(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2]
RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[0.50]TM[1800]OT[3x30 byo-yomi]
GN[Monday Go Meditation: Game 65]PW[Daurak]PB[BenGoZen]WR[3k]BR[4k]DT[2014-09-24]PC[The KGS Go Server at http://www.gokgs.com/]RE[B+Time]
;B[pd]BL[1792.321]C[It has been a while since I've played a game against an even strength opponent, so the star point was an easy decision for me. Keeping things familiar.]
;W[dp]WL[1786.796]LB[qp:B][pq:A]C[White chose the diagonally opposing star point which opened up my options since I could choice A (Q3) or B (R4) depending on my mood.]
;B[qp]BL[1784.645]LB[fq:A]C[I decided to see what White would do as I threatened either orthodox or an approach move at A (F3) to possibly setup the micro-chinese.]
;W[cd]WL[1749.487]LB[ed:A]C[I was a little surprised by White's choice here since it gives Black an ideal approach at A (E16), which could work well with the star point in the upper right; but one cannot say this is wrong by any stretch of the means.]
;B[fq]BL[1780.26]C[I decided to go ahead and leave the approach on the upper left available for later and approached first since I had the initiative.]
;W[dn]WL[1742.788]C[White responds calmly with the high one point jump, which already gave me some sneaking suspicions that White may be planning to play a moyo game.]
;B[lq]BL[1774.685]C[I went ahead and setup the micro-Chinese and waited to see what White would do.]
;W[nc]WL[1721.313]C[White approached with the knight's move.]
;B[pf]BL[1769.458]C[So I went ahead and one-space jump in order to keep consistent with the impending moyo I was about to make.]
;W[ic]WL[1714.325]C[Fascinating! White chooses to compete mini-Chinese against micro-Chinese!]
;B[pj]BL[1759.737]LB[dj:A]C["Game on!" I think, "Let's play a moyo game!" So I take the big point on the right while fully expecting White to take A (D10) for himself.]
;W[qc]WL[1702.03]C[To my surprise, White invades at the 3-3. When talking to Daurak later, he told me he was thinking of solidifying some territory on the top; but this is not consistent with the overall moyo vs moyo theme that has been building for the last ten moves.]
(;B[pc]BL[1745.848]C[For those thinking, "What are you doing Ben? You're blocking the wrong side!" This is actually a normal joseki that aims to press White low instead of simply giving him third line territory. You'll see what I mean shortly.

And if you're worried about A (R16), click on it to see why it's not good for White to try and live.]
(;W[pb]WL[1693.472]C[White hanes under to connect.]
;B[qd]BL[1743.679]C[And the key move here is to block from this direction now and let White connect since the right side is more important.]
;W[rb]WL[1688.655]C[White makes the hanging connection as in the joseki.]
;B[rc]BL[1742.442]C[Black ataris once as a forcing move.]
;W[qb]WL[1676.847]LB[ci:A][cj:B][cl:C]C[White connects and now Black has sente to do whatever he wants. Compare this with directly blocking the right side by going to Move 12 and clicking on R16.

There is only one remaining big point left on the board. Out of the choices on the board, which would you choose: A (C11), B (C10), or C (C8)?]
(;B[ci]BL[1715.409]LB[cf:A][cl:B]C[I like this move too. The reason being very simple: miai for two space extension at A (C14) and B (C8).]
;W[ck]WL[1619.764]C[As expected, White protected his corner group with this large knight attack.]
;B[cf]BL[1711.672]LB[ed:A]C[Naturally I extended two spaces to establish a base. For the next move, I expected White to play at A (E16), but his next move surprised me.]
;W[df]WL[1557.971]C[White attached. And I was bewildered for a while on what to do. I actually considered A (D15) for quite some time since it seemed like it might make for a good fight.]
;B[dg]BL[1689.311]C[However, on second thought, I realized that keeping my stones connected was critically important at this point since I wanted to establish safety as soon as possible. After all, one of the worst things that can happen when you're playing a moyo strategy is letting your opponent chase your weak group into your framework. So with that in mind, the hane here was the best I could come up with.]
;W[ef]WL[1550.495]LB[kc:C][jd:B][ge:A]C[When White extended here, I have to admit I wasn't too happy seeing his top side grow in size. But after a few deep breaths, I reminded myself that it was far from solid and still had weaknesses around A (G15), B (K16) and even C (L17).]
;B[ce]BL[1666.525]C[Since my goal was safety, I decided to bump my head against the enemy stone since I saw it as the only way for me to gain a viable base.]
;W[dd]WL[1543.837]C[White extended solidly. And so I sat here considering how weak my group really was.]
;B[fo]BL[1644.782]LB[bd:A][fi:C][bk:B][co:D]C[I figured that I had multiple options with the group (A [B16\]. B [B9\], and C [F11\]), so I went ahead and tenuki'd with this one space jump in order to continue growing my moyo while potentially eyeing the peep at D (C5).]
;W[eg]WL[1474.048]C[When White turned here, I have to admit that I considered ignoring him.]
;B[dh]BL[1615.857]C[But I realized that he would get way too much solid territory in the process and thus chose to reinforce my group.]
;W[el]WL[1346.867]LB[bj:A]C[White's move here was also a little surprising, but the idea behind this move was to strengthen his group while attacking my group from afar. After all, if Black plays elsewhere right now, a move like A (B10) could start causing trouble for Black.]
;B[bk]BL[1558.455]C[I don't know if I've ever made this clear in past games, but I really hate having a weak group that is getting chased. So while there may have been bigger points to play at this point, I decided it was time for me to bunker down nice and solidly so I could focus on other areas.]
;W[cl]WL[1302.412]LB[bl:A]C[White surprised me again with this rather calm extension since I was expecting the hane at A (B8), but it did net him sente.]
;B[bj]BL[1531.126]C[I naturally had to pull back, but was okay taking gote since my group was practically alive now and the lower left corner was now undercut as well. ]
;W[bd]WL[1288.24]LB[be:A][fi:B]C[White descends in hopes that I will respond by blocking at A (B15), but from what my life and death skills could see, the shape was resilient enough to make life. And worst case scenario, I could always run at B (F11) to find a second eye if needed.]
;B[me]BL[1488.498]C[So I decided to tenuki and expand my moyo once more.]
;W[ld]WL[1255.263]C[White raised his framework to the fouth line with this knight's move.]
;B[le]BL[1443.968]C[So I push once in order to further increase my influence.]
;W[kd]WL[1162.959]C[White extends along the fourth line making nice territory at the top, but my moyo is very imposing at this point.]
;B[gl]BL[1431.536]LB[op:A]TR[ck][cl][el][dn][dp]C[For my next move, I decided to try and expand my moyo once more with this large knight's move. I thought the attack on the D6 group (triangle) would possibly induce a response; but this was a little greedy. The better move in this case would probably have been for me to play A (P4).]
;W[pp]WL[1132.815]C[Sure enough, White jumps into the fray with this attachment. To be honest, I'm not sure this is the best way to enter Balck's framework.]
;B[pq]BL[1389.413]C[I decided to hane in response, but I think this is exactly what White wants since it allows him to crosscut. Based on what happened in the game, maybe the solid extension is better? ]
;W[qq]WL[1127.214]C[As expected, White crosscuts to start a fight with the aim of making shape.]
;B[qo]BL[1356.68]TR[pq]C[I extend since White cannot capture the Q3 stone (triangle).]
;W[oq]WL[1105.498]C[White ataris.]
;B[pr]BL[1353.028]C[I extend.]
;W[po]WL[1102.883]C[When White extends here, I was a little perplexed on what to do next, but I relied on my knowledge of shape to figure out what my next move was. Any idea where you would play?]
;B[pn]BL[1330.79]C[When given the chance to hit your opponent's stones on both sides of the head like this, it's usually a good idea to go ahead and do so since it gives you a liberty advantage.]
;W[qn]WL[1080.12]C[To my surprise, White crosscut again! Very aggressive!]
;B[rq]BL[1305.178]TR[pn]C[Since I knew the Q6 stone (triangle) couldn't be capture, I went ahead and secured my corner first.]
;W[qr]WL[991.375]C[White extended.]
;B[or]BL[1233.639]LB[oo:A]C[So I turned here threatening the ladder at A (P5). It's not a long ladder, so try practice reading it out yourself!]
;W[no]WL[917.686]C[White protects his stones with this one point jump.]
;B[qs]BL[1193.815]C[I atari'd from this direction now to maximize my eye potential in case some capturing race broke out.]
;W[rp]WL[899.053]C[White now starts a clever sequence to gain strength with this atari.]
;B[ro]BL[1169.964]C[I have to respond and extend.]
;W[rn]WL[895.744]C[White blocks while putting my stones in atari again.]
;B[sp]BL[1162.257]C[So I must capture.]
;W[pm]WL[777.546]C[Then White sets off with this atari, which I had only vaguely considered.]
;B[on]BL[1156.673]C[I have to extend to try and keep White split.]
;W[nm]WL[754.79]C[But then White has this net, and yes, it doesn't work; but it does at the same time. You'll see what I mean shortly.]
;B[om]BL[1139.105]C[I clearly cannot let White get away with capturing my stones and thus settling so easily, so this push was the only option.]
;W[ol]WL[744.343]LB[pl:A][qm:B]C[White blocks, but there is only one option left for Black now. Which would you choose: A (Q8) or B (R7)? Click on either to see an explanation.]
(;B[qm]BL[1087.228]C[I chose this variation in the actual game because it ensured I was connected.]
;W[pl]WL[734.333]C[White connects.]
;B[rm]BL[1070.39]TR[qn][rn]C[I capture the S6 stones (triangle).]
;W[nn]WL[730.001]C[White squeezes.]
;B[sn]BL[1065.11]C[I capture.]
;W[oo]WL[723.694]C[And then White squeezes once again.]
;B[qn]BL[1055.551]LB[mk:B][nl:A]C[And I connect thinking that White would now protect his cutting point at A (O8) with a move like B (N9).]
;W[kp]WL[693.378]C[To my surprise though, he tries to go for a direct attack on my bottom area, which understandably looks like it has a bit of potential. And I almost respond out of instinct, but realized that the M3 stone (triangle) was not valuable and could be easily saved if needed.]
;B[nl]BL[1037.915]C[So I decided to just cut and separate White into two groups.]
;W[ml]WL[655.712]C[White ataris now from this direction, which I imagine is because atari'ing from the other direction would leave him with two weak groups.]
;B[nk]BL[1034.842]C[However, Black is quite thrilled to start converting the right side into solid points.]
;W[mk]WL[646.326]C[White pushes again.]
;B[nj]BL[1027.009]C[Black extends solidly to further solidify the right side.]
;W[mj]WL[613.432]C[White extends once more.]
;B[ni]BL[967.23]LB[mi:A]C[And then I decide to also extend once more since it would allow my shape to be strong while giving me a potential turn at A (M11) later to further expand my right side.]
;W[lp]WL[605.632]TR[lq]C[White's attachment here seems like an attempt to punish Black for tenuki'ing, but once again, the value of M3 (triangle) was small.]
;B[iq]BL[905.818]TR[gl][fo][fq]C[So I immediately made a base for my F3 stones (triangle).]
;W[il]WL[584.216]LB[gk:A][gm:B]C[White plays an extension that threatens the connection at A (G9) or B (G7) while also starting to gain some center points.]
;B[co]BL[859.513]C[I decide now is the proper time to peep and see what White's intentions are.]
;W[cp]WL[548.257]C[To my surprise, White decides to try and keep the corner.]
;B[do]BL[822.876]TR[fo]C[This is where the marked stone (F5) really shines because it allows me to cut through.]
;W[eo]WL[528.129]C[Because when White tries to cut like this...]
;B[ep]BL[818.589]C[I can now atari with no fear.]
;W[cn]WL[511.373]LB[en:A][bo:B]C[When White ataris here, I think that he was expecting me to capture at A (E6) so that he could connect with B (B5).]
;B[bo]BL[810.378]C[But I don't need to capture, a simple extension does the trick.]
;W[en]WL[449.5]C[White connects.]
;B[bp]BL[803.809]C[But with this turn, Black has now taken over a large corner that used to be White's. Very painful.]
;W[bl]WL[437.096]LB[bk:A][bo:B]C[White's turn here seems harmless, but it cuts off the connection between the A (B9) and B (B5) group while starting to threaten the livelihood of the A (B9) group.]
;B[be]BL[759.452]C[To be honest, I'm not sure if this was completely necessary, but I felt that I was ahead on territory at the moment and didn't want to risk having a weak group getting chased hwile White solidified a rather large piece of center / top territory.]
;W[gp]WL[384.262]C[White's peep here took me by surprise. A nice move by White.]
;B[fp]BL[734.582]C[It was annoying that I couldn't respond in a better way and had to resort to making bad shape.]
;W[ip]WL[377.942]LB[gq:A]C[White then attached here to establish better connection with his stones, but a move ilke A (G3) might have been more effective at reduce Black.]
;B[gq]BL[688.289]C[Knowing I would have a difficult defending against that descent, I took the point for myselfin order to settle my group very easily.]
;W[rd]WL[255.189]LB[gl:A][fo:B]C[I was surprised to see White tenuki to the upper right corner since I was now worried about the connection between A (G8) and B (F5). AFter all, while Black has a lot of cash, White has a bit of potential in the center that should not be taken lightly.]
;B[re]BL[681.762]C[With so many stones invested on the right side though, I couldn't allow White to gain any further access, so I counter-atari'd.]
;W[kf]WL[225.427]C[As I suspected, White did not capture at A (T17) to give me sente, but instead made this active move to try and make a large center / top territory.]
;B[fn]BL[663.019]TR[ck][bl][cl][el][cn][dn][en][eo]C[Since White did not cut me off however, I saw this as an opportunity for me to connect my stones while chasing the E5 group (triangle) since it did not have a base yet.]
;W[gm]WL[178.726]C[White now embarked on connecting his stones up.]
;B[fm]BL[653.703]C[I blocked.]
;W[gk]WL[141.716]C[This clamp was unexpected but very nice by White.]
;B[fl]BL[630.606]C[I connected.]
;W[fk]WL[136.606]C[He blocked as expected.]
;B[hk]BL[614.662]LB[hl:A]C[And then I decided to mix things up a bit with this hane while knowing full well White could just cut at A (H8).]
;W[ik]WL[104.327]C[Instead, White extends and continues solidifying some territory in the center.]
;B[hj]BL[606.856]LB[hl:A]C[Once again, I decide to extend knowing full well I could get cut at A (H8), but the purpose here was to leave aji and give me something to attack so I could break into the center.]
;W[hl]WL[98.338]C[White finally cuts.]
;B[ej]BL[600.588]C[However, I was prepared with this special peep move. The idea was for White to connect at A (E9) and then I would let the group struggle to make life while I established a foothold in the center so that I could further reduce the top area.]
;W[fi]WL[30]OW[2]C[However, White did not think he would be able to make life, so he opted for a sacrifice strategy instead.]
;B[ek]BL[571.377]C[So naturally, I had no choice but to take his sacrifice and see where the game would go.]
;W[gi]WL[30]OW[2]C[White forms the bamboo joint to keep his stones safe. And as you look at the board now, you'll see that White's center and top is actually quite large. So the question is, how to start reducing it in the safest manner possible?]
;B[lh]BL[513.666]LB[li:B][mi:A]C[I decided to go with this knight's move since it did not induce White to further solidify his territory while also being connected to the rest of my stones. For example, if I simple turned at A (N11), then White would just block at B (M11) and further solidify his territory.]
;W[lg]C[White plays the diagonal to threaten to reduce my territory in return.]
;B[mg]C[So I go ahead and block.]
;W[kg]LB[kh:A][mh:B]C[To my surprise, White chose to play this empty triangle instead of making the tiger's mouth at A (L12). The reason behind this seemed to be that he was aiming for the cut at B (N12).]
;B[mi]C[After some thought, I decided to go ahead and protect the cut in order to see what White would do.]
;W[kj]LB[ji:A]C[White chose the one-point jump here which provided support for if Black tried to jump with a move like A (K11).]
;B[jo]C[I decided to go ahead and embark on reducing White's potential here.]
;W[jp]C[White connects.]
;B[ho]C[And then I peeped again all in the hopes of reducing in sente.]
;W[io]C[White chooses to cut his losses and make territory now.]
;B[hn]LB[hp:A]C[While some might be tempted to cut with A (H4), I felt that was too small and would leave me in gote (which is the last thin you want when your opponent has a huge moyo.]
;W[in]C[White blocked to continue preserving his territory. With my stones firmly connected however, I could now move to another part of the board.]
;B[md]C[So I decide to reduce the top here in sente.]
;W[ei]TR[ej][ek]C[To my surprise, White counter-attacked and threatened to cut off the E10 (triangle) stones.]
;B[dj]C[I half debated making a trade with him for the top, but realized it wasn't worth it since I was pretty sure that I was ahead. And while this empty triangle is "bad shape," it's the only move that prevents White from saving his group.]
;W[mc]TR[kf][kg][lg]C[White now returned to seal off the top.

At this time however, I discovered a way to break into White's moyo by taking advantage of White's shape at L13 (triangle). ]
;B[ji]C[It starts with this cuttable knight's move.]
;W[ki]C[White naturally cuts.]
;B[kh]C[And Black threatens to connect.]
;W[jh]C[So White naturally cuts now, but there is a flaw in the shape, can you see it now?]
;B[ke]LB[je:A]C[With this push, it should become clearer; but if not, click on A (K15) to see why White cannot block.]
(;W[jf]C[So White tries to make the best of the situation.]
;B[je]C[But Black will just extend.]
;W[ie]C[White blocks, but then resigns when he realizes there's no way to prevent Black from incurring further damage to his territory.])
(;W[je]C[So you think White can block?]
;B[jg]C[What about the cut and atari here?]
;W[ih]C[White can of course save the stone, but...]
;B[jf]C[What about this move?]
;W[if]C[White can sacrifice the stones with this atari.]
;B[lf]C[Black will capture.]
;W[ig]C[But White must seal in gote which is bad because it is White who needs endgame to try and bring the game closer.]))
(;B[pl]C[This was one of the options I considered initially.]
;W[qm]C[White connects.]
;B[nl]C[Black ataris again.]
;W[ok]C[White extends.]
;B[nn]C[Black extends.]
;W[mm]C[White then extends.]
;B[mn]C[I extend.]
;W[pk]LB[qk:B][lm:A]TR[pl]C[And then White would capture the Q8 stone (triangle) in a ladder. However, if you look carefully, Black actually has a pretty big piece of bottom territory and even still has forcing moves at A (M7) and possibly B (R8) later on. This is actually looks like a better result than the actual game! Haha. A pity I couldn't see the value of this position from the actual game.]))
(;B[cj]C[This move might look natural...]
;W[ch]C[But White gets a nice three point extension here that works well with his formation up top.]
;B[cl]C[Assuming Black tries to make a base, you can see that it is narrow and Black is about to come under severe attack. This is no good.])
(;B[cl]C[This move is kind of interesting and is one I considered as well.]
;W[cj]C[But what is White plays here? This also seems to work well with White's formation on the top and gives Black a weak group to worry about. Wasn't too crazy about this variation either.]))
(;W[qd]C[So you're afraid White will play this right?]
;B[qe]C[Well this is where the triangle stone (Q14) shines because you can block with great shape.]
;W[re]C[White can hane...]
;B[rf]C[But you'll just block with the double tiger's mouth and make your right side even stronger.]
;W[pb]C[White wants to connect now?]
;B[ob]C[Oh wait. Now you can block.]
;W[qb]C[White has to connect to try and live.]
;B[oc]C[Black connects.]
;W[sd]C[And White is forced to live in gote whilte Black not only has thickness on the right now, but also has plenty of strength to invade on the top side. See how this is bad for White?]))
(;B[qd]C[If Black directly blocks the right side...]
;W[pc]LB[od:A]C[White will happily just take nice third line territory while threatening to play the nice shape point at A (P16). Too good for White.]))
