:b53: doesn't prevent the connection underneath, so I have that as basically big endgame later. It's also not sente against my northern area, nor does it strongly threaten my right side group, though I will need to give it some attention at some point.

But now seems like good timing to get in this move. It's very large double sente and exposes the inefficiency of the C13 stone. If he tries to move out, I can develop the left side; if he tries to close his open skirt, I can start sealing him in.

Well, that's unfortunate. It's not a huge move, but I do need to protect to prevent from being undercut. Without defending here, I have less chance of life, so I have to defend. I'm sure there's a better defense than this, but I can't see it. Some days, I just feel brain dead.

I don't really have a specific idea on how to attack this group, but this feels like as good a spot as any. It seems like kinda a shape point for black, and a kind of a cap, so I guess I'll go with it. I'm not worried about the elephant eye - if he tries to run through there it will just help me build up on both sides. I should have sente once the attack peters out, then I will either attack the right side black group or rescue my stone at the top.

Allowing white to easily seal me in here feels wrong, so we're going to respond locally with a splitting move. I don't see any real danger to this group yet, but splitting allows me to weaken one of two groups, possibly in sente.

This is one of those 'cut first, think later' sorts of reactions.

This is standard for this shape. Lets me build up this area some while my opponent hopefully runs along dame points. It should be sente because it threatens to enclose again.

Black needs to learn to differentiate between "weak groups"[ and "flexible stones". He plays under the impression that he is threatening some severe attack of a group, when he is really making a slow move against a stone that the opponent can treat lightly.

I can't really ignore that.

As expected he's taken the bait, and made his group heavy. The probe at 1 invites white to make a mistake. If he does..

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[go]$$cm61 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0.5
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . O . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . X . X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . . . . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . 1 2 O O O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . O 3 O X . . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . O . . O O . |
$$ | . X O O O . . . X , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The cut at 3 is severe if white makes a mistake, and seals at 2. White can afford to seal at 3 instead, because..

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cm61 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0.5
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . O . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . X . X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . . . . 4 . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . 1 3 O O O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . O 2 O X . . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . O . . O O . |
$$ | . X O O O . . . X , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

4 is a working net. So, after white plays 2 to seal..

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[go]$$cm61 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0.5
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . O . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . X . X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . . 5 . 3 . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . 1 4 O O O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . O 2 O X . . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . O . . O O . |
$$ | . X O O O . . . X , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

5 threatens to put more pressure on white's group, and allows me better attacks on the upper right.

I may be playing aji keshi by using up quite a bit of sente to make white's group on the right so heavy, but it strikes me as a good time for it.

A good thing to remember is, it's always best to have backup before invading. But just playing a stone floating out in the center makes it clear where you're trying to attack. If you can expand into the center by attacking another group, it's almost always a good idea to think about how that fight will affect other areas you want to attack.

I'm pretty pleased with the game so far.

This is sorta annoying, but since his right side group is not completely strong yet, I should be fine.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cm61 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0.5
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . O . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . X . X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . . 5 . 3 . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . X 4 O O O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . O O O X . . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . O . . O O . |
$$ | . X O O O . . . X , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm not entirely surprised that white didn't mess up the seal. It's not hard to read the badness there, but your opponent can never make an error if you never give them the chance to.

Up to white what he does next. 65 is loose pressure on white, offering to chase them around some more if they neglect their week group.

Hopefully white will run, allowing me to invade the upper side, which has been the aim of the last sequence. If white doesn't, I'll have some fun harassing the weak group, and see what I can reduce as a result.

He's got a good attack here, but he has to be careful pushing me against his weak group like this.

This group is livable, but we don't want white sealing it in. I'd like to play a hane on the attachment, but white has the wall, even if it is eyeless, to fall back to. I need to extend in order to stabilize my group. White can continue to push, but after this point, I can hane without fear of the cut.

I need to keep running, my shape is terrible. I am going to count soon, but I think I'm behind. Sorry I don't have any deeper analysis to share.

OK, well, there's a slight problem. Now that he's out into the center, I can't strongly attack this group, but.. my group that I'm playing on has a fatal weakness. Playing on the weak spot gives me enough room for life, but feels like cowering, so instead I'm going to play here, trying to push my group out into the center. Very soon, I need to play on the left to even the game up again. I think this is sente, and keeps me alive, even after he responds, so I should get to play on the left next. The reason I think it's sente is..

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cm71 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0.5
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . O . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . X . X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . . X a X . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . 8 6 0 X O O O O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . 9 7 3 O O O X . . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , O 4 1 5 . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 2 O X . . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . O . . O O . |
$$ | . X O O O . . . X , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If white tries to keep their threatened stone, life becomes interesting for white. 81 at a makes white very unhappy. Atari on the other side is slightly worse. White can abandon the threatened stone, but black secures life, and moves on.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$cm69 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0.5
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . O . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . X . X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . . X . X . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . O O O X . . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , O . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 2 O X . . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . 1 X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 3 X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . O . . O O . |
$$ | . X O O O . . . X , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think this is how the next few moves play out.

I'm playing defense, so making contact with strong enemy stones is a good way to make shape and push my way out. I'm gonna try to lean alternately on each side and carve out some breathing room. I don't have to immediately respond directly to because that one white stone is completely expendable.

Well, he's offering to seal me in. I'm continuing to offer to split him up. This doesn't change the plan to move of the left as soon as I can, which is why I went with this move.
Locally, I'd prefer....

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[go]$$cm71 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0.5
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . O . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . X . X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . 1 X . X . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . O . . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . O O O X . . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , O . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . O . . O O . |
$$ | . X O O O . . . X , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

but it isn't really sente, and I'll lose the chance to move on the left. The move on the left is too important to let pass.

White has to respond to this, hopefully afterwards I'll get to move away from this fight.
Results if White ignores:

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[go]$$cm73 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0.5
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O . . . . . O . X . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X , . O . . 5 , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . O . . X . X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X O X . |
$$ | . . X . O . . . . . X . X . O O X X . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . 3 O X . X O O O O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . 4 2 O O O X . . . |
$$ | . . . , O . . . . , O . 1 . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . X . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . X X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . O O . . . . . . . . . . O . . O O . |
$$ | . X O O O . . . X , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . X X X . X . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

White is heavy and eyeless. Prime time to use attacking to reduce. White should respond, and I should get my move on the left.

As talked about previously, this has been on my mind for a few moves now. White will descend and I'll jump out with these stones in order to reduce white's left side. We'll see how white responds.