This is one of those fundamental principle thingies for me, that Kage has drilled in again and again. There is no choice here but to cut:

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[go]$$Bcm45 robinz vs DIV - Move 45; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . X 1 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O 2 3 O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X 4 6 . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

As anything like this is just fabulous for White, guaranteeing him a huge territory, Black must block:

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[go]$$Bcm45 robinz vs DIV - Move 45; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . 4 . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . X 2 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O 1 5 O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Something like this perhaps, in the hope that compensation at the bottom can be looked for to make up for the difficulties Black will face on the left?

Where did it go wrong? Move 43 had to be a jump out:

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[go]$$Bcm43 robinz vs DIV - Move 43; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now Black has good chances of harrassing White's corner, and White cannot take the bottom edge as a large territory. Preventing F3 from being cut off is enormous. C6 is still going to come under a lot of pressure, but at least Black has a good fight going, and the ability to neutralise any White potential at the bottom.

So, back to this game after a bit of a break, so I'm glad he hasn't given me much to think about - cutting is the name of the game here, with building a wall a nice bonus. There's no way he can connect his stones - if he does play G4, then I even have a pleasant choice of which cut/atari to play My guess is that he'll abandon F3 to its fate (it still has a fair amount of aji that I may need to worry about later) and try to make life on the outside - but he won't find it easy, and I should at least make some territory while attacking it.

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[go]$$Wcm48 robinz vs DIV - Move 48; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O O X O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X 1 . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

name of the game here is gains. there are potential cuts, there are potential move for me toward side and center either way, I am confident that I can play against him to get life for this group and maybe drag it across the center. hopefully though I can take some territory in the low. we'll see.

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[go]$$Wcm48 robinz vs DIV - Move 48; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O O X O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X 1 . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

otherwise, for last moves, w C4 was surely good and black would do better by answering with a jump F5 as topazg said. now the local situation is quite troublesome for black

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[go]$$Wcm48 robinz vs DIV - Move 48; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . X X 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O O X O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X 1 . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Well, I think I have to atari on this side - playing G5 instead would let him separate my two groups on the bottom from each other, and give him plenty of ways to try to make life either on the bottom or above - in either case making my C4 group look heavy and vulnerable. This way, while I end in gote, I definitively take care of the lower side, and his upper group is still floating. Depending on his move, I can choose between attacking it or returning to the right-hand side to try to strengthen my R7 group at the expense of his lower-right group, which could be very important as black can easily run towards this area.

Note that I can't play move 50 at F2, which was my original intention - black then plays H3, and after I capture he can take my H4 stone in a ladder, when my groups get split and his quite strong. But the move I chose still ensures the capture of the F3 stone while defending against this threat.

It's funny, in a way, that the main point of my early play in this fight was to try to get influence towards the centre, possibly at the expense of corner territory, while it's turned out that I get quite a large chunk of territory and black gets an outside group But it seems a decent exchange for me - I now really have a lot of territory on that lower side, while black's outside group is by no means strong. I'm sure I can't kill it outright, but it's going to be running for some time to come, and I may be able to make some more territory while he does so. (Note that if he runs far to the north, I may have to worry slightly about the safety of the group containing my wall there - but for the moment it's fine; the space around B12 should be good for at least one eye, and if I have to I can always play at E17 to guarantee another one.

Finally, my opponent won't necessarily take the trigger - he can try to cause problems by playing something like G2 or H3 next instead. But it doesn't look like these will cause me any real headaches. Perhaps he'll start to do something with the E5 group already. To be honest, I don't really understand his last couple of moves, so it's hard for me to predict...

Building some influence outward here, but no go on the bottom. I will try to contain his potential territory on the bottom and push out toward the stone at c10. Like I said his play style (and i assume I am actually doing this anyway) makes everything seem like overplay to me. But I am enjoying this game.

Well, that's a slightly surprising move from my point of view. It just makes black's group heavier, without yet giving it any eyeshape. And, while I had to do a bit of reading to be sure of this, it's not even sente - if black cuts at H3 I can pull out the H4 stone and still win any capturing race that he sets up against the G2/3 stones.

So, I think I can play essentially wherever I want. But this is where I often mess up, as there's such a wide choice. I'm not going to say a lot about this move, therefore, but it feels that, while it may well not be the very best move on the board, it can't be too bad. (After all, what does the proverb say about the one-point jump? ) It seems to simultaneously expand by bottom territory and limit the running room of black's groups on both the left and right. I just like the look of it. It does allow black some tactical options involving the peep at K4, but I don't see anything to fear there, given my stable stones in close proximity.

I've no idea what Black will do now. Other than trying some funny business involving ataris and peeps in the region I just played in (none of which, as I said, seems to work too well for black), the most likely option I think is that he'll make some kind of extension northwards from the weak group on the left. I'm not then sure of what the best way to play will be, but I have stones all around, many of them strong(ish), and I'm not seeing any eyes for him yet.

I have been slacking on my commentary and thoughts lately. So I figure I'll do some real comments now.

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[go]$$Wcm52 robinz vs DIV - Move 52; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . c . . . . . . |
$$ | . g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . h . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . e . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . f . . X X X X . . O . . d . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O O X O b , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now I'm not really sure what to go with or if these are even the biggest or most urgent points, I kinda like the look of h, but I'd like it even more with a in place, I think that I'll go h just to pressure him toward the center and then it's kind of a miai thing for edge or movement into the center. Hopefully I am not playing another overplay.

This is not an overplay, it's an empty move. The black wall is already reasonably strong, and the center is not that big. The last move doesn't add territory, and the influence it gives is kind of vague. Remember the list of three:
1. Do I have any weak groups? => defend!
2. Does my opponent have attackable groups? => attack!
3. Otherwise, play the (territorially) biggest point.

I indicated some alternatives. 'a' makes life (EDIT: unnecessary, white cannot kill - silly me! 'e' IS good though, because it's double sente). 'b' defends while taking points. 'c' threatens white's group, aiming at a running battle and potential double attack on the two white stones at the top. My tesuji sense tells me that there is probably something at the bottom, but I'm not sure, and that requires careful reading. Perhaps 'd' could be an interesting start?

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[go]$$Bcm53 robinz vs DIV - Move 53; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . a . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . e O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . c . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . X X X X . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O O X O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O . . . O d . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . O b . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

"a" kills?

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[go]$$Wcm54 robinz vs DIV - Move 53; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . 1 . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | 3 X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 4 X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | 2 . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | 6 X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 5 O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . X X X X . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O O X O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

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[go]$$Wcm54 robinz vs DIV - Move 53; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . 1 . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | 4 X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 3 X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | 2 . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | 6 X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 5 O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . X X X X . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O O X O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

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[go]$$Wcm54 robinz vs DIV - Move 53; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . 1 . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | 4 X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 3 X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | 2 . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | 5 X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 6 O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . X X X X . . O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O O O X O . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X O . . . O . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

What am I missing?

Brainfart, you didn't mean "a" kills, but "a" stops Black from dying ... at ...

Well, there we have it - black decides to give himself some eyespace, as I indeed predicted. Perhaps I should have played in that region myself to stop it - but I was slightly worried about black's possibilities of expansion to the east instead, perhaps linking up his two groups and troubling mine on the bottom. Anyway, too late to change it now.

A quick count of the position - black still has the 60-70 odd points that he did last time, but I now have all of that bottom as pretty solid territory, which I make to be about 40 points. I have komi as well, but still need roughly 20 more than black in the central region and left side in order to win the game. Looking at the board as it stands now, how can I do that?

The obvious answer is to do something aggressive against the recently-created black E5 group - black's last several moves have indicated that he's going to stake everything on it living. Certainly, if I can kill it, I have at least 50 or so points in that area, and become a big favourite for plenty more in the central region - if the miracle happens, black would pretty much have to resign

OK, I don't seriously expect that to happen, but it indicates that what I must do in the next few moves is attack this group for all it's worth. While a kill won't be easy, it's still not abundantly clear precisely where black's eyes are - there is no side of the board to help him with my C10 stone and C4 wall (both pretty much invulnerable to counterattack for the forseeable future, at any rate) bearing down on him, and it's going to take several more plays from him to make 2 in the F7 region. And while I put the pressure on, the theory is that I should be able to make some definite territory elsewhere in that still wide open central region - hopefully 10-20 points or so, while black is busy securing for himself only 5 or so by living.

But I've not played enough games to know exactly how to carry out the attack in practice. I've considered several moves here, having stared at the position for quite some time, and I've come down in favour of this ogeima. It both makes more territory for me (the ogeima isn't the most solidly connected of moves, of that I am aware, but I looked at a few variations and don't see how black can comfortably cut), and threatens to put stones in the area where black will want them for making eyes. There were two other options I seriously considered. One was J10, or thereabouts, with similar intentions to the move I've chosen, but coming from a different direction. However, compared to my choice, it seems thinner, and less directly attacking (although admittedly mapping out more potential territory). The other was a move like C8 or D8, which would interfere with black's hopes for an eye on the side, as well as giving me more territory on the left. There may also be threats to cut off the C6 stone in the offing from this line of play. But I think such plays can wait, given that my position on that side is fairly strong as it is - black can't immediately attack there, or get an eye. I think attacking from the centre is the way forward for now.

D'oh! The brain fart is all mine. Silly misread, sorry for wasting your time! This one doesn't work:

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[go]$$Wcm54 robinz vs DIV - Move 54; prisoners: Black 0 White 1
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . 2 . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | 3 X O . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 4 X O . X . . X . . X . . X . . . . |
$$ | 1 . X O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . X . O . . . . O . . O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |[/go]

Both players have lost their sense of direction. As noted by another commentator, black latest was an empty move. Black's central group is not nearly as easy to kill as either of them suspects.
But black's right lower corner cound be in serious trouble if white simply plays R2.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Even if black lives, white benefits by getting eye space around T5/T6 for his otherwise weak group.

Also, in the opposite corner, isn't B13 dual sente? It appears in the Topazg/Gaius discussions above that black is one move from dying. That makes B13 sente for white.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

It looks like sente for black, as the following hane would be most unpleasant.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

In your first diagram, I don't see why black should answer 3 at 4 rather than at S5. With Q6 and R6 in place, I don't see the danger for black.

Agreed, that is another possible variation, as is S6. They may be better. But nonetheless, white still secures the eye with S7 and an eventual S9.
Note that I did not claim that the group was killable, merely that attacking can benefit white, as opposed to the current attempts on black's central/left group.

This is a big move and don't really know if my response is correct, I am not sure what to do per se to get sente here and keep it while playing a big move. This might seem weird...I feel like i'm losing though. So I play a ladder breaker at this point to try to play ladder breaker for a play at Q8 if he responds in the way i assume he will, which I want to turn into death for the white stones bordering mine up top there, or at least one and any possible ladder though i doubt he'll let it go that far. I don't know if this is a great plan. I want to try it though, something interesting and start a big fight or at least clamp down and get some territory.

All I can say is wwwhhhaaaatttt? Surely you can't tenuki here? And especially not to as weird-looking a move as that - it's too far from the right-hand side group to hope to stay connected if I try to cut. On the other hand, it does put pressure on the J15/M15 group - I think his attachment at L15 now will cut that right apart, and possibly connect his last move to the group on top. That would certainly be annoying. But if I choose to I can just play at L15 (or somewhere else close to it) myself. He then would get another move to try to connect to the right, but I'm not convinced even then that he can do it.

I may try to read out some of those possibilities therefore, but right now I feel that would be really missing the point. As I said in discussing my last move, the result of the whole game seems to be more or less hanging on the fate of black's E5 group. If I can kill it, it's not far off game over. While if it lives - well, that's not so clear; I actually think I'll be well in the game, but I'll be behind and needing to claim a large amount of the territory in which black has just placed his stone.

So, there is some serious reading to be done concerning what I can manage to achieve against the E5 group with the move now. Moves like H7 or H8 are suggesting themselves. Reading them out is going to be very tough for me, and I'm not sure if I can manage to reach firm conclusions. However, the situation of that group looks delicate enough that, even if I can't kill, I should be able to get several useful moves in in sente. If he defends and it becomes apparent he'll live anyway, I'll go back and find a response to black's last move. (I trust DIV not to be an idiot, by the way - I assume he's done some reading of his own and thinks his group is alive; but it's quite complicated and I don't have to believe him )

That's the general plan right now - and overall I feel a lot more happy about my position than I did before I saw black's move. It basically looks like a wild overplay that is further ignoring an urgent situation elsewhere on the board. But I'm going to have to actually read out at least a few possible sequences before I decide on a move.

OK, I think this is better than a move at H7 or H8 or thereabouts. The trouble was that black, with plays here and at C5, could get himself an eye on the edge - and more or less in sente too (OK, I know I said he couldn't when commenting on my last move, but now I think I must have misread). It then seems hard for me to prevent a further one in the region around F7. The move I've played absolutely removes any chance of an eye on the side, and can also undermines the other eyespace a little from the left, as well as from the right. I don't know if he can get two eyes there, but he'll have to - his other friendly stones are much too far away.

This move also has the advantage of expanding my left-hand side territory (and giving definite life to that group, which wasn't absolutely certain yet, even if in practical terms virtually so). It's also at the expense of potential black territory if he does manage to live. Finally, it's definitely connected to my other stones - one problem of the moves around H8 was that (in combination with my ogeima which is already a pretty loose connection) they would leave a fair amount of unpleasant aji which black might have been able to use to live.

If it doesn't kill, this move must be sente - for example white D8 next (amongst others) is going to cause black serious problems in living.