As for everyone else, welcome to my mind. Pull up a chair. There's plenty of room.
On korean servers they (and I especially) tend to speedplay even slow time controls. It'll be interesting to see how I do playing in this format.

Usually, the 2 stones are set up the other way:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$
$$ ----------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I kind of like mixing it up in my games. I do tend to fight a lot. I offer exchanges pretty often and I try to tenuki whenever I can. I try not to overvalue stones. I also attack strongly. Too strongly really. I've been getting better at attacking for profit. Just like most go players, I'm trying to find that fine line between severe and overplay. But I try to play actively as much as I can. I've only recently gotten into understanding positional analysis. I used to attack full on most of the time. Then I'd sometimes lose games that I had a huge lead in. You know, if you have a 50 point lead, no reason to risk giving it back, so you might win by 100 points.

So because I like to fight, I love building an early lead and then I play solidly while avoiding passive play. Since my play is usually a little too active, I find that I do ok at this.

I'd love to hear comments from stronger players about what my weaknesses might be.

Anyhow, I played the 3-3 which is a very territory oriented move. In a handicap game, I often go for another star point. Then I often tenuki his first approach and build something like the sanrensei.

I feel like by playing the 3-3 stone, this game might be something more like a diagonal fuseki. Maybe it undermines the value of my two high 4-4 stones a little, but I want to play the 3-3 anyway and I think that my stones can still do some work.

I'm also terribly curious what style of game my opponent plays. I tend to value influence very much, so that's why the 3-3 feels weird to me sometimes, but I also like solidness in that I don't have to pay that portion of the board much mind. It frees me up a bit to be able to focus on other parts of the board.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . a . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Not what I was expecting, but what are you entitled to expect for Black's first move?

Usually I see Black playing high instead, usually at a), to coordinate an influence-based position with the other 4-4 stones. 3-3 is certainly playable, but I'm perhaps a bit too used to players who don't play particularly varied openings. We'll see how I handle it.

For now, let's just approach a 4-4 stone, from the outside because the low 3-3 stone indicates a relatively uninteresting developmental area. We'll see what Black does.

I thought about a) too, but I don't want to end in gote there just yet. I'll leave the choice between clomping at a) or more directly choosing a side with something like b) to later.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 4 3 . . 7 . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This is the only joseki off a 3-3 that I really remember. is maybe honest; it prevents Black from rising up at a) or so, which starts cooperating with the top 4-4 again, and leaves me with a fairly useless floating group. With you can see how Black is fairly well enclosed and White is putting a damper on Black's outside potential. Sente ends here for sure, though, if I play like this.

Also, while reducing Black here is a good thing, I'm a little unsure about what more I can do with this center group, whereas I know how to build up a profitable framework around my 4-4 up top. So for now I'll approach and leave this shoulder hit in reserve for later.

I don't usually play so many low stones. Sometimes when I see this in a handicap game, I suspect that my opponent might have a passive mind set. I hope that he doesn't think that about me.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . b . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . 5 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'll let him take a formation of some sort if he likes. If he approaches then I'll pincer tight and try to take sente. In a fast game I might try making a second approach right away, but it's harder to count on a mistake so long as my opponent plays deliberately.

I'll try to play deliberately, too, at least for the time being. 2 stones is a pretty light handicap. I feel that I can play relatively normally still.

Perhaps he will pincer me. I should be able to take sente if I dive into the corner. Then I'll decide on building a moyo of my own with a play like at the star point or perhaps invading his moyo. Anyhow, we'll see what he does. Who knows how he'll mix it up.

As promised, a tight pincer. I was thinking toward tight pincers not just because they are common among my typical opponents (how many times have I seen hoshi, knight's approach, one space low pincer...) but also because tighter pincers tend to be more severe. Severity is not for severity's sake....ok, well, sometimes it is, but here I want to get sente. One way to reliably get into a sente variation is to limit your opponent's possible responses in the first place.

If I chose a low pincer, I'd likely be in gote, like so:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm7 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . X . 4 2 . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . 5 O 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . @ . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

where I'm blocking at in the first place because I want to use my marked extension, right?

Putting the pincer one higher makes it tougher for Black to just dive into the corner. The wall that results for White can feel discouraging, and I'm content to let Black play low & cornerish if it means he isn't using his 4-4 stones ambitiously. It's entirely possible I could see my opponent doing this sort of thing:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm7 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . 5 . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . 1 . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . |
$$ | . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If that happens, I'll be thankful to take sente naturally and continue working. Maybe I'd approach the top next, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

One thing is for certain, I want to split his stones. I don't like diving into the corner with the one space high pincer because black gets too solid. Besides that, I tend to want to separate his stones anyhow.


I know that this is a joseki:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . 4 . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

But honestly, I just don't like it very much. I mean, it's way better than the similar one played with the two space pincer. I might jump up twice instead of just the once.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . 5 . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This does give him a lot of territory, but his corner is still open and I'd be getting a good extension from my 4-4 stone while attacking his pincer stone.

Right, so this move is more or less a no-brainer, but now that Black appears to be committing to the line of play that I anticipated, it's (maybe well past) time to take stock of the situation and make sure that things are actually flowing in my favor.
Of course, now that we're here, I don't think that they actually are.

So what's the problem? Let's look at the tentative plan that I had in mind.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm9 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . # . . . . . |
$$ | . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The bad news is that all White's stones wind up on the right side, there are holes in the formation, and development is limited after Black made that jump. On the one hand, it's pretty important to continue to break up the board, but on the other hand, leaving things as they are makes me really want to reply at b) to Black's a). This means that if things flow relatively normally:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm14 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . 2 . X . 1 . . . , . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . O 7 . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . 8 9 . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 6 5 . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I might be dealing with a pretty big moyo. I don't really like the way things are looking here.
I'll think more about this, and hopefully work something out.

I decided that I wanted to do this exchange. Mostly because I don't think invading the corner is something that I want to do anytime soon. I think that it damages my stones too much. I don't like how low this joseki makes me, but if my group is solid and settled, I can think of invading soon.

Right. So, I looked at a lot of other moves just to conclude that I'll finish the sequence as normal. Primary example is that I can't try kicking to change the direction, I don't think; I simply don't have the supporting environment that I'd want, up top.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm11 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . O 2 . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I may be too heavy if Black plays this sort of way, too difficult to extend efficiently on the top. I don't exactly like leaving the corner open, either.

I'll just play steadily for now, and play an active decision after we've laid down our little sequence here. I've an idea in mind, but I'm still mulling it over. I really don't trust my positional judgement in the opening too much.

Screw Joseki. There. I said it. I refuse to play a move simply because it's joseki. I don't want to play such a low move as M18. I feel like it does a lot to secure my group, but if feels slow and low and I don't like it.

I mean, I'm nobody to criticize a move that pros approve of, but screw it. I only play moves that I want to play, so here we go.

Rely on your opponent to not be docile. This is probably the strongest response from Black. I
don't really have time to finish territory on the right or anything slow like that. I really don't want to see the pincer:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm13 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . 2 , . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Therefore I try to settle on the top first. If Black wants to jump in and fight, I guess I'll fight.

I choose my approach to be distant because I want to to try to discourage Black from playing between my stones, and low because I want to generate eyespace if possible. We're entering middlegame now, and I'm going to have a difficult time, I suspect.

Two things: I jumped twice to get some extra influence and it also means that my group has some room to move. But I want to use this influence.

One way that I don't tend to do very often would be to play like this. Now if white invades the 3-3, his stones are thin and he has to patch them up. Maybe he plays to strengthen his group and aiming at the 3-3 invasion. If he does that, I might be able to attack his group, but he can probably manage. At least I feel like black's group isn't as strong as I'd like it to support the invasion on the right.

So instead, I'd rather split up white's stones.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . 2 X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I could also play this, but it feels too passive and white's group feels a lot stronger than I'd like.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . 2 . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If I play like this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . 1 . O . . 2 . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Later white has this to help him settle.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . 4 . . X . O . . O . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . 3 2 X . . . . . , . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So I decided to split with an idea that I wouldn't be surprised by an attachment and a crosscut. Also, I wouldn't be surprised by him kicking me which is his sente.

If I were him: Perhaps I'd play this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . . 2 X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . 1 . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Or:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . 3 2 . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . 4 1 . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Lots of possiblities here, I have a bunch of scattered random thoughts and ideas, but we'll see how he responds.

This move is the tactical center of the top. If I do something else, for instance suppose that I make double approach:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm11 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . 6 . . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . X , . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

a simple pillar looks pretty good for Black. Maybe it isn't the best move for Black in the diagram, but the point is that if I don't attach now, I'm not sure that I can keep the opportunity to attach later.

I'm expecting a crosscut. Then if there is one, I will extend.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O 7 O X 2 4 . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . 6 X 1 3 O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . 8 5 . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Perhaps something like this? We'll have to see how white chooses to play.

Crosscut is the default reply here.
Sometimes hane underneath is an option, but here Black would develop too much power:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm17 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . 3 . 1 a . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O 5 O X . . . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . 6 . 4 X 2 . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . b . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Something like that. Stuff like a) is looking like sente for Black and b) is a huge point now. White can't get both, so life on the top will be pretty miserably enclosed.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm11 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . O X a . d X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . X 7 . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . b c . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm most concerned if Black draws back. If a) then I'll c). Something like b) is more difficult. I may have to just a), but possibly I can try forcing at d). Dunno.

I'm not sure of the outcome of this fight will be, but if I get sente, I think I'll invade the right side.