Vernal Equinox Rengo 2003

Moves 61-80  

ColinG

Ping : actually looks like a aji-keshi move.w seems very solid after the exchange of ,. So I decide to fix b shape first with .

DJ : Trying to be patient and stopping my hand from playing fancy, aji-keshi moves to keep Black from cutting...
BTW, welcome back to played Go after so much blabla ;-)))
Isn't about time to finish the Black Sheep Rengo 2003 and get ready for the 2004 Peace Rainbow Rengo?

kokiri - Shape point?

Dave: . Natural, I think.

dnerra: . Slow or vital point? Charles Where I would have played, anyway. Mutual base point.

Moves 51--60  

unkx80: . The march to the center continues.

kokiri Hmmm- white's position across the bottom is starting to look quite strong I want to get out towards the centre

DaveSigaty . Continuing for now.

Charles . Necessary, really.

unkx80 : The game is very much in Black's favour. But since someone wants to revive the game, I'll just carry on.

Jesse: Don't feel compelled to play on my account. If there was a good reason to abandon the game, that's fine. I just like to see a rengo game going since I think they're fun to follow and a great source of discussion.

Jesse : basic instinct, hopefully not disgustingly. This game seems interesting and far from played out, so I thought I'd join to get things going again.

DJ : disgustingly reckless, but nobody played in the last month and half...

HolIgor: : disgustingly slow.

unkx80: .

dnerra: .

Moves 41--50  

DJ : Nobody plays, so I have decided to take full responsibility for my recklessness...
Ishida says that is a greedy move: to me it has always looked as a grabbing-lots-of-point move. Let's what happens.

Charles Here the point of is mostly to steal the base of . This is the way to use , to attack. I have created a page side pattern from VER 2003, to discuss the lower side as it was before .

Charles . Well, I always wanted one line lower.

unkx80: . Go criticize me all you want, because I really don't know how to play.

dnerra: . About the "What else?": I was wondering about White at a both for and .

Moves 31-40  

DaveSigaty (White 40) The good guys :-) seem to be in a spot of trouble here!

Charles (Black 39)

Dieter: (White 38)

Migeru (Black 37): I suspect it might be time for tenuki, but since white can't fail to reply to this...

DJ (White 36): Ten days went by since Black's last move here... I feel like the Snow Team is disgusted with my mistake and doesn't want to play anymore. Therefore, spreading me head with ashes, I'll try to salvage something, just hoping not to make things even worse...

Charles (Black 35). Can't tenuki yet.

DJ: Mamma mia! it's my turn to make a disaster... :-(

There is no disaster in rengo...:) --dnerra

DJ (White 34): Oh Shape! Thou art my weakest point%%% I've played this way because I want a way out, because playing a feels submissive to me, and because playing b could provoke Black c and I didn't like this either...
And... I like a team of loudmouths!

dnerra: (Black 33): I feel obliged to answer .

DaveSigaty: (White 32) Since the action has been so slow, I will make two plays in a row. Come on White team, let's Go! :-)

Charles (Black 31). Strengthen one group might be the responsible thing.

Moves 21-30  

DaveSigaty: .

Migeru: . Keep it simple, stupid :-)

unkx80: . The natural response?

dnerra: . These two white stones cannot be attacked anyway, so we may as well strengthen them.

Trying to parse that statement here... Migeru

DaveSigaty: White 26. Just playing to prevent Black from settling too easily.

Charles: Black 25. Suddenly Black has a bad position. Dieter: No need to hammer it home. Keep it rengo. Charles Keep it wiki is a good idea, too.

unkx80: . I think that is almost certainly a mistake. It should have been at a.

VER 2002 B23 Discussion

Migeru (Black 23): I think the black group in the UR will live now, so let's establish a base on the upper side (and threaten to slide into the UL corner, so this is hopefully sente).

DJ (White 22): Uh, I'll finish this. It looks (very locally) joseki...

Charles (Black 21).

HolIgor: Interesting. I would definitely play

Move 31. Alternatives  

could be at a as well.

Charles Black isn't in trouble there? We are still in joseki, according to Yi Ch'ang-ho and Yamashita Keigo. To put it another way, eye space in the corner is important for Black.

Moves 11-20  

DJ (White 20): Well, nobody's playing and this move is a consequence of my previous one, so I think it's OK to play twice and keep things going.
From Charles' analysis I've understood that playing to make ko was sort of premature, and that would have been hurt more than in this variation.
Am I correct? Charles I think and are a reasonable direction of play.

Migeru (Black 19): this looks like the right side to press from: d is bad shape. Expanding on DJ's comment, it's good to have people a whole 15 stones stronger to clean up after me ;-)

DJ (White 18): Probe! Probe%%% I adore Rengo's! If you make mistakes, there's always a stronger player ready to correct you...

dnerra (Black 17): Seems the only move. Looks very ko-ish, and I don't know where we are heading...but I am certainly delighted to play a difficult ko being on the same side as the expert on that matter :-) Charles I disclaim expertise, but I'd welcome a ko fight. Still, I don't see one in this joseki after as played. If that had been at c, sure.

VER 2003 B17 discussion

Dave Interesting! I have never encountered this before. It seems to me that with support along both the top and the right, White should not back down here. Hence (White 16).

Charles (Black 15) No need to play the most ordinary joseki here.

DJ (): I agree that the RS looks important for white. I didn't like the result of a white invasion in SanSan, nor of W b, B at , W c.
The only other interesting option the came to my mind was the following:

Option for  

But the risk is that it would help Black to develop down the right side...

dnerra: (). Charles I prefer at a, to play steadily on this side where White may become strong. dnerra Interesting. I thought the upper side was more important than the right side, so a felt like giving in.

VER 2003 B13 discussion

BlueWyvern:

Migeru: (). A strong left side. Charles This is the correct direction. But one more line for a three-space extension is important in relation with the lower left corner.

Moves 1-10  

Dave: . Let's be calm. Charles Dave, at a is calm: is just normal. You were considering a pincer? Dave Perhaps balanced would be a better term. I think a leaves the top played out for the moment while leaves approaching the upper right or attacking on the left side as miai.

Charles: . Let's be speedy.

BlueWyvern: .

Question: is this overconcentrated? Or does it just come out to two net moves to secure a corner, so it's like shimari? - Migeru

dnerra: .

DaveSigaty: . White is willing to treat the right and the bottom as miai. Charles played low is to initiate a counter-pincer plan if White plays a two-space or three-space pincer. Now we'll have something different.

Charles . Here there is a reason to approach low.

BlueWyvern : Territory vs. Influence, here we go!

Migeru : I usually try to play sanrensei, but this is supposed to be a learning experience, so let's take opposite corners.

AvatarDJFlux : A time-honoured reply?

Charles Matthews . A celebrated opening.