© 2004 by Mingjiu Jiang and Guo Juan

Correct Joseki

Mingjiu Jiang 7 Dan and Guo Juan 5 Dan

Buy the full book at gobooks.com

This ePub reader does not support full scripting, so diagrams may not be interactive.

The idea for this book arose from the interaction of Jiang and Guo in giving joint lectures on the Kiseido Go Server, beginning in 2004. They have known each other since they were pros in China, where Guo was at one time a pupil of Jiang’s.

The mistakes in playing joseki sequences and in selecting joseki for particular game situations that are the subject of this book are all taken from actual games played by amateurs, many of them dan level players. A print version of this book is available from Slate & Shell with the title All About Joseki.

Copyright Page

© Mingjiu Jiang and Guo Juan

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited.

Slate & Shell
1425 Westshire Lane
Richmond, VA 23238
www.slateandshell.com

Special thanks to Willard Haynes and Larry Russ for help with proof reading.

Edited by William Cobb

Conversion to SmartGo Books by William Cobb

ISBN of print edition:
1–932001–22–0

Table of Contents

Correct Joseki

Introduction

Copyright Page

About the Authors

Correcting Joseki Mistakes

Game 1

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

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

Game 7

Game 8

Game 9

Game 10

Game 11

Game 12

Game 13

Game 14

Game 15

Game 16

Choosing the Right Joseki

Game 17

Game 18

Game 19

Game 20

Game 21

Game 22

Game 23

Game 24

Game 25

Game 26

Game 27

Game 28

Game 29

Game 30

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About SmartGo Books

About the Authors

Mingjiu Jiang 7 dan (Photo by Chris Garlock)

Mingjiu Jiang was born July 15th, 1957 in Shanxi province, China, Tai Yuang city. He began to learn go at the age of 6, initially learning from his grandfather, and became a professional in 1973. Two years later he joined the Chinese national team, on which he competed until 1983. While on the team he twice went to Japan to compete in the Japan-China go competition. By the end of his time on the national team he had achieved the rank of 5 dan. He attended college for two years, and subsequently played go on the state team, reaching 7 dan by 1987. In 1988 Mr. Jiang commenced working for a go publishing company, where he was employed for six years. From 1994 to 2000, he worked for a go school. During this period he placed fifth and sixth in the Chinese National Tournament. In 2000, he moved to Mountain View, California with his wife and son. In 2001 he placed second in the North American Goe Master Tournament. He represented America in the 2002 7th LG Cup World Baduk Championship. Jiang won the western Toyota-Denso Oza in the US in 2004, losing to Yoda Norimoto 9 dan in the first round of the International Toyota-Denso Oza in Japan, and he was second in the 2003 American Ing Pro Cup and third in 2004. He has published several books on go in Chinese and one in English: Punishing and Correcting Joseki Mistakes, published by Slate & Shell, which is out of print but is available as a SmartGo Book. Mr. Jiang maintains a web site at gomasters.com.

Guo Juan 5 dan (Photo by Harry van der Drogt)

Guo Juan was born in 1960 in the city of Cheng-Du, in the People’s Republic of China. She learned go at the age of nine and became a professional in 1977, reaching 5 dan in 1985. Her best result in the Chinese national Championship was fifth place. At the age of eighteen, Guo joined the Chinese National Team for five years. She continued her professional career until her lovely son, Wang-zi, was born, after which she moved to Europe in 1990. Since then Guo has lived in the Netherlands.

She has played in European tournaments since 1990 and won a lot of them, the most notable being:
   The European Championship four times
   The European Ing Cup seven times
   The European Fujitsu Finals four times

Guo teaches go both on and off line, and she has had an enormous amount of experience teaching Western go players. Her teaching events occur all over Europe and North America, and she is a frequent participant at the US Go Congress. Her first book is The World of Chinese Go, published by Kiseido.

Guo’s website is located at internetgoschool.com.

Game 1: Correcting Joseki Mistakes

Game Record 1

＞＜

In this game between two amateur 2 dan players, the joseki in the upper left is fine for both players up to White 10. White could play 10 at A to prevent Black’s playing at B.

Variation 1

＞＜

White could play at White 1 with White 10 to prevent Black’s playing at Black 2. If Black does respond with 2, this is a sort of joseki, but it is not really good for Black, because Black’s position is low on the left side, while White’s position on the top and the right side is more efficient.

Game Record 2

＞＜

Black could play Black 11 at A. That would give Black some other options.

Variation 2

＞＜

If White descends this way with White 2 after Black 11 at 1, this pattern is a joseki.

Variation 3

＞＜

Alternatively, if White descends with White 2 in Variation 3, Black normally would play this way.

Variation 4

＞＜

After White 2 in Variation 3, if Black tries to escape as in Variation 4, it is good for White rather than for Black.

Game Record 3

＞＜

In the game, when White wedges with 12, Black blocks, but this is a mistake by White.

Variation 5

＞＜

White should play 12 at White 1. If Black responds this way, the result is good for White. The black stones are low with a weak shape and the - exchange is good for White.

Variation 6

＞＜

Black can respond to White 1 with Black 2 as in Variation 6, but Black 4 is a mistake. White gets the easy move at White 5 for points and eye shape, and the three black stones on the left side are weak.

Variation 7

＞＜

After Black defends properly at the top with Black 4, White can wedge with 5, but this White 7 only helps Black.

Variation 8

＞＜

Cutting with White 7 this way instead of as in Variation 7 is very bad for White. Black gets a nice shape that is very strong.

Variation 9

＞＜

If White is going to cut with White 7, it must be on the inside, this way. Normally, Black would take sente, leaving bad aji for White. Later, if there are other stones around, this could become very dangerous for White. Black should not start the fight too soon, when there are no other stones around, but in Variation 9, White’s trying to capture a stone with a ladder by playing White 11 is wrong. When Black pushes out with 12, it is very severe. White will not be able to stop Black.

Variation 10

＞＜

White should simply pull out with 11; this fight is in fact not good for Black. That is why Black should not start the fight with Black 8 too soon.

Variation 11

＞＜

This White 7 in Variation 11 is a safe move. This is a normal joseki.

Variation 12

＞＜

Black should not play Black 8 as in Variation 12 because it makes the black group too heavy.

Variation 13

＞＜

Playing Black 8 this way is also not good. Now the cut with White 9 works well for White. Variation 11 shows the correct continuation for Black.

Game 17: Choosing the Right Joseki

Game Record 1

＞＜

Black 5 to White 12 is a joseki.

Black 13 makes the black position more efficient. Black can play here because the four stones to the left are strong. If Black follows the joseki by playing at A, the upper right corner would be still open and easy for White to invade.

Game Record 2

＞＜

White has other choices for White 14, including A, B, or C. We will focus on the move played.

After White 14, Black has several choices of joseki. The crucial consideration in this type of situation is to make the black position at the top more efficient. Therefore, Black should attack from the right side, for example, with a pincer at D or E.

Game Record 3

＞＜

Black does not choose either D or E in Game Record 2, however. Instead, Black plays Black 15 to 19 in Game Record 3.

Two joseki have now been played in this game: One in the top left and one in the bottom right. Both were played correctly. Normally, the first joseki in a game is easy to choose, and we don’t make many mistakes in choosing it. But with the second joseki, the choice is not so easy. This is because we have to choose the proper joseki, taking into account the whole board.

In this game Black made a mistake in the choice of the second joseki. Up to White 20 the joseki is played correctly, but the choice of joseki is wrong because White is allowed to limit the development of Black’s moyo with the move at White 20.

Variation 1

＞＜

What about Black 1 here instead of Black 19 in the game? This sequence is also a joseki. However, it is still not good for Black because White becomes very strong and that damages Black’s moyo.

Variation 2

＞＜

Let’s go back and look at the pincers at D and E in Game Record 2 to see what happens if Black attacks from the right side.

Black 1 (D in Game Record 2) is one way for Black to attack from the right side. White has several joseki responses available, including A, B, and C.

Variation 3

＞＜

If White chooses A (White 2 in Variation 3), Black can follow this joseki, after which the black stones are working well together, and the black moyo is more efficient. Variation 3 is a good choice for Black.

Variation 4

＞＜

Playing Black 7 this way instead of as in Variation 3 is also good for Black. The moves to White 10 follow. The black stones again work well with Black’s moyo across the top, and Black also gets sente.

Variation 5

＞＜

It is important for Black to capture with Black 9 in Variation 4 and not try to save his stone at the bottom with Black 1 in Variation 5. If Black did this, after the sequence to White 8, White also would have a big moyo. This is not good for Black.

Variation 6
12 at 8

＞＜

White can also choose this White 2 (B in Variation 2). Black can answer at 3 or at A (see Variations 7 and 8). Through White 12 is a joseki, but the black moyo is restricted because White is now too strong. This is similar to what happens in the game and is also not good for Black.

Variation 7

＞＜

So Black must play Black 3 from this direction (A in Variation 6) to protect the black moyo. Black 5 is a joseki, but it’s the wrong choice for Black because White 6 is too nice for White. This joseki again damages Black’s moyo.

Variation 8

＞＜

Black should play Black 5 this way instead of as in Variation 7. This is also a joseki and makes Black’s moyo huge. This pattern is much better for Black than what happens in the game. This is a good choice for Black.

Variation 9

＞＜

Black can also play this Black 1 (E in Game Record 2). This is a normal move and the correct direction of attack for Black. If White responds at White 2, Black 3 is favorable for Black, since White does not have a severe attack on Black 1. This is a good joseki choice for Black.

Variation 10

＞＜

White can also respond with this White 2. It is also a joseki, and the result is fine for both Black and White. This is a better choice for Black than the game sequence because Black 1 helps Black’s moyo.

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© 2004 by Mingjiu Jiang and Guo Juan

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