I'm going way, way beyond my depth, but does this work after white L2 (assuming black can't escape or make an eye in the J5 area)?

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

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[go]$$Wm11
$$ . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ . . . . . . . O X X O O X . |
$$ O . . . . . O . O O X O O . |
$$ O X . . . X X O O O . . . . |
$$ . O X . , X . X X a O . . . |
$$ O . O . O O X X O 1 X O . . |
$$ . O O O X O X . X X 2 O . . |
$$ . . . . . . . X . O b . . . |
$$ ----------------------------[/go]

I don't get it, Black just looks alive

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

Or 4 at 5 and 5 at 4

Black looks ok to me, too. Pretty sure that white will not play 3 in fwiffo's diagram, though.

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

I have to be careful here. I think white is trying to get some safety for his right side group, which will weaken my group there. Then he can play a or similar, which I will have to answer by living with my bottom group, and he can attack my right side group strongly.

On the other hand, if I just connect on the second line, I have made a nice yose gain, since white loses the chance to capture and I gain the first line hane in sente.

I think if I connect, my right side group is not in terrible trouble yet. He will probably add another move there, then I can hop into the center again. He might be able to set up the cut at b, but in a pinch I can discard the marked stones, which costs less than he is giving me on the edge anyway. So I do it.

what i played is very urgent for both black and white. i made the game very complicated but..not complicated enough.
but i think black is rattled by my complicated attack which is good. i assume he will make mistake and one mistake is all i need to win. i am not too far behind.

OK, he took the shared eyespace on the right, but in gote. So I move out into the center.

I have to be careful to stay away from the bottom. Any move he makes in the K7 area might be enough to set up a kill of my bottom group. For example if I jump to K9, his peep at L8 could make a difference.

Eventually I will probably have to play K2 in gote to live. That won't feel good, but it is worth several points, so not a total loss.

I will try to break through, to keep pressure on his right side group. His last two moves there didn't help him all that much, I can still play S11 and connect above or below. The best defense to my own weaknesses is to make sure he has one too.

Nothing new to say here ..

even a moron connects a peep

i was afraid of retaliation but i guess not..

As black, I'd want to eat that dumpling, but I would fail.

points are pretty close but i am thin in the middle.
i am thinking it is safe because of its flexable shape.
if i am wrong i can be in big trouble.

below is one example of its flexablity.

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[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . W O . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . , O X . X X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . X O O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . 5 X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , X . . 6 2 3 O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . X . X 1 . . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . O . . . . . O . O O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . O X . . . X X O O O . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O . O X . , X O X . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . X O . O . . . . X O . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . . O O . . . . . X X . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Wow, what an amaazingly complex game, just what I wanted! I could easily post 20 diagrams just on my tsumego reading on the bottom side. Then there is the delicate situation on the right, and now a decision about defending the upper right corner, or moving out.

I considered three main alternatives now: a, b, c.

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

Some thoughts on each:

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

My problem with this is, white has repaired the cut, and black has neither played a move on the outside, nor defended the corner. So it seems to help white, in a way.

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[go]$$c not bad but ..
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 4 . 5 . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 2 1 O 3 O O . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . , O X . X X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . X O O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |[/go]

I don't think it would go this way. Instead:

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[go]$$c not so great
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . 5 3 1 O 2 O O . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . 4 O X 6 X X X . a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X 7 8 . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . O X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . X O O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |[/go]

In this line, having to defend at 9 is a nuissance. White gets 10, with a as an annoying follow-up.

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[go]$$c better?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . c O 4 O O . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . , O X 2 X X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X 3 . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . 5 O X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . b O . X O O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |[/go]

This move defends the previous diagram in advance, and threatens the cut for real. If white repairs this way, 5 increases the pressure on the right side group, and white doesn't have time to slide to a. Black could also play 5 at b, and the cut c is still active as well.

Or white might defend a different way:

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

… and black can play a, or maybe this is the time to drop in at b.

drawing some random thoughts in my head...
i will pick variations after he makes his move.

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[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . O O . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . , O X . X X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . O X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . X O O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , X . 7 3 4 , O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . X 5 X 1 6 . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . O . . . . . O . O O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . O X . . . X X O O O . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O . O X . , X O X . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . X O . O . . . . X O . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . . O O . . . . . X X . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

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

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

I'm surprised magicwand doesn't expect this:

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[go]$$Wc
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . O O . . . . |
$$ | . . . , X . . . . , O X . X X X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . O X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . X O O X O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . X . 8 . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , X . 4 3 2 7 O . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . X . X 1 6 . O . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X O O X . |
$$ | . . . X . O . . . . . O . O O X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . O X . . . X X O O O . . . . |
$$ | . . . X O . O X . , X O X . . O . . . |
$$ | . . X . X O . O . . . . X O . X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . . O O . . . . . X X . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]