(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2]RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[6.50]PW[BenGoZen]PB[Black]WR[5k]BR[13k]DT[2016-03-29]CP[online-go.com]PC[OGS: http://online-go.com/game/4652627]C[First things first, I opened a rank game request on OGS in order to start playing a ranked game. This match up (albeit very imbalanced) was not out of the desire to play someone in an unfair match. 

The goal of me uploading this game is simple. I took a first step and have started playing again.]RE[W+Resign];B[pp]C[Standard 4-4 opening. Nothing special here. Though the corner Black played in is a little atypical. Normally it's played on Q16.];W[dd]C[Since I haven't played in a while, I figured, "Let's keep it simple." No cross openings.];B[dp]C[So far so good.];W[qd]C[I typically like mixing it up as White and avoid double star against Black double star since I'm not found of playing against sanrensei (not that it's terribly popular at the moment) with double star.];B[jj]C[Welp. That's certainly a little odd (though not my first time encountering it). It seems like Black wants to play a more influence-centered strategy.];W[qn]C[I can work with that. So I'll go ahead and approach in conjunction with me R16 stone.];B[qo]C[A kick? Typically not too great this early on, but maybe there's been some evolution in the game I'm not aware of.
bengozen\: Good point!

tuerda\: Not a bad move in general, but probably bad in this position in particular though. When w extends to Q6 this will reduce the value of the K10 stone.
];W[pn]C[Standard response.];B[po]LB[pj:A][on:B]C[Hmm... this can't be right.

Now at this point I debated playing A (Q10) since it is more or less standard, but the thought of Black getting B (P6) seemed too good to me.];W[on]LB[qi:A]C[So I extended because I decided shape was more important in this case. The thought of a move around A (R11) made me a little uncomfortable, but shape won out.];B[nn]C[So I debated ignoring this because this just seemed weird.];W[nm]C[But I figured one hane wouldn't hurt and would further my influence in the center.
tuerda\: While P5 is very natural in the sense of shape, if we read into it we get wP5 P4 O5 N4 and B seems to be OK. I see no good reason for white to prefer that variation over just O7.

Yaka\: In the mentioned variation, white gains very thick shape compared to when black takes p5 (or o5). Black's corner is not without trouble, but we can just change it to wP5 P4 O5 N3 for the sake of argument.

o7 o5 - Black somehow got hit the head of white's 3 stones and there's now a potential cutting point at p7

Black is similar in the corner, but white is left with weaknesses

Also consider  wP5 P4 O4 O3 N3

tuerda\: wP5 P4 O4 O3 N3 O5. This gives b a perfect opportunity to start a fight and use the tengen stone. The other point is of course valid, except I think that bO5 P8 is sente, threatening the cut.

Yaka\: White should play p5

bengozen\: Interesting! I had thought of this briefly, appreciate the variations!
];B[oo]LB[mn:A][no:B]C[Okay. So atari A (N6) or B (O5)?
Yaka\: If you play atari, A is natural. Not sure you need to play atari though.

 White's shape is actually not too strong after  black p5, so white needs to defend
];W[jq]LB[pi:A][jp:B]C[I decided neither because I really wasn't sure how I would follow it up. Black's shape seemed inefficient as it stood, so I chose the splitting move instead.

In hindsight. Maybe a little greedy? The timing felt right though since playing something like A (Q11) instead and letting back play B (K4) seemed to be in his advantage.];B[hq]C[Push me towards thickness. No problems here.];W[mq]C[Standard two space extension to grab a base.];B[oq]C[Black defends the corner.];W[jo]C[So I jump to give myself some breathing room. ];B[cn]LB[cq:A][fq:B]C[Black seems to be trying to claim the corner, but it's a little loose of a formation. There are still two weaknesses that he would need to guard from\: A (C3) and B (F3).
Yaka\: Black is fine
];W[pi]C[This seems small compared to the rest of the board, but I wanted to make use of my thickness at Q6. 
Yaka\: Because the stones at q6 only have 4 liberties. Black can easily invade that area, since you have to take care of the potential cutting point at p7 and so on. You shouldn't think of it as being thick, but rather some 'loose' wall that needs a base.

For example this kind of aji exists, although black needs to be slightly stronger as well for the particular variation

bQ8 P8 S6 S7 R7 S5 T6 T7 P7 T5 S6 T6 Q7 S6 P9 O8 R9

Yaka\: You do not have thickness at q6

bengozen\: Why do you say that?

bengozen\: Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation!
];B[cc]C[3-3 invasion already?];W[dc]C[I choose the top side since that has the most potential for me.];B[cb]LB[db:B][cd:A]C[Descend to the second line?

So I debate between A (C16) and B (D18). B would certainly give me nice thickness for the top, but A would give me more options...
Yaka\: A is the right direction
];W[cd]C[I end up choosing this, but I think this is inconsistent with my plans to utilize the top.
tuerda\: This encloses w. The other move lets w out along the left, with some points at that. W at C18 is the wrong direction and must be at C16. This takes the key point.

tuerda\: It is the correct move.

bengozen\: Why is that?
];B[bc]C[Black surprisingly makes an empty triangle.];W[db]C[So I fix my mistake and strengthen the top.];B[ca]C[Not expecting that...];W[bd]C[So I seal him off to kill him.];B[ab]C[Muscle memory life and death: White to kill?];W[ba]C[I'm sure that took most of you a glance at most.];B[ac]LB[da:B][ad:A]C[I had to think about my next move here, but I didn't see the escape at A (A16) or B (D19) being an issue.];W[jd]C[So I go for the biggest point on the board where I have the most potential. Top right of the board pretty nice eh?];B[jg]C[Black seems to be interested in strengthening his center stone, but this seems like a time to invade / try to do something about White's growing framework.];W[ci]C[I go ahead and take the last largest point on the board.
bengozen\: Ah. Good point. Thank you!

tuerda\: Not only is this not the "last" largest point on the board, I don't think it is even the largest right now. P17 is probably bigger.
];B[cj]C[Black likes attaching...];W[dj]LB[bj:A]C[I debated hane below at A (B10), but felt it was too submissive. So over the top it is.];B[ck]C[Normal extension.];W[bi]LB[di:A][dk:B]C[This... debatable at best I think. I think I was too worried about the cut at A (D11) and wanted something safe?

I also debated B (D9), but thought it wouldn't help much as far as building territory in the center; but in hindsight, it would have helped me cut off the center stones which would have made it easier to attack later.

So my final verdict\: This is a weak move.
tuerda\: The most natural way to defend that cutting point is just to play A yourself. At this point it hardly matters though. Passing will also win the game.
];B[bj]C[Black loves those empty triangles.];W[fq]LB[od:C][di:B][dk:A]C[I honestly debated playing A (D9) but then got concerned about the cut at B (D11). And then got impulsive and wanted to invade the corner. Not a great move either. C (P16) would ahve been way better strategically as far as value goes.];B[fp]LB[ep:A][gp:B]C[I expected the attach and thought about the A (E4) and B (G4) hane, but didn't like any of the variations I saw in my head.];W[cq]C[So I decided to invade and probe what Black's intentions were.];B[dq]C[Cut off my F3 stone. Makes sense.];W[dr]C[So I'll threaten to connect to establish a better base.];B[gq]LB[eq:A]C[Again. unexpected. And so my first instinct is to connect at A (E3)];W[er]C[But this gave me more liberties (which I thought would be better for living).];B[eq]C[Atari.];W[fr]C[Must connect.
tuerda\: Nope. Absolutely not "must connect". Connecting is almost certainly a bad move. Taking further points in the corner seems much better.

bengozen\: Ah. So would you recommend a move like B5 instead?

tuerda\: I think so, yeah. You do need to add a move there to live (otherwise just tenuki) but F2 is pretty slow
];B[gr]C[While this is bad shape, it does cut off my K3 group and makes them more vulnerable to attack.];W[cp]C[First things first. Cannot die in the corner.];B[co]C[Black blocks directly, but this has issues. See why?];W[gp]C[This cut should make it a little clearer why.];B[hp]C[Black turns to atari.];W[go]C[Naturally I have to extend.];B[ho]C[Black extends once more.];W[do]C[And I can wait no longer and must atari because it won't work after this.];B[ep]C[Black doesn't see it yet.];W[fo]C[And Black resigns here.])