Life In 19x19

Black has around 32 points. White has a moyo on the left with lots of potential.

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[go]$$Bcm26 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . . 1 . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

My feeling is the two options, relatively evaluated by mw and topazg.

If white calmly takes a corner, both players have a weak group but black's has a base (open on one side). Topazg's preference for playing high de-emphasises settling locally. seems natural to me. My concern in this shape would be how well black eg. 'a' works, anyway I don't like having a stone without a base. So the next option.

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[go]$$Bcm26 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . 4 . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . . 1 . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . 3 . . . . . 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This has very good feeling to me, both black and the marked stone are undercut. However black has three corners, a conventionally good game for black.
I would choose this way as white, because with h3 settled, white can blithely build his moyo later.
Kicking just for fun seems misguided to me.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm26 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . B . . . , . . 1 . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . 2 . . . . 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I think magicwand explained his choice well. To add a few words, he's concentrating on building support for his moyo on the left (if this seems really strange to topazg, it might surprise him later). Taking a(nother) local loss at first is a bit too ballsy for me. It annoys me that is less of a bad move this way (compared to the last variation).

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[go]$$Bcm26 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . 4 2 . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . 3 1 . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . 5 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Edit: Notwithstanding any secret plans by mw

A bit unsure about this, there's lots of aji in the clamp, I can connect very messily, but I'd rather not - either way, I don't see an alternative that doesn't feel utterly passive. So, the question is, can White complete a wall of great value and do something with it. It's certainly magicwand's sort of game, but I'm up for a fight if he tries it.

my original plan was play normal...but. this move looks good. i dont see any move by black. we will see what he plays.

Loons wrote:Black has around 32 points. White has a moyo on the left with lots of potential.

$$Bm26
$$ -----------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . . 1 . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ -----------------------------------------

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[go]$$Bm26
$$ -----------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . . 1 . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ -----------------------------------------[/go]

I wouldn't say W's moyo on the left has "lots of potential". It's OK -- not very scary.
The following is pretty scary:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

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

Tricky. This is what was worrying me. My reading suggests the lower atari simply doesn't work well for White, as it defeats the purpose of the previous moves:

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[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . O O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . X X . 4 6 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . . 3 X 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now what? White has nothing.

So, he can only plan on the other side. Here's the messy connection I read previously:

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[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . O O a . 9 O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , b X X 7 4 5 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . 8 3 X 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . 6 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

But after "a"? Just... yuck. What a nice result for White. I might get sente from "b" to play on the right side, but even that's not sure. I think I shouldn't have played the hane:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . O O . . 4 O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . X X . . 2 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . X 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 8 9 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This way he now has to protect his stones. It's a bit crude, but giving White some points in exchange for having a target to attack seems better. Now we're here, I need to read this:

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[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . O O . 9 8 O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . X X 7 4 5 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . a . 3 X 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I just don't think I can do this. I'll need to be really careful. Either way, White's done nicely out of this exchange, better than I should have allowed.

i tried to scare him and he doesnt seem to fear me anymore

Let's fight back. I can, if necessary, leave the two stones at the bottom for aji. A move like J4 could become interesting after:

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[go]$$Wcm37 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . O O . 3 2 O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . X X 1 X O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . 5 O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This line is seriously complicated, but even if it means I lose the corner (which I don't think it does), I get valuable thickness myself on the right hand side.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

i play to win. if i go pass the point of no return..i lose.
i will make best of what i have..

I take it he didn't like the complicated nonsense in my last hide tag. Oh well, I'm completely alive, connected, and in very acceptable shape. This is fine by me. I guess he's going to play the atari and then approach the top right. This however is another few points in the bag. I think White's going to have to create a big fight at some point. Looking earlier, I'm still not sure whether my move along the top side was too slow. The thing is, I really didn't want magicwand to get this position:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . W . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Sealing my corner in and giving him both approaches in the top right with positive chances of a nice development. In the current position, the top side is more my playground than White's. So not only do I have points at the moment, but it's hard for White to prevent giving me some more up there later. As I see it, the key areas of the board are w, x, y and z below:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm31 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . w . . . . w . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X w . , . . w . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . x . x . . . . . . . . z . z |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , y . y . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . x . x . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . y . y . . . z . z |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . O O . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . X X . 4 5 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . . 3 X 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

These areas will probably dictate the outcome of the game now. I played at the top to pre-emptively deal with "w" and "x", transferring the balance of power there to "in my favour" and "close to parity" (respectively) as opposed to White getting there first and having a big balance of power advantage in both. His unusual M5 gives him a strong stake in "y", and this sequence gives him a strong stake in "z" too. So if he does play the approach, I think I need to pincer and challenge him for those areas. I'm happy conceding the top right corner in favour of neutralising "y" and "z", particularly as that will have an impact on "x" too.

I hope that provides some insights into some of my strategic decision making / thoughts

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm39 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . B . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . O O . . 1 O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . X X 2 X O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

With the marked stone, I'm relatively happy now looking at this pincer. If it was a White stone, this would worry me a bit:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm43 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . 9 . 3 1 7 . |
$$ | . X O X . . W . . , . . . a 4 X 2 5 . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6 . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . . . . 0 O . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . O O . . 1 O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . X X 2 X O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now White playing at "a" feels profitable, and White has sente to do so. Because I don't think this is a particularly viable way to play here (losing potential on the right without much compensation on top), I'm suspicious the game may develop as follows:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm39 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . 0 . 6 . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . 9 . 5 . 3 . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . a . 8 . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . O O . . 1 O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . X X 2 X O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now White playing at "a" could get very interesting. I need to do some reading of this before committing to the pincer, but my first glance suggests I may be able to fight simply:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wcm49 Prisoners: none
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . X . . , . X . X . X . . . |
$$ | . X O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X X O X O . . . . . . O 3 O . O . . |
$$ | . O O O O . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . O O . . O O . . . |
$$ | . . . X . X . . . , . X X X X O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Either way, this is going to be the last really important battle in the fuseki.

This is EXACTLY what I thought MW was going to play ... however, I have no idea WHY he would play this ... I based my thoughts on how MW has played in the past, but I still don't understand all the details.

Do you have an idea of how you think the game will proceed from here? The two-space high approach to the 4-4 is not very common, in my experience.