Life In 19x19

Posted: **Tue May 03, 2011 3:42 pm**

@chew

Posted: **Tue May 03, 2011 4:04 pm**

FWIW, I'd probably do this:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm21 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . 7 . . 5 6 . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . 4 . a . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . b . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now either the corner comes under severe attack, or White can run his stones out whilst attacking with "a" or sac more forcefully with "b"

Posted: **Tue May 03, 2011 4:32 pm**

Puppycakes wrote:Yay! People are watching our game!

In my experience you are just in the right strength range to get exactly 0[\b] comments on your game.

If your ddk everybody and their mother throw advice at you.
At 5k you might get an occasional comment from an 1k or so

And at dan level the game is generally followed by everybody with a minimal interest in Malkovich games.

You are right there in the dead zone where no sdk dares to comment and the game is too unimportant to dan players.

Posted: **Tue May 03, 2011 5:38 pm**

chew, Mnemonic,

Posted: **Wed May 04, 2011 3:16 am**

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm21 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X 5 . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm21 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . a . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X 5 . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . c b . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I ultimately decided on going here first, to try and test Black's response. I'll try to explain some of my reasoning next post.

Posted: **Wed May 04, 2011 6:20 am**

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm21 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . 6 . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

E17 was a major problem for him, so he definitely had to find a way to fix it. I thought perhaps he might be able to double approach and that wouldn't be bad for him. Personally, this feels a bit like a thank you move to me. It is probably sente, but my responding to it is probably not a bad idea.

The only tricky thing is to decide how to respond to it. I mean, I think that a couple of responses are good for me.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . f . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . b d . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . c a . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The shapes that all stick out at me as feasible are a b c and d.

The advantage of a is that it helps me with central influence a bit. After this move, I'd be further out into the center than white's group and I'd be threatening to seal his group in. All the while, I feel like it helps me begin to close my corner a bit, too. Which is also kind of the reason behind considering c. With c, I jump ahead also a bit, but I do it on the third line which is a little bit more solid.

The idea behind b is that it does more to close the corner than the other moves. and it undercuts his group a bit. And it has a follow-up move at e that he has to worry about.

I think that with b something like this might happen:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . 9 . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . 1 . 0 O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . 3 2 . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . 5 4 . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . 6 . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . X 1 2 O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . X 3 O O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . X O . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think that's a pretty big corner, I think that this would have been good for me. Honestly, I kind of think that he gave me a bunch of pleasant choices here. None of them are particularly bad.

I decided that I want central influence to affect the rest of the board, so I went with a, And I think that I might be able to play b in almost sente later because it will give me the follow up at f.

Posted: **Wed May 04, 2011 6:23 am**

Mnemonic wrote:
Puppycakes wrote:Yay! People are watching our game!
In my experience you are just in the right strength range to get exactly 0[\b] comments on your game.

If your ddk everybody and their mother throw advice at you.
At 5k you might get an occasional comment from an 1k or so

And at dan level the game is generally followed by everybody with a minimal interest in Malkovich games.

You are right there in the dead zone where no sdk dares to comment and the game is too unimportant to dan players.

I've been following pretty much all of the Malkovich games. But I don't always comment, but it does feel good to have some feedback. It would be especially nice if more dan players commented because I'd love to have some of the type of information on errors from the "Almost dan" level of players such as myself.

Posted: **Wed May 04, 2011 6:53 am**

Of course my post's aren't that helpful to the players but it seems like they like attention

Posted: **Wed May 04, 2011 11:37 am**

Mnemonic wrote:Of course my post's aren't that helpful to the players but it seems like they like attention
At first I was perplexed by last whites move and it looked pretty good. On an empty board I usually play the hane against that stone but here both of them fail. I see Puppycakes played an extension but it seems kind of slow to me. I'm wondering if a one space jump or a keima would have been better.
$$Wcm25 Something like this, maybe?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . 4 3 . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . |
$$ | . . . X 1 . . . X O . O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . 6 . . X . . . . . X . . . . . |
Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$Wcm25 Something like this, maybe? $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 5 . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . 4 3 . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X 1 . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . 6 . . X . . . . . X . . . . . |[/go]

Posted: **Wed May 04, 2011 3:25 pm**

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm21 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . 7 . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Right, so this way I will double hane into the corner. My group will tend to become settled in the process. I have counterplay if Black cuts:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm27 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . 6 3 4 . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . 8 2 1 5 . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . 7 X @ . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . c # . O . X e O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . b . . a f . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . d . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I can then think of either b) or c) as followups, for now or maybe for later. I thought about making

into a peep at a), because it enhances my choices somewhat if Black chose to put

at

, and it's less likely that the peep will be answered after exchanges strenthen Black's shape in the corner. However I found some variations that I could tolerate even without the peep, and the peep is ajikeshi with respect to my stones in the center. I can still jump at d), sure, but quite notably I lose the potential to atari at e) then push/cut at f).

But why play the kick (

) in the first place? It has some family resemblence with really bad moves, like this one:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm25 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . 2 1 . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X a . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

There

just slams the door in my face, and

is not all that helpful in making a base since Black can still do stuff like a). It's like I'm helping Black to take all the points in the corner while cramping my group.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm25 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . c . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X 1 . b . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . a . @ . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . d . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

Kicking is heuristically a better shape because of the better reinforcement of

, but it still looks a bit like a bad exchange, on some general grounds. Black stands at a), and the solid connection is more powerful than the diagonal in a typical close-quarters situation. Often there's a weakness at b), working in conjunction with c) hane etc; there's the potential to cover at d) and stuff like that. I can't say that I'm not helping Black build shape, here, but remember that my group is weak, and I chose a thin knight's move to move it:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm25 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . @ . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . @ . @ X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . X W . W . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . @ . X . W . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . B . . . . . # . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I have two weak groups. The center 3 stones (

) are reasonably light, pointwise, and I can't commit to moving them when my other group is weak as well, especially with the hole at a), and Black's

which makes it hard to coordinate with the right.

I'd really like to be able to move them later on, though, because these stones cut a Black group in the center. I chose the thin knight's move to try to discourage Black from simply reinforcing the corner; that induced

. Before I can do anything else with that aji, and probably before I can do anything else at all, I need to strengthen my 'main' weak group. The natural way to try to strengthen is to harass the corner stone somehow.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm25 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . C . b . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . C X a . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . C S . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm constantly worried about the usefulness of Black forcing moves like a) and b). This limits how severely I can play. The

seem too difficult to pull off; I can't allow myself to be cut, and generate another group here, and I don't see any useful sacrifice tactics starting from any of those moves. Attachment at

won't seal Black in, and tends to cede the corner:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm25 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X 2 4 5 . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . a 1 3 O 6 X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Probably Black can just peep like this

first, though if that fails, he can always play it at a) instead and I can't crosscut or anything. Anyway, it doesn't look like I can resist strongly, as the fight becomes unfavorable. The knight's move that I threw out as a possibility in a previous post is a bit wishy-washy; it has no special tactical properties and is another thin move. Black can quite possibly just reinforce his corner:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm25 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . 2 . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . a . X . . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . c O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . 1 b . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Black can force with

then I have to reinforce my connection somehow, then Black can probably just play a). He'll be reasonably solid in the corner, and ready to cut through at b) or c). I'd need another move to fix and maybe build more eyeshape, but it's hard to say that I'm really gaining much here. Black is clearly the one earning the points.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm25 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . 1 3 . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X 2 4 . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . @ . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I can't even attach at

here, either, to try to make a base in the corner. I can't effectively resist this variation in which Black peeps with

; either

or

is going to get cut off and entirely lose its meaning.

I'm sure you're noticing a trend in these diagrams; as I said before, I'm too thin to exert tremendous pressure on the corner; when I try to do so, I get bitten by sente moves like

. I still need to get strong, though, so how about we fix the aji first? They say that my opponent's good move is my good move:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm25 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . a . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . c X 1 . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . b . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

The kick produces miai. Black can help himself to one of either a) or b), but I get to hane at the other. Trust me that I read both ways out carefully, to try to ensure an acceptable result. It's not completely settled how my opponent will play, but there's some room here for Black to misjudge. And most importantly, I'm confident that I won't be ripped apart by ordinary, obvious moves, which would almost surely happen if I made an impatient overplay like

at c).

So now at move 27, technically speaking, we're in a branch of my planning for move 25. I decided that it would be a bit too much to talk about the entire tree at move 25, so I chose to wait and explain my reading closely only for the path that Black actually chooses.

Posted: **Wed May 04, 2011 4:37 pm**

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm21 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . 8 O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This is the only move. It is worth a lot territory-wise, but it also has a lot to do with the base of my group. That and I expect it to be sente as I doubt that he'd want to allow me that hane.

Anyhow, next, I want to play at what appears to be a weak point of his shape to seal him in, but I don't like something like the following sequence and I don't see a way to get something better.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm1 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . 2 . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . 1 O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . 3 4 6 . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . 5 . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

So I'll probably do something like jump out again, threatening to seal him in.

Or, eh, I'll decide later, but I decided to play this move here.

He's very much settling his group here which is why I feel pretty good about my play so far and my use of influence to invade his four space formation earlier. Because it has made him revert to this type of move and because I am getting some territory and influence and he still has a weak group where mine are pretty strong. Also, he has a nice looking invasion point and closing my corner on the bottom right might be in order to make the invasion point near there better looking. If I can manage that, I think that he'll have a hard time finding territory on the rest of the board with my stones being pretty solid and with my groups having a lot of say in the center.

Right now I feel good about this game. But I've lost games that I was confident about before.

Posted: **Wed May 04, 2011 4:50 pm**

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm21 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 9 . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm21 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . 9 . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . a . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Anything less than a second hane would be too conciliatory to Black, I think. Forgot to mention it before but a) is an interesting possibility that Black might try; yes, I did try to read through it, but first we'll see what Black plays.

Posted: **Wed May 04, 2011 6:06 pm**

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm21 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Posted: **Thu May 05, 2011 8:23 am**

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Wcm31 Prisoner Count: B-0 W-0 $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X O . . O . O X X X . X . . O . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . O . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . X . O . X . O . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . 1 X . . . . . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Posted: **Thu May 05, 2011 4:23 pm**

Hidden until upper left corner settled,

Life In 19x19

Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament

Re: Game #119--Puppycake vs. Parliament