© 1994, 2011 Yutopian Enterprises

Killer of Go
Technique and Preventative Measures

Sakata Eio, Honorary Honinbo

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A legendary work by a legendary player.

“Razor-Sharp” Sakata, so long at the forefront of the go world, produced, when he was at the height of his powers, a classic text on the theme of killing stones.

This work went through more than 100 printings during the late 60s! The English translation has been out of print for a number of years; we’re excited to bring this book back to life in SmartGo Books.

Sakata conveys, with exquisite erudition, the thrill of the chase and the satisfaction of the winner when a well-planned attack bears fruits. At the same time, he offers a thumbnail sketch of the history of Go through the ages, masterpieces of attack from his own and others' games, fascinating glimpses into the nature of offbeat joseki and the shape of stones, as well as classic games which he fully annotates. One is the famous game between Meijin Shusai Honinbo and Karigane Junichi, hailed as a “group-capturing masterpiece played between the top players” of the day.

Sakata also fully annotates the first game he played without a handicap against Go Seigen.

The SmartGo Books edition of this tour de force makes it easy to replay the games directly in the diagrams. In addition, twenty-seven additional diagrams replace long sequences of letters that were hard to follow.

This EPUB is provided without Digital Rights Management (DRM), allowing you to read it on your EPUB reader of choice. We trust that you use this EPUB file for your personal use only. Buying the book at gobooks.com ensures that authors and publishers get paid, and makes it possible for us to convert more books to digital format.

This EPUB contains static go diagrams only. That makes it compatible with more EPUB readers, but does not show the full potential of interactive go books. Get a download link for the interactive version at gobooks.com/support.html.

Copyright Page

Published by
Yutopian Enterprises
2255 29th street, Suite #3
Santa Monica, CA 90405
http://www.yutopian.com

ISBN of print edition: 0–9641847–0–2

© 1994, 2011 Yutopian Enterprises. All rights reserved according to international law. This book or any part or parts hereof may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publishers, except for short excerpts as a part of a written review.

Originally published in Japanese by Ikeda Shoten under the title of Go no Koroshi-ya

Photo on cover courtesy of Harry Fleener

I will teach you the way you should go;
I will instruct and advise you.
Ps. 32:8 GNB

Conversion to SmartGo Books by John Mifsud

Diagrams labeled Sequence replace sequences of letters on the board in the print edition.

Contents

Killer of Go
Technique and Preventative Measures

Copyright Page

To Begin With…

Part I — Two Paths to a Winning Game

1- Sakata v. Shinohara game: Shinohara Masami 8 dan – Sakata Eio 9 dan

The chapters in gray are included only in the full book.

2- Dosaku v. Doteki game: Honinbo Dosaku – Ogawa Doteki 6 dan

3- Dosaku v. Dosa game: Honinbo Dosaku – Inoue Dosa Inseki

4- Jowa v. Genan game: Honinbo Jowa – Genan Inoue Inseki

5- Shusaku v. Matsujiro game: Ito Matsujiro 6 dan – Shusaku 4 dan

6- Shusaku v. Yuzo game: Ota Yuzo 7 dan – Honinbo Shusaku 6 dan

7- Kitani v. Go game: Kitani Minoru 7d – Go Seigen 7d

8- Sakata v. Kitani game: Kitani Minoru 9 dan – Sakata Eio 9 dan

9- Kitani v. Karigane game: Karigane Junichi 7 dan – Kitani Minoru 4 dan

10- Ohira v. X game: Ohira Shuzo 9 dan – Mr. X

Part II — “Killing Stones”:
Pluses and Minuses

11- Sakata v. Miyashita game: Sakata Eio 9 dan – Miyashita Shuyo 8 dan

12- Go v. Hashimoto (Utaro) game: Go Seigen 8 dan – Hashimoto Utaro 8 dan

13- Sakata v. Fujisawa (Hosai) game: Fujisawa Hosai 9 dan – Sakata Eio 9 dan

Part III — Immortal Games Fully Annotated

14- Go v. Sakata game: Go Seigen 6 dan – Sakata Eio 4 dan

15- Shusai v. Karigane game: Honinbo Shusai 9 dan – Karigane Junichi 7 dan

Part IV — Killing Techniques

16- Retsugen v. Senchi game: Honinbo Retsugen 7 dan – Yasui Senchi Senkaku 6 dan

17- Shuho v. Tetsujiro game: Honinbo Shuho 8 dan – Kobayashi Tetsujiro

18- Go v. Fujisawa (Hosai) game: Go Seigen 9 dan – Fujisawa Kuranosuke 9 dan

19- Sakata v. Rin Kaiho game: Sakata Eio 9 dan – Rin Kaiho 9 dan

Part V — Killer of Go:
Preventative Measures

Buy This Book

About SmartGo Books

To Begin With…

Throughout the thirty-odd years of my career as a professional go player I have unwaveringly harbored one ambition concerning the publication of work concerning go.

Specifically, material on the opening, the middlegame, invasions, or else, life and death problems, tesuji, or, then again, a game collection, is not the framework that I have had in mind; instead, a completely new type of format. A work that can be read enjoyably, yet the reader would thereby, in the process of reading, assimilate at a single bound, a tremendous increase in aesthetic sense and power at the game. Only thus could a book satisfy my long-cherished desire.

The game of go offers boundless fascination.

If some of that limitless fascination could be communicated to the reader in an interesting way and from the standpoint of practical measures applied in real game situations… that has been my intention.

At this time, the publisher Ikeda Toshiko has responded to my wishes and after all these years I am at last able to freely fulfill my desire to my heart’s content.

It is my fervent hope that the reader of “Killer of Go” will pause thoughtfully and reflect upon the idea that, well, this way of thinking, this way of playing, is a viable option, and approach his or her own game with freshly opened eyes.

Nothing equals the thrill of killing a large group of one’s opponent’s stones, but there are ten steps that one must master in order to understand the techniques involved, and, conversely, there is an art to knowing how to defend against these techniques as well. Please try to extract the essence of this book, take it to heart and make it your own, using the knowledge to beat the living daylights out of your favorite go rival! I am confident that this book will open vistas in the game of go that you perhaps have never, before now, been able to contemplate and savor.

The material offered here has been assembled and edited by Messrs. Okame Sanjin and Mihori Masa. They are the ones deserving of all acclaim and gratitude.

December 1967
Sakata Eio

Part I — Two Paths to a Winning Game

I have to begin with a word of explanation. The impulse of this book, “Killer of Go”, is not to incite wholesale, indiscriminate killing of one’s opponent’s stones.

One kills what is there for the killing. Also, if unprotected stones are there for the taking, one is compelled to batten down the hatches and then use precision in executing the death blow. For this purpose, I would like to speak of the various and sundry techniques one must master.

And naturally, on the other side of the coin, amateur players aspiring to a higher level will necessarily want to read this book, “Killer of Go”, in order to learn the best way to avoid having one’s stones killed, and this matter too is addressed.

In the final analysis, there are two principal ways of winning at go. The first is to play slowly and deliberately, taking one’s time and sparing no pains, something that comes naturally to the aged, something like a tree withering, in the same way as a smothering death creeps up; step by step the opponent is directed into a losing situation. For the most part, when professional players give teaching games, playing against a handicap, it is usual for them to adopt this strategy. The reason for this is that in the opening it is apparent that the handicap stones possess their greatest power and precipitating a pitched battle will be disadvantageous to white. Therefore, white will play in a restrained manner, seeking move by move, little by little, to readjust the balance of power in white’s favor. In the process, the opponent typically will play lax moves or even ones that incur a minus, and it is not unusual for a handicap game to draw close in the endgame, with white winning in the late stages.

Among us professionals, the playing style of the late Takagawa Kaku was representative of this slow but steady method. Takagawa absolutely refused to resort to unsound play, and perfected the art of the long, drawn-out battle. In general, go differs from chess in that go is a game in which this kind of marathon-style strategy is appropriate. In chess, power points differ according to the pieces in play and the game is decided when one side’s king is cornered. Therefore, it is not unusual to see blitzkrieg tactics used. However, in go each stone has the same value as any other one, with the outcome decided by the overall balance across the board. An impetuous, headlong rush into battle will not necessarily lead to success. As long as one’s opponent does not make an egregious mistake, there is a long way to go before one is able to kill a large group of stones; this may be considered the true nature of the game of go.

But on the other hand, occasionally, as the situation demands, an early win comes one’s way. In contrast to the long, drawn-out strategy, this is the second case referred to above, which in the world of boxing would be called a knockout. In other words, elaborating on the theme of a 15 round boxing match, fighting through to the end of that 15th round, and winning a decision on points is equivalent to the drawn-out winning strategy just discussed. The second winning style does not wait until the 15th round, but lands a fatal blow in the early rounds, flattening the opponent to the mat.

It is just this kind of knockout blow that appears in go as a slaughter of one of the opponent’s important groups of stones. In such cases, there are various techniques that must be mastered in order to kill a group of stones, and one must also develop the necessary playing strength. This book has been written for this purpose: the 15 round boxing match is shown to be winnable early, in the third round perhaps, or maybe it is in the fifth when matters are settled; the point is that in go the game ends with a short number of moves. Spectators are also delighted and the participants are spared a difficult endgame to play out. And with a stirring win to savor, this kind of knockout should be sought, if possible, instead of the drawn-out win.

However, one cannot always land such a knockout blow on the opponent: things do not always proceed in that kind of ideal manner. No matter how superior a “killer of go” one might be, if the opponent offers no chink in the armor one cannot kill a group of stones.

Perhaps the reader is a lover of films and can anticipate another analogy. It is in Western movies that a “professional killer” appears.

Upon a barren landscape that stretches as far as the eye can see, beneath a scorching sun, the professional killer appears as a lone, solitary figure. With a six-shooter strapped to his hip, he sits atop a powerful stallion, reigning it in while stroking a three day growth of beard. Sand is kicked up by the wind. As he drifts through a prairie town he passes a wall filled with bounty posters offering dollar rewards. “Wanted dead or alive!” “Track down the varmint!” Then he leisurely sidles up to a saloon bar and tosses down a potent slug of whiskey. A lone wolf of a man, fast as lightning on the trigger, staking his life on being quicker on the draw than anyone. This wandering loner might be a famous fugitive from Texas or a vagabond from Minnesota…

In this book we will take this familiar figure of the Western hero whose special skill is in “killing” and use the context of go to examine the matter together.

In a real sense, as one plays a game of go, one may begin with the intention of playing the first, drawn-out strategy, but if the opponent pulls no punches, playing powerful moves, one must arouse oneself as well and rise to the occasion, not backing down a single step; not infrequently this will result in an unexpected capturing race (semeai).

It is said that when an author writes a novel, the pen may take over, leading the plot line into unexpected directions, but for the author, working alone, it is an inanimate pen which drags the story along. When there is a living opponent, and especially over the go board where fighting spirit is given great consideration, the very stones may seem to acquire a life of their own, and one can be plunged unexpectedly into a melee.

There is an expression: “forced by circumstances”, which we professional go players use while giving our impression of a game we have played. “That two-step hane was forced by the circumstances.” This is the kind of context in which the expression appears.

Undoubtedly go is a living thing and it is not compulsory for a game to proceed in the drawn-out style or for it to be dictated that the decision be established on points in the endgame.

Related to this is the agreeable circumstance that a “killer” never knows when opportunity may knock. In boxing, the opponent may let down his guard, sticking his jaw out for an instant, offering a perfect opportunity. This is the pride and joy of the “killer”: taking advantage of a momentary lapse to flatten the adversary with a powerful punch of deadly impact.

There seem to be tremendous numbers of chances like these available, especially in amateur games. One constantly sees examples of players neglecting to secure life for large groups of stones.

If a large group ends up dead like this, the game is over. However, there are any number of cases where an opponent’s group has been driven to the brink of destruction only to be let off the hook and allowed live at the last moment; or perhaps an unconditionally dead group finagles its way to become ko.

Actually, in the case of amateurs, and particularly in the beginner class, there are even more opportunities to kill large groups of stones. The principal explanation for this is that beginners tend to unreasonably try to rescue heavy groups of stones from dangerous situations. In an exchange of profit and influence (furikawari) for instance, stones that end up butting against the opponent’s wall are just dead weight: their usefulness has ended and should be regarded as throwaway stones. Despite this fact, there are some who will grunt, roll up their sleeves and recklessly try to drag these stones to safety. This is precisely the case in which the “killer” is given a perfect target, and just like a fattened calf, the stones are afforded every opportunity to increase in size and desirability until they are finally lead to slaughter with no quarter given. The point here is that under no circumstances should a group of heavy stones be clung onto in a misguided attempt at rescuing them. Even if they should escape by the skin of their teeth, in the process the opponent is often given an ideal chance to build a large territorial framework (moyo). Remember the go proverb: “Knight’s moves win running battles.”

The next consideration is to make sure that one determines one’s own move in accordance with the move of the opponent. A “killer” may aim at a vulnerable group of central stones, but immediately going for the kill may well fail due to insufficient preparation, so one tact might be to play forcing moves (kikashi) to the right, while on the left capping plays might be used. Should all of these moves be meekly answered, one may find that when the “killer” draws his pistol, that large central group of stones’ escape routes have been cut. This often happens during handicap games, and if one merely responds to the stronger player’s beck and call, one will never develop one’s own game. One must play elsewhere (tenuki) at some point; if one can adjust one’s thinking to the idea of ignoring an opponent’s move, one can score a success at a single bound.

The third reason a beginner’s large group of stones frequently die is that it is not uncommon for amateurs to badly misread situations.

One may be convinced that one’s stones have plenty of scope for finding two eyes and is consequently lulled in the belief that no matter how one plays they will live, but when the surrounding areas are blocked, one then finds vital points being probed and that life cannot be secured. Or else, one may believe that all the stones of a group are connected, but then a stunning diagonal attachment appears from nowhere, splitting the group and leaving each of the separated portions with a single eye and death. This kind of thing happens all the time. We professional players also make mistakes in reading, so it is understandable how it can happen, but during a game the most frightening thing to contemplate is the possibility of such a misreading and the smacking of the “killer’s” lips, the “killer” who has been patiently waiting for such a mistake.

The preceding discussion has explored the three principal reasons why beginners’ stones can be killed. At the same time, it might be wondered whether we professionals never have stones killed, but that is decidedly not how it is. In the case of handicap games it is often said that —

“Sensei’s stones cannot be captured.”

— With these words, it is obvious that one is unwilling to go after the white stones, but one could hardly commit a greater mistake. No matter how great a teacher of go the Sensei may be, one-eyed groups of stones cannot live, and if one discovers that sort of weak point, one must attack it relentlessly. To do so is a concrete manifestation of one’s developing skill.

Of course, if one’s attack misfires one is left with a position that in chess is called “exhaustion of resources”, while in go it is called “over-developed shape” (amarigatachi); so one cannot indiscriminately attack and still expect good results. But if an opponent’s stones can be killed and one avoids to do so through fear or mistrust of one’s ability, nothing could reek more of cowardice. That bane of handicap go: “Sensei’s stones cannot be captured,” should be banished from this day forward, to be replaced by: “Set to killing Sensei’s stones.” I heartily recommend this courageous attitude as being the best way to approach handicap go.

Among amateur players and then again, also in games between amateur and professional players, these circumstances prevail, but when considering the situation of professionals playing each other, the death of large groups of stones is quite an uncommon occurrence. Typically, professionals will read out life and death questions deeply before making a move, and if there is a suspicion that some stones may die, there is no attempt to cling to them: they are abandoned while the loss is small, and compensation is sought in an exchange (furikawari). Thus knockouts in these games are rare. This is perhaps natural: professional go players have the tenacity of sumo wrestlers, with low centers of gravity, difficult to topple, and avoid at all costs stepping outside the ring, spinning and grappling their way back to the center.

Despite this fact, various “killing game records” have been passed down since olden times, prominent among them the challenge match game between Honinbo Shusai Meijin and Master Karigane Junichi presented fully annotated in the latter half of this book, where the life and death of a large group of stones hinged on the result of a ko fight.

Ever since I was a youngster it has been my own style of play to always seek the greatest activity for my stones, even at the expense of creating thin positions and thereby giving my opponent an object of attack. The result of the game would depend on the life or death of these stones, and it often happened that my stones would pull through (shinogi) to decide the win; often enough that I was given the nickname of “Shinogi Sakata”. Since shinogi has been a principal theme in my games, it is natural that “killing” would occur less frequently than in other players’ games, but there too I have my share of “killing” games to my credit.

Besides selecting representative examples from among those games for the reader’s perusal, other games from the time of the go saint Dosaku are offered, as well as those from the time of the other go saint, Shusaku. Ten games have been selected in which the outcome has been decided at the point of life and death and it is hoped that the reader enjoys them.

Even though in the final analysis “killing” is the theme, each of those games differs as to the exact cause of defeat. At the same time, the “killing” method differs in each case.

From that standpoint, I hope that the reader will savor these points while examining the individual games.

1- Sakata v. Shinohara game

White: Shinohara Masami 8 dan
Black: Sakata Eio 9 dan
Komi: none
Date: 1955–06–01,02

Moves 1–41

Shinohara Masami 8 dan, played white here and I black. For many years Shinohara was famous for his powerful game. Against my redoubtable elder colleague, I played black 41 with the intention of killing the white group in the upper right. Before this, the hugging turn of black 37 was the overture to the killing: without laying the groundwork like this, preparations would have been incomplete.

Sequence 1

Without the move at 37, after black 41 white could play 1 through 9, and avoid being shut in and blockaded.

Sequence 2

When black 37 is in place, black can follow the preceding sequence with a move at 1, slapping a lid on.

Even so, had white neglected to play 38, black would have taken the vital point of A, which would have been unbearable.

Moves 42–50

White’s group in the upper right died and then black aimed at the stones clustered with white 50. The intention was to attack this group and with a single stroke decide the outcome of the game.

Moves 51–67

Moves 68–82

But again, it was necessary to prepare the ground before embarking on that course of action. Black 73 and 75 comprise the first step and then black 77 through 81 form the second step. Had white defended at A with 76, the seven stones would have practically safe, but then black B, white 76 and black C, extending out thickly (nobikiri) would make black thick all over the board, leaving white with little hope to salvage the game. The leaning tactic (motare) of black 77 and the rest is one of the most common “killing” techniques and is often employed. It would be devastating if white allowed black to block at 82, so white 80 and 82 are unavoidable. At this point, preparations are complete. Black can finally begin to attack white’s seven stones in the center.

Moves 83–85

Black’s all-out attack begins with 83. If black responds to white 84 with a move at A, white will follow with a play at 85, making it highly unlikely that the group will die.

Therefore, in hindsight white should have previously, by devising some particular move order, contrived to play this move at 84 as a forcing move (kikashi).

One of the charms of go is that getting in a move like this or else failing to do so, can completely alter the situation on the board. Mr. Okame Sanjin has composed Ten New Commandments of Go, one which states: Force (kikashi) without regret, but preserve all the nuances. In this situation, white should have played at 84 before and left it at that without regret. Black 85 is the strongest attack and I read the variations through to the end before playing it. Although the enemy is allowed into the right side position, this was justified by my confidence in being able to annihilate the group.

Moves 86–100

White 96 and black 97 are a matched pair (miai) of vital points.

Sequence 3

Consequently, if white 96 is played at 97, black plays at 96, to be followed by white 3 through black 10: and with 11, in general white’s group would manage to live, if only barely. But while allowing this, black next has the cut at 12 and white is left with a lost position.

Sequence 4

In this variation, black must take care not to play stubbornly at 1 in an attempt to attack white’s eye space: after white 2 through black 9, white plays 10 and the group in the corner that black worked so hard to kill enjoys a rebirth.

The upshot of both sides reading out these diverse variations was that white chose to try to escape below but…

Moves 101–115

Once the course is set for the “kill” and an all-out assault is mounted, halfway through one cannot get cold feet.

If black nonchalantly pushes out with 1 at A, white will play at 1 and there is a danger of an upset.

Black 7 and 9 are designed to unconditionally separate white’s groups.

Sequence 5

That is, the continuation is black 3 to white 6: then black 7 and white 8 make the point of A and the one at B a matched pair (miai), leaving black in trouble.

Sequence 6

Also, if instead of pushing out at 3 in Sequence 5, black turns at 3 in this sequence, white 4 to 12 set up a race to capture (semeai), a failure for black.

With this the aim of killing white’s group is realized, securing 100 points of territory on the right side and deciding the win.

Now, following this, two representative games from the earliest stage of go history have been selected from the praxis of the go saint Dosaku.

The following does not strictly relate to the theme of this book, but I would like to write a bit concerning Dosaku.

In my opinion, within the history of go there have been two principal revolutions. The first revolution originated with this man, the fourth hereditary Honinbo, Dosaku Meijin. Dosaku was born in 1645, during the suzerainty of the third Tokugawa Shogun, Iemitsu, and died during the rule of the fifth generation Shogun, Tsunayoshi, in 1702 at the age of 58. In his early thirties he became Meijin-godokoro and facing the masters of the other traditional go houses, that is: Yasui Santetsu, Chitetsu, Shunchi. Inoue Inseki, Hayashi Monnyu, etc., he was practically unbeatable, though those opponents played with the fixed advantage of the first move. It was said that, “Dosaku’s power at go is equivalent to 11 dan.”

As opposed to the disparate methods of play prevalent up to then, Dosaku developed a rational approach which established the foundation of logic for today’s go world. In short, he devised the parsing analysis used today for breaking down the component parts of a sequence of moves (tewari analysis) and for this Dosaku is truly deserving of the honor he is accorded as a go saint.

If the reader is next wondering what the second revolution in go was, it occurred in 1933, when Messrs. Kitani and Go Seigen developed and began playing the New Fuseki.

When the New Fuseki was publicized, amateur players everywhere began playing on the star points, on the fourth line, on the fifth line, initiating battles in the center of the board; it was a glorious revelation. The current popularity of high pincer moves is attributable to the spirit of this movement.

115 moves. Sakata Eio wins by resignation.