BQM 355
Calvin: Here is how the game started. is uncommon, but I don't see anything specifically wrong with it.
At this point, I expected black to play at a, after which I would extend on the left side, which would return to a common 5-4 point joseki.
Calvin: However, black played , which I consider bad. I thought a bit before playing the intuitive move
.
(I also considered
at
and
, but what I read didn't seem favorable for white.)
seems to make black kind of thin, and I think
may be a mistake.
I'm not sure white got the best result here. It is true that
now seems to be in an odd location, but it is also not easy for me to find a good place for
.
(Maybe at a?)
Bill:
looks good to me. But I would have played
at
, myself. And, yes, I like
at a. :-))
Calvin: In my self-review, I considered that might be better. Even if black gets ahead with
, white lives easily in the corner and preserves the aji of a.
If
at
,
at
and I think white's okay. But it's also gote. But this is a kyu judgement, which is why I ask the question.
Bill: Generally, the move to make look bad is
, to see the exchange,
-
, as merely strengthening White. But what if
cuts?
Bill: Your connection was fine, but I would have preferred . I doubt if Black has anything better than
, although it is an admission that
was bad.
Bill: Hmmm. If Black reverts to , even though it is an admission that
was not good, I think that the connection at a or b is better than
.
Calvin: Thanks for your comments, Bill. It's good be able see these alternate plans. I was fourtunate enough to get at ask Mingjiu Jiang 7p this question, and he said that it is very big for white to take immediately. (Of course, as is his teaching style, he isn't going to mention what happens if black cuts at a if don't ask, and since I didn't I'll have to look in that myself. But since white has the option of capturing
now, it seems safe enough.)
Bill: Thanks, Calvin. I am confident that Black's nobi at
is not a good response to White's tachi, and so I still think it's another way to play. However, Mingjiu's block makes me wonder about whether the threat of
in the Awkward diagram is good enough to prevent the nobi (
in that diagram).
Assuming that Black connects after
in this diagram, what is Mingjiu's follow-up for White?
Calvin: Also...
Calvin: If black had protected at ,
makes a shape that is not desirable. One would rather have
at a. So this result is good for white, too.