O3 now
You’d really let a shape with four cuts survive unsplit? In a six-stone game?
That’s very mellow of you.
No worry black will answer O3. Take your time.
If I was Black and you approached at O3, I would fix my shape in the top left.
Then if you double-approached, I’d be inclined to ignore you.
wO3 G13 R6 P17 etc.
But black is not you.
And as white is natural to go play where there is place to play. That can leads to nice mix up and if tenuki quite big chance of a jackpot
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I’m reminded of my thread How to win a handicap game: lessons from 1914, which has this diagram
with the accompanying explanation
White’s double approach implores Black to respond in defence of his stone in the corner, with a move like P15 or Q14; if Black adds stones, he will then feel obliged to defend them and White will find it easy to secure his position on the right side.
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White’s group is unstable without X and X is als a pretty big move in itself. I might play there myself (but I probably would not have played all those liberty-losing pushes into black’s surrounding stones).
Starting a fight with one of the A-D cuts when your own group is dying seems very risky to me. And when white stabilizes his group now, black is still left with 4 cutting points.
How is White dying if he plays C?
Well, I magine this:
It’s not clear to me how white is going to get sufficient compensation for the territorial loss in the corner while his left side group is still weak.
White could either just play Y now, or else wO13 H15 Y, or even B.
I would feel fine as White in this position.
Yes, it’s still a game if white plays Y (C10):
But allowing black X (C15) is still a fairly big loss (note that white needing to defend at Y, means that black takes those points in the corner in sente). I’m not sure if cutting or Y (C10) is as big.
If white starts at X, there are still 4 cutting points in black’s shape. I don’t think white really needs to hurry with cutting at any of those cutting points. It is still very early in the game. At some point, those cutting points will come back to haunt black.
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Perhaps it depends on how one tends to play against handicap. I tend to play fairly patiently with white (especially in the beginning). White needs to fight, but before you can fight, you need some stable groups. I try to overcome black’s handicap little by little. Trying to fight really hard with white from move 1 is very risky (unless the handicap is too small).
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Remember this?
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D is my choice
I see this thread is developing a sort of symbiotic relationship with GoKibitz, which is my own doing ofc.
This position is from an SDK game.
The first thing to be noted is that X is key; at some point in the very near future, or even immediately, White – or else Black – would like to play there and dominate the position in the lower centre.
In the game White played B, which I find the least attractive option. White said:
I’ve heard […] its better to take the corner. [I] Run this weak group around for most of the game now
We both began by considering C. Later I became interested in D, and then in the idea of enhancing D by first making exchanges at A. E has the same idea as D, but I prefer D.
I suppose any of those moves is pretty much fine at SDK level when you ask an AI. It all depends on the follow-up (as it often does).
So just play what you like/know best here.
In this position I would probably choose C or D if I want to play calmly.
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I will play C in a heartbeat. If it goes with the simplest josekie, it takes the corner, which some say never wrong, lol, and reduces the value of black bottom side.
D could be better, but more complex. I am learning to play ok moves and wait for my opponents to make worse choices, which happens all the times in my games from both sides. 
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From a 14–15k game (GK position)
In the game, Black played X and lost about 40% WR.
My first suggestion was to immediately cut at A.
Another reviewer suggested the peep B, but that appears to me to be a thank-you move.
With a discussion now in the works, I considered other options as well:
- making a left-side formation with a C point
- enclosing the corner in a northern way with a D point
- enclosing in a southern way with an E point
- invading the right side comparatively gently with an F point
- invading more impertinently with a G point
- attempting to seal the centre with H
- defending quietly with a move in the vague 口 area
I definitely wouldn’t want to peep at B. Playing in 口 feels too passive. E looks like less effective structure than D. H is pretty but in reality is probably too slow.
So I would be mainly looking at A and also the C, D, F, and G areas.
Well, I might play H if I was in the right mood.
i will play E to enclose the corner first.
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