.

[admin]
I checked the logs of admin/mod actions. None of us messed with your post. Indeed, none of us have done anything since the 20th.
It may have been a server hiccup; it may have been your misclick; it may have been one of the ghosts of old go masters who haunt the code.
But it wasn't us.
[/admin]

_________________
Help make L19 more organized. Make an index: https://lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5207

Almost inevitably, when I think I've posted something that disappears, it turns out that I was looking at the preview, got distracted, and then thought I had already submitted my post.

Edit: I love these simple questions. They never are.



Oh, yes!



A state of mind to be avoided. Think through one move, think through the other, compare results, and decide. If it does not matter, either choice is OK. (Assuming that either choice is OK. )



Here is what I would be thinking about.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm24
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O Y . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . 1 . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The last big place. Besides, now I am not worried about making Black thick on the right side.

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

The question is very simple, while the answer may not be.

_________________
Offending ad removed

Thanks for all the replies.

The thing is, I have to work within my cognitive limits, and not those of Bill or Uberdude
An example: in a comment on my previous game, Bill criticised White for an "I'll go my way, you go your way"
approach, but in the short variation shown below he recommends doing something which feels like that.

From which the only conclusion is that Go is too hard for me, though that doesn't mean I'll stop playing.

Still and all, I can do better than the perverse inverse tewari thinking I applied during the game, of imagining
moves that even I knew would not be played and choosing on that basis. Following Uberdude, it would just
be possible for me to mentally project the following image on to the board, where the left side is now
almost a mirror image of the right side.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm24
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . f . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X T . . . . . , . . . . . , X c . |
$$ | . O O X . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . X O X d |
$$ | . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . |
$$ | . b X . . . . . . . . . . . . T X a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . O . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . e . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

As White, I'd then play a or b respectively to connect to the corner to make sure that the white
stones on the edge could not be wiped out. The right-hand version leaves White slightly stronger
on the lower side, which is very open to invasion, so that's what I'd choose. In the game,
White played a, followed by Black c, White d. Black then invaded at e, which did not turn
out well for him. If Black had played somewhere around f instead of e, White would have fallen
behind on the real board, so probably White should cut at one of the triangle points instead of
playing a or b, leading to Uberdude's complex variations. Oy vey!

Your mirror projection (not shown here) is interesting.

Go is too hard for me, too.

If you are unfamiliar with the standard sequences Uberdude showed, they are something it helps to file away in memory. It also helps to be aware of the value of taking the last big place in the opening. Here is another standard idea that it helps to know.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm24
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . X . O . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 W B . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . 1 . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Suppose that after Black protects with (your way, my way?). How do we assess the - exchange? Favorable for White. Why? Because if play had started as - , if then Black would not reply with .

Back to the my way, your way question. Like a number of players, I started out trying to kill everything, but eventually ended up with a placid looking style. I say placid looking because I think about threats.

A couple of comments on the game so far:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm18
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . . . . O 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

plainly takes aim at invading on the right side. To invade and then continue is consistent. To invade and then extend from the corner is, as well. Which to choose is a judgement call. To develop your judgment, continuing is probably better. The possibilities are vast, and you need to explore them.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm18
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . B . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . W . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Let's assess this position. The stone is perhaps a bit passive. Also, the stone is too close to the secure Black group in the top left corner. And the Black wedge on the right side is hardly dynamic. (One might think that Black has a passive style. It turns out that he plays fairly solidly early on, and then plays aggressively. Not a bad style, in itself. But it looks like he is frittering away the komi.) By contrast, the stone is nicely placed. White is starting to pull ahead.

What about the future? I think that the stone and the stone are the key. Black can rehabilitate the stone by approaching the top right corner from the top side. And White can make an ideal "enclosure" on the bottom side facing the stone.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm18 Ideal
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . B . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . W . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This is the ideal development for White. makes the enclosure facing the stone, and then after , stifles the development of the stone. Sweet!

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm18 Black counters
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . B . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , Y . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . W . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

rehabilitates the stone at the expense of the wedge. However, the wedge has prevented an ideal formation on the right side by White.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm18
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . B . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . W . . . 3 . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

takes the profit on the top, but allows .

Frankly, I go for the ideal development in the first diagram. For one thing, the second diagram does not look that good for Black. For another, if Black were capable of playing as in the second diagram, he would not have gotten into this position in the first place.

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Thanks, Bill

The "really simple question" showed up in a game I played this weekend. I think I chose the wrong side to hane, and if I chose the right side, I really shouldn't have invaded that 3-space jump at all (i.e., was too soon).