Big Exchange in Fight Between Zchen and Bloodarena

Zchen and bloodarena clashes today in an exciting game with a huge fukiwari in the middle game. The fuseki opens normally until Black 23, which is a mistake. The usual joseki move is E2, leading to complicated fighting variations. 23 is a bit timid. White 30 is also an interesting move, seems to be better than the usual joseki, since it allows White to either connect, or force Black into bad shape if Black blocks at S14. Given White’s H17 stone, Black’s wall is not that useful. At this point, I think White is ahead in the fuseki.

I think White C14 is a mistake however, it strengthens Black and weakens White’s side group. White’s invasion of 52 at L17 is very interesting, I am not sure what to make of it however, so I cannot give a good assessment. The result to 78 is a good result for White though, making some center influence while destroying Black’s moyo. Also, by capturing Black’s cutting stone, White’s group is fairly strong. When White initiates the ko at 82, I think Black should give some thought to taking the ko instead of answering the threat with 85. The exchange seems good for Black, since it keeps White’s side group weak. Afterwards, Black’s threat of 87 doesn’t seem to be big enough and White happily takes.

White seizes the opportunity to press severely at E6 with 90, but perhaps F7 would be better shape? In the resulting fight, though Black struggles valiantly, he is killed. I have included bloodarena’s variations of Black 101 and 107 in the SGF. I am not sure what the optimal play for both sides are. In the following play, I think Black 149 is too soft as well as Black 173. White gets both a reduction and lives in the lower right corner. In any case, White wins by a bit more than 15 points so Black resigns near the end. Perhaps if the corner did not live, Black may have had a chance, but White felt slightly better off anyways.