|12.h19 looks more playable along the bottom, but I'm wondering if being pressed down like that was just too meek a strategy overall. You often seem to press on either side of a parallel base like you did here with 7.o16 and 11.h17, and then aim for a tactical way to leverage them by playing in between.

I wonder if there was a way for me to do the same — look for a way to use 4.l17 and 8.m8 to create opportunities by pressing you to the left. Or maybe they're too far apart to be useful, or maybe the fact that you went right on the bottom and left on the top make it harder to link the two. Would be interested in your thoughts on it.

Alternatively, if I had foreseen the danger of |18.q18 19.o20 20.n21 21.m21 22.l22 23.l19, maybe there was another way to play the left lower side that preempts it. Is |14.i19 15.h18 16.i15 17.j16 18.k16 19.m19 20.n14 anything?

Yes exactly, I can usually find a cascade threat, and the best way to counter my strategy is to use it right back at me.

I was concerned about |12.h13 which would have threatened K7. For example 13.h12 14.i15 15.g14 16.f18 17.j18 18.g16 19.k16 20.m15 would have forced me to extend right, maybe 21.s16. Maybe I should play S16 sooner than that. Anyway, I was glad you didn't play H13.

|14.i19 15.h18 16.i15 17.i16 18.h13 19.h12 but |14.h13 still looks potentially dangerous. I haven't had my breakfast yet. I will look at it later.

Alright, working backwards from the end towards the beginning:

I don't think |14.h13 would have worked because I don't think |12.h13 would have worked.

13.h12 14.i15 15.g14 16.f18 17.j18 18.g16 19.k16 20.m15 21.s16 22.r19 23.n18 24.m21 25.i20 26.k14 27.l19 28.o14 29.s12 30.q15 31.u15 32.q17 33.u19 34.v19 35.w20 36.t18 37.v18 38.r13 39.u11 or 30.q13 31.t14 32.r10 33.t9 34.u9 35.s11 36.s8 37.q10 38.p9 39.o11 or 34.s7 35.p9 36.q8 37.q11 38.o9 39.n10 or 22.o14 23.s12 looks essentially the same.

So with all that in mind, how about |10.m15 which turns black H13 into a more serious threat? 11.s16 12.o14 13.s12 14.r8 and I don't know who would win the battle in the center.

Can you elaborate on "cascade threat"? What do you mean by that, and where do you start when you want to find one?

A cascade threat is a sequence of threatening moves, culminating in an unstoppable double threat. For example 15.j18 in this game is the start of a cascade. How I start to find one might not be the best way for you to start. I knew your 10.p20 was potentially vulnerable, so I tried to arrange the battle on the left so that I could exploit it. But does that really help you, so that you can find moves like |10.m15 ? All I am really trying to say here is, favorable tactics are the natural result of a good strategic plan. Try not to let me pressure you into confining your play to one region of the board.