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Right off, I know I won’t be splitting the anchor. There is no rush for that. Besides, even if I were inclined to split, 2 is a better number for splitting than the 1 Blue has rolled. Next, I don’t want to move the checker on the 16pt. It may look natural to safety it on the midpoint, but I need to keep it as my backstop, as far back as possible. Whether to slot the 8pt is the next decision. That would mean playing with 3 blots. When the slot is missed, Blue would have a double-direct to cover, but even when he does that, White would still be positioned to escape with 6. This is a tough choice. If Blue keeps his checker back on the 16pt, and also does not slot, he will have only 2 builders with which to make another outside point. He will often be committed to hitting loose inside. But the same is also true when Blue does not slot. When Blue plays 10/6, for instance, he will have only 2 direct builders targeting the rear of his prime. The only way to avoid the problem is to try something like 16/12. It’s a play abandons the backstop, and leaves a triple indirect shot. When it works, Blue may make a fifth blocking point, on either the 8pt or 9pt, but whichever one he gets, White will have a direct shot to escape. When it fails, White will have escaped with tempo. What about gonzo plays like [11/8 10/9]? OK, I was just asking. I’m left with 10/6. In the follow-up, I am ready to hit inside. Mike @higonefive: I, too, sometimes strip off the BGdiagram.com link from their boards. You have to be careful, though, not to delete the closing center tag. It looks like this: | ||||||||||
| At BGO, you may be better off posting the diagrams from XG. That way, the pieces of the diagram are downloaded from BGO, rather than a potentially ephemeral external web site. |