Life In 19x19

14 stones are released onto the board

I first learned about go while reading Hikaru No Go when I was 14. At the time we were playing a lot of 4 in a row during class and it got boring. After reading up on the rules online, I challenged some of my friends to some quick matches on a 9x9 with pen and paper. I also downloaded igowin and got up to 12k. At the end of the month I was successfully beating all my friends and they didn't want to play anymore. That and the fact that the magazine that was running the manga went under, led me to lose interest in go.
This summer, while traveling the USA, I finally got around to finishing the manga and my desire to play was reawakened. Luckily the one family I was staying with also played. I asked the dad, boasting that I was a 12k. He of course, being 1k, wiped the floor with me. After that I started an intense week of study and managed to work my way up to 18k. Back in Germany, I joined the local club and hit the 10k mark on KGS after just over 3 months of playing.
Then I was forced on a 2 month hiatus due to starting College and finding and renovating a place to live. Now, after finally securing internet access, I am eager to start playing again.

Short term goal: 9k by the end of January
Mid term goal: Getting strong enough to represent my club
Long term goal: Getting strong enough to beat my US sensai in an even match.

I've been working on my opening lately, trying to be less completely lost at the beginning of the game. My usual plan as black is simple - two hoshi stones (because I like fighting) and then an approach to one of white's corners, in order to take the initiative. Let's see how this goes.

Since I am white I have to respond to black. The easiest way to do that is to stay flexible, so I’ll play hoshi. I played it in the upper left because I am hoping Black will go for a cross position Fuseki. If he doesn’t, I will get a chance to play in the lower left. Ni-ren-sai is standard, but at the moment I'm leaning towards 3-5 just to shake things up.

As planned. I will mostly try to avoid long, fanciful variation diagrams in my thoughts on this game, since I know how unlikely they are to be feasible.

Playing 3-5 here just to try something new. is the only unbalanced corner so I'm expecting him to approach. a-c are the invasion points I know. The only other option I see is san-ren-sai. I'll have to wait and see what he chooses.

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[go]$$
$$ | . . . . . .
$$ | . . . c . .
$$ | . . b , . .
$$ | . . a . 4 .
$$ | . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . .
$$ -------[/go]

Hmm, his stone in the bottom left is an uncommon one (in my experience at least), but it doesn't concern me too much. Still, I'll put off dealing with it by approaching the upper left first

I'm not sure if an approach on the 4th line would be more consistent with my 4-4 stone than the 3rd line approach I've chosen - but I'm more comfortable with the latter.

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[go]$$Bcm1 Prisoners: B: 0, W:0
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 8 . . 5 . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

If he then extends from 6, I will approach the lower left from above.

Hm, ok. So he approached the other corner. I don't know if that is the best move because if we play this simple variation ...

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[go]$$Bcm1 Sente for white
$$ --------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . 3 . . . . . .
$$ | . . 4 . . 1 . . 5 .
$$ | . . . O . . . . . ,
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . 2 . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .[/go]

I get Sente. I'm not in a hurry to enclose the hoshi stone because it needs a further 2 moves to secure the corner so he could have saved this exchange for later and invade my 3-5.
I almost played C13, but I didn't like this result.

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[go]$$Bcm1 not good for white?
$$ --------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . 5 3 4 . . . . .
$$ | . . 1 2 6 X . . . .
$$ | . . 7 O . a . . . ,
$$ | . . 9 8 . . . . . .
$$ | . . 0 . . . . . . .
$$ | . . O . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . .[/go]

My wall is facing the wrong direction and I would have to come back and play a or he would have a lot of forcing moves in the area.
If this was a tournament game I would just play C14, take sente and approach the bottom right. But if I'm to learn something I'll have to step out of my comfort zone and going for a counter attack. Because of my 3-5 stone the bottom side is the most interesting so I'm going there first. I'm not too afraid of a double approach to my top left, though I don't think I could tenuki again after that.
I wonder if this will turn out to be the game losing move At least I think he wasn’t expecting this.

Considered the pincer, but don't think my position is strong enough. As I understand it, an attacking move such as a pincer is best when you have some strength to continue the attack. I choose a simple extension instead, but on the 4th line with a view to later development, possibly after we return to the upper left. If I get something like the below, I would be reasonably happy I think.

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

Edit: On second thoughts, perhaps 4 above would be bad, as White could pincer my weak group around 6? Though White himself is perhaps not strong enough up there...

Ok. I think I messed up.

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[go]$$Bcm1 I wanted this
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . X . . X . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , O . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . O . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bcm1 And now I got this
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , 4 . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . O . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

My Options are: Play out the lower right and let him get sente to double approach the upper left. (That just seems bad) Or start playing the upper left again hoping he will give me sente. Of course this allows him to pincer my O3 and gain a position on the lower side (The one my 3-5 is pointing at: not good) My third option is to start something complicated by playing at a, but I have no Idea where this will lead.

Ok, I think I got something. It's not pretty but I got myself to blame for that. The 3-5 point hat two enclosures. a is the normal 3-4 point and its direction of play is the left side in my example. The second one (b) leaves a weakness at the 33 point but its direction of play is toward the lower side.

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[go]$$Bcm1 Two enclosures
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . a , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

To me that means that the two corners are (sort of) miai. If I gain strength in one and lose it in the other I can freely choose which corner to support, depending on my choice of shimari.

I played low to reduce the aji. I have way too many weak spots on the board.

I considered responding in the top left, but this seems too much like following the opponent around. It seems like a good time to pincer in the bottom right, since I have the stone at Q6 already, so don't need to play there in response to a one-point-jump. Naturally, he may respond with a pincer in the top left, but I'm happy with that.

In response I am expecting a counter pincer in the top left, the diagonal play at N4, or tenuki. I don't think he will jump straight out to O5 in this position, and playing the 3-3 invasion no longer looks good.

Only move I can see. It should live, although mabye in gote. (Paying the price for my tenuki )

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

Leaning on the black stone just seems wrong.

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

And jumping doesn't get me anywhere either.

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

The lower left corner is considered "unfinished," so an approach by Black is also quite big:

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[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 5 , . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Mnemonic wrote:And jumping doesn't get me anywhere either.

Not true. After Mnemonic's variation:

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[go]$$Wc
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . 4 . . . |
$$ . . . . . . 3 . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ . . . . 2 . 1 . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ . c . . X . O . . a . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . b . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ -------------------[/go]

White still has the options to jump into 3-3 with (a), or keima (b), or block Black with (c).
Since Black cannot get both the corner (a or b) and the side (c), they are miai for White.
And this is true immediately after White's first jump:

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[go]$$Wc
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ . . . . . . 1 . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ . c . . X . O . . a . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . b . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ -------------------[/go]

Already, the corner (a or b) and the side (c) are miai for White, so jumping to 1 is OK.