(;GM[1]FF[4]SZ[19]AP[SmartGo:3.1.2]CA[shift_jis]
GN[2017-11-09]
PW[Michael Redmond]WR[9P]
PB[Kuwabara Shun]BR[1P]
EV[Kisei FT]RO[2]
DT[2017-11-09]
KM[6.5]
RE[W+R]
RU[AGA (Area)]MU[0]
C[In the 2nd round of the Kisei First Tournament (FT), I have White against Kuwabara Shun 1P. The Kisei tournament is different in structure from other Go tournaments. The lowest stage is the FT elimination, with 5 rounds. Winners of the FT participate in an irregular league C of about 30 players, in which up to 5 rounds can be played, but 3 losses will disqualify a player. Above C, the B league is divided into 2 round robins of 8 players each. Above B, A league is a round robin of 8 players. Above A, S league is a round robin of 6 players. Finally, The 2 top players of S, and the winners of A, the two B leagues, and C fight it out to decide the challenger, with an advantage given to higher leagues.]
;B[dp];W[pd];B[dc];W[pq];B[nc]LB[pq:A][oc:B]
C[As I played this opening, thoughts of AlphaGo passed through my mind. Most versions of AG would have played a star point instead of White A, and now the 20 block version of Zero would play White's next move at B. At this time, I do not think that Go playing AIs can give us winning strategies for the early openings, so I am not ready to imitate them in a serious game when I have trouble agreeing with the moves.]
;W[qf];B[po];W[qo]
C[One effect that my study of AlphaGo might have had upon me is that I am feeling more comfortable with playing simple joseki sequences, where before, I used to like to make it more complicated. AG has discarded most of the difficult josekis, in AGZero as well as AGKeJie, and my study of the game sets gave me an opportunity to think about how playing simple joseki might work with my style. I feel that I have a relatively good understanding of the whole board position, when compared to other players of similar playing strength, and that by playing simply in local positions I can make better use of my advantage in positional judgement. ]
(;B[pp]LB[qo:A]
C[When I played at A, I was expecting Black to cover, and not to play the avalanche joseki (see var). The small avalanche involves a ladder, which in this case favors White, and my understanding was that this would give White a good result.]
;W[qp];B[oq];W[pn];B[qq];W[pr];B[rq];W[or]
(;B[np]
C[There is a ladder associated with the small nadare joseki (see var). ]
(;W[rp];B[qn];W[rn];B[qm];W[rm];B[ql];W[on];B[no];W[rr];B[nm]
C[Black 27 fails to capture the two White stones in a geta, but can be used as a squeeze to improve Black's shape on both sides. ]
;W[pl]
C[White 28 is the tesuji to break out. ];B[pm];W[om];B[ol];W[nl];B[pk];W[nn]
(;B[nk]
C[Black 35 is the modern move here, while the old joseki has Black playing the squeeze (see var). ]
;W[mm]
(;B[ll]
C[Black 37 is new move, as far as I know (see var). ];W[mo];B[lp];W[oo];B[kn]
C[I would say this new variation in the lower right favors White, but since Black's stones are facing outswards, the way the players handle the left side of the board is very important, and will have more effect on the outcome of this game than White's temporary advantage. ]
(;W[ce]
C[White 42 is a big opening point, but maybe I should have played towards the center of the side (see var). ]
;B[dg];W[cn];B[cl];W[cg];B[ch];W[dh];B[ci];W[ed]LB[eg:A][ec:B]
C[White 50 makes miai of A and B. ];B[eg]
C[With the sequence to 51, Black is playing thickly and simply to build potential for Black's moyo in the center. ]
;W[ec];B[dn]
(;W[ho]
C[I played 54 high on the 5th line to make it difficult for Black to surround the center (see var). ]
(;B[hq]
C[Instead of surrounding the center (see var), Black plays from below with 55. ]
;W[dm];B[cm];W[gq]LB[dm:A][cm:B]
C[White's hane at A is locally a bad exchange with Black B. However, I need to have played this exchange before 58, as I will be using the aji on the left to change the lower side fight. ]
(;B[eq]
C[Black cannot play strongly with 59 (see var), so he protects the corner. ]
;W[iq];B[hp];W[ip];B[gp];W[jo]
C[White 64 threatens to push through at A. ]LB[ko:A];B[ln];W[hr];B[gr];W[do]
;B[en];W[eo];B[co];W[fp]
(;B[fq]
C[Black must allow White to squeeze here (see var). ];W[go];B[gq];W[bn];B[bo]
;W[fm];B[fn];W[gn];B[bm];W[il]LB[mk:A]
C[Looking at territory on the lower half of the board, Black has a lead of about 15 points, while White has potential territories in the two upper corners. White can attack at A next, and the game looks good for White at this point. ]
;B[pb];W[qc];B[qh]
C[Black actually needs to add a stone to the center, but since he was behind, he tried to avoid playing a defensive move. ]
;W[mk]
C[White 86 starts a strong attack in the center. ];B[ml];W[mn];B[kp];W[nj]
;B[nm];W[em];B[an];W[nl];B[ok]
(;W[kl]
C[With 96, pushing through to cut is bad (see var). ];B[lm];W[lk]
C[Black must win the ko to save his group, and it is an easy ko for White, so this is what's called a flower viewing ko. While lead is getting bigger. ]
;B[nm];W[ph];B[pi];W[nl];B[jr];W[ir];B[nm]
(;W[pg]
C[I got careless, as I often do when I think I have an easy win. White 106 is almost off the map when one looks at the important areas for fighting (see var). ]
;B[kk]TR[lk:mk]
C[Black 107 is an important cut that puts the marked stones in damezumari, and complicates the ko by putting pressure on White. ]
;W[kj];B[jk];W[jl];B[jj];W[ki];B[ji];W[kh];B[jh];W[kg];B[jn];W[in];B[hm]
;W[hl];B[gm]
(;W[gl]
C[This is already a dangerous fight after Black's strong cut at A. Covering at 122 was another slack move that reduced the liberties and eyespace of the White group (see var).]
LB[kk:A];B[fl];W[cn];B[bn];W[fo];B[cn]
(;W[nl]
C[I should have extended my liberties before taking this ko (see var). ]
;B[el];W[im];B[gj]
C[When Black played at 131, I had the sudden realization that this was looking bad for White already. White has no escape in the center, and the semeai is going to be a one move difference, favoring Black. I actually had plenty of time on my clock, and spent about an hour painfully confirming my reading until I finally gave up, but I felt I had to play it out before resigning. ]
;W[jq];B[kr];W[nm]
(;B[mp]
C[Black 135 was the losing move (see var). This forcing move actually fills one of Black's liberties. ]
;W[op]
C[Now White is ahead by one liberty. ];B[mr];W[kq];B[lq];W[nq]TR[dl][fm][hn]
C[In this semeai, it is very important for Black to make an eye, as the inside liberties will be advantageous to Black. Also, if Black has no eye, Black will end up using 3 moves to fill the marked points. ]
(;B[nr]
C[With 141, Black deos not play the straightforward move (see var), but can set up a ko in the game variation. ]
;W[js];B[ks]
(;W[lr]
C[144 is the vital point to reduce Black's liberties. White cannot allow Black to play here while making an eye (see var). ]
;B[is];W[hs];B[gk];W[ns];B[ms];W[os];B[lo];W[oq];B[mq];W[jm];B[hk];W[km]
;B[gs];W[ko];B[ik];W[js];B[mj];W[lj];B[is];W[io]
(;B[dd]
C[Locally, the semeai is a direct ko, but White takes first and Black has no valid ko threats (see var). With 165, Black tries to create a big ko threat in the upper left. ]
;W[de];B[eb];W[fb];B[db];W[gc]TR[ce:de][cg]
C[My idea with 170 is to allow Black to capture the marked stones with his ko threat, on a small scale. ]
;B[ee];W[jp];B[fe];W[ls]LB[bc:A]
C[White can still play at A to make trouble in the corner, so Black needs one more move here. ]
;B[gd];W[qj];B[qi];W[rk]
C[The Black group on the right is dead, and Black resigns. ])
(;B[ep];W[js];B[ls];W[jp];B[is];W[hn];B[gm];W[js]LB[ep:A][hn:B]
C[If Black continues the semeai with A, White can use B as a ko threat to win the ko. ]
))
(;W[is];B[lr];W[ns];B[ms];W[os];B[gk];W[lo];B[ko];W[oq];B[hk];W[mq];B[ik]
;W[jm];B[gs];W[km];B[hs];W[io];B[ep]
C[Black wins by one move. ]))
(;B[ls];W[js];B[nr];W[ns];B[is];W[hs];B[gk];W[oq];B[mq];W[os];B[ms];W[is]
;B[ks];W[lo];B[ko];W[jm];B[hk];W[km];B[gs];W[io];B[ik];W[jp]
C[White wins by one move. ]))
(;B[mr];W[kq];B[lq];W[mp];B[ls];W[js];B[mq];W[ns];B[ms];W[is];B[ks]LB[lo:B][lr:A]
C[As there are a few inside liberties, Black can gain an advantage by making an eye at A.  Black can play an atari at B to get an extra liberty, and that is what he lost with the forcing move in the game. ]
;W[nr];B[gs];W[nq];B[gk];W[lo];B[ko];W[op];B[hk];W[jm];B[ik];W[km];B[hs]
;W[io];B[ep]
C[Black wins by one move. In actual play, White might have made a ko by playing one hane at A, but that would have been a step ko favoring Black, and still bad for White. ]
LB[gs:A]))
(;W[gj];B[el];W[im];B[gh];W[nl]
C[After jumping out at A, White has an advantage if it becomes a semeai, so the ko is still difficult for Black. White can use ko threats starting with B.]
LB[gj:A][hh:B]))
(;W[fl];B[gj];W[gk];B[fj];W[nl]
C[If White A, White will have an eye that makes any potential semeai favorable to White. As the ko starts again, White has ko threats at B and C, and this ko is advantageous to White. ]
LB[fl:A][hj:B][cn:C]))
(;W[jj];B[nl];W[lc];B[ld];W[kc];B[md];W[pg];B[oi];W[mg]LB[jj:A][lc:B]
C[White A is an important move that settles White's group in the center, After Black fills the ko, White B is the other important point, and the combination of A and B serves as a big enough ko threat to give me a comfortable lead. ]
))
(;W[lm];B[km];W[kl];B[im];W[hl];B[jl];W[lk];B[jk];W[hj];B[jr];W[ir];B[ji]
LB[lm:A][im:B]
C[If White pushes through at A to cut, Black can escape with the attachment at B. White's group on the left is weaker than the Black group in the center, and this is bad for White. ]
))
(;B[go];W[fn];B[bn];W[fq];B[gn];W[fr];B[fo];W[ep];B[dq];W[hm];B[fm];W[gs]
LB[lm:A][mk:B]
C[In this variation, White has lived on the side and reduced Black's potential in the center. Black has weak points at A and B, and this favors White. ]
))
(;B[gp];W[hp];B[fq];W[gr];B[iq];W[fp];B[go];W[do];B[en];W[fn]LB[gp:A][fn:B]
C[When Black plays strongly at A, the aji on the left comes into play. White B threatens Black on both sides (2 vars for Black's next move). ]
(;B[eo];W[fo];B[gn];W[fm];B[hn];W[dq];B[cq];W[eq];B[cp];W[cr];B[br];W[ep]
;B[co];W[jc]LB[eo:A][fm:B]
C[If Black clasps one stone with A, White can extend at B before taking the side territory. White can take sente, and Black has no effective attack on the White group, so this is good for White. ]
)
(;B[gn];W[eo];B[em];W[fm];B[el];W[fo];B[hn];W[eq];B[co];W[cp];B[bn];W[bp]
LB[gn:A][eo:B]
C[If Black extends at A, White will start with B to push through in the center. White gets the corner territory while reducing Black's center, so this is good for White. ]
)))
(;B[hm];W[jp];B[ln];W[dm];B[cm];W[gm];B[gl];W[fm];B[hn];W[go];B[do];W[fp]
LB[hm:A][hl:B]
C[If Black caps at A, White can use the aji on both sides to create a base on the lower side while reducing Black's potential in the center. White still has aji with the cut at B, and this is good for White. ]
))
(;W[hp];B[hn];W[jp];B[ln];W[fp];B[go]LB[hp:A][hn:B]
C[If White invades on the 4th line at A, Black will cap at B and have a good moyo in the center. ]
))
(;W[ci];B[cg];W[cl];B[cn];W[ei]LB[ci:A]
C[Splitting the left side with White A is the normal way for White to reduce  the size of Black's moyo. ]
))
(;B[lo];W[mk];B[nj];W[mj];B[ni];W[mi];B[nh];W[kn]TR[qf]
C[This is the most common continuation for both sides. White's marked stone is well placed to reduce the value of Black's influence on the right, and it looks good for White in this board position. ]
))
(;B[mn];W[mm];B[oo];W[nm];B[ln];W[nk];B[qh];W[kl]LB[qj:A][lp:B]
C[This is the old joseki variation. Black has weak points with potential White plays at A or B, and this is considered to be bad for Black. ]
))
(;W[nq];B[qn];W[op];B[oo];W[no];B[on];W[mp];B[pm]))
(;B[nq];W[nr]LB[nq:A][nr:B]
C[If Black extends at A, White can crawl once at B, threatening a ladder (two vars for Black's move). ]
(;B[mq];W[qm];B[mr];W[rr]LB[mq:A][qm:B]
C[If Black extends at A, White can connect at B and win the semeai. This is good for White. ]
)
(;B[qn];W[oo];B[op];W[mq];B[np];W[no]LB[qn:A][oo:B]
C[If Black cuts at A, White can capture with a ladder at B. ])))
(;B[qn];W[qp];B[pm];W[ce]LB[qn:A][ce:B][qf:C]
C[If Black A and then the hanging connection, I was planning to play away at B. White's stone at C is reducing the value of any thickness that Black might make in the lower right. ]
))

