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© 2007 by Yuan Zhou

Master Play: The Style of Lee Changho

Yuan Zhou

Buy the full book at gobooks.com

This book is one of a series about the specific playing styles of some of the most famous go professionals. Though most Western players have heard of such famous players as Lee Changho, few have any real understanding or appreciation of each professional’s individual playing style. This series is an effort to remedy that situation. In each volume, Yuan Zhou, one of the top US amateurs and a popular go teacher, author, and lecturer, presents two games of a particular player with a very detailed analysis that focuses on clarifying what is distinctive about their style of play. Readers will find that this is not only illuminating for understanding what it means to speak of a playing style, it also leads to an enhanced appreciation and understanding of the game itself.

The game analyses in these books began as informal presentations at Zhou’s home to a high kyu and a low dan player: Ben Armitage 1 dan and Bill Cobb 4 kyu. They occasionally contribute comments and responses to questions from Zhou. The books were prepared from video tapes of these sessions.

Zhou has a particular talent for helping weaker players understand what is going on in pro games and guiding them to become stronger players by studying pro games. He intentionally includes kyu players in his intended audience, not just stronger players. Zhou can be contacted through his web site at www.zhouyuan.com.

Yuan Zhou (American Go Association 7 dan) was born in Tianjin, China. Tianjin is a major city in the northern part of China, near Beijing. His father taught him to play go at the age of six, and a year later he won the Tanggu District Junior Championship. After this auspicious beginning, Zhou began professional go training while he was still seven years old. He was twice invited to represent Tianjin in the All China Go Prodigy Cup.

In 1989 Zhou immigrated to the USA, became a US citizen, and joined the American Go Association (AGA). Zhou was the president of the go club at the University of Maryland, from which he earned a BS in Electrical Engineering, and became increasingly involved in AGA events, winning many go tournaments. Please see the list below for Yuan Zhou’s thirty US go titles. Zhou was also elected to the AGA board of directors in 2005.

Zhou is one of the top competitors on the American go scene, winning the Eastern US Open, one of the biggest US tournaments, in 1992. He also won the New Jersey Open, another of the biggest US tournaments, four times. Twice he has won the Maryland Open, another major tournament that attracts strong players. Zhou placed in the top ten many times in the US Open, North American Masters Cup, and the North American Fujitsu Qualifying Tournament. These tournaments involve the strongest North American go players and include pros. In Zhou’s go career, he has defeated pros many times, including four times in even tournament games: Hak Soo Kim 6p in the 1996 Fujitsu, Xuefen Lin 1p in the 2001 Eastern Oza, Huiren Yang 1p in the 2009 North American Masters, and Feng Yun 9p in the 2011 SAMG World Team Go US team Qualifier. Zhou has also won the US Pair Go Championship four times, and he has represented the USA in international tournaments many times (WAGC, Korea Prime Minister Cup, World Pair Go Championship, etc).

In 2009, Zhou represented the USA in the 4th Korea Prime Minister Cup World Go Championship in Jeonju, Korea and finished in 5th place.

In addition to his competitive successes, Zhou has become a popular teacher and lecturer, frequently giving lectures and teaching lessons at various go clubs in the eastern US region. He has also published many go books at Slate & Shell (www.slateandshell.com). Zhou resides in Germantown, Maryland, and can be contacted through his web site at www.zhouyuan.com.

Yuan Zhou’s Thirty US Go Tournament Victories:

Mid Atlantic Open 1990
Eastern US Open 1992
NoVa Cherry Blossom 1992
NoVa Cherry Blossom 1993
NoVa Pumpkin Classic 1993
University of Maryland Open 1993
Maryland Open 1994
New Jersey Open 1995
University of Maryland Open 1995
New Jersey Open 1996
New Jersey Open 1997
Philadelphia Open 1998
NoVa Congress Tune Up 1999
Mid Atlantic Open 2000
Pennsylvania Open 2000
Korean Baduk Eastern US Open 2001
New Jersey Open 2001
Maryland Open 2002
Pennsylvania Open 2002
Virginia Open 2003
US Ing Redmond Cup 2004
US Pair Go Championship 2004
Virginia Open 2004
Philadelphia Open 2007
Mid Atlantic Open 2007
US Pair Go Championship 2009
North American Ing Masters Qualifier 2009
North American Ing Masters Qualifier 2011
US Pair Go Championship 2011
US Pair Go Championship 2012

William Cobb, April 2013

Copyright Page

© Yuan Zhou

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

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

Special thanks are due to Matthew Bengtson and Larry Russ for help with editing and proof reading.

Edited by William Cobb

Cover design by Laurie M. Crammond

Conversion to SmartGo Books by William Cobb

ISBN of print edition:
1–932001–38–7

Table of Contents

Master Play: The Style of Lee Changho

Introduction

Copyright Page

A Brief Biography of Lee Changho

Lee Changho Wins His first World Title

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

Lee Changho Wins a Second Fujitsu Cup

Buy This Book

About SmartGo Books

A Brief Biography of Lee Changho

Let’s begin by finding out what you guys know about Lee Changho. When did you first hear of him?

1 dan: I know he is the most popular go player in the world right now and has won more world titles than anyone else. He’s famous for a calm and solid style and was in the first wave of Korea’s becoming the dominant go power in the world. I also read somewhere that as a child he would study all day long at the go board and not go out and play. I first heard of him soon after I learned to play go at the Portland Go Club about seven or eight years ago.

4 kyu: I first encountered the larger go world when I went to a Go Congress in 1993. Shortly after that I started subscribing to Go World and learned about the Asian pros. This was when Lee was just making his big initial splash.

The fact that you would learn about Lee Changho as soon as you started learning the game shows just how famous he is. Let’s go over some of the details of his life.

Lee was born on July 29, 1975, so today [in 2007] he’s only 32. He started playing go when he was five years old and became a professional in 1986, when he was eleven. That is not a record, by the way. Lee’s teacher, Cho Hunhyun, became a pro at the age of nine. Cho was at that time the leading figure in Korean go and was the first Korean to win a world title: the first Ing Cup in 1989, in which he defeated the leading Chinese player at the time Nie Weiping. Unlike Cho, however, Lee was not immediately seen as a genius. In fact, Cho was initially disinclined to take him on as a student. The first two times Cho played a teaching game with Lee, the young boy did not seem that sharp; there was no spark of genius. Moreover, he made mistakes when playing back over games. It was only after being strongly urged to play a game with this child for the third time that Cho was able to see that Lee did in fact have unusual talent. At that point he invited Lee to come live in his home in the traditional way of taking on a student.

Lee could hardly have had a better teacher. Cho and Go Seigen had both been students of the same teacher, Segoe Kensaku, one of the top players in Japan at the time. Segoe only had three students in his lifetime, which he hoped would be the best in the world: Go Seigen of China, Hashimoto Utaro of Japan, and Cho Hunhyun of Korea. This was Segoe’s way of trying to promote the development of go. So Lee has a special connection with Go Seigen, in addition to their being the top two players of the twentieth century.

Lee won his first title at fourteen, the 8th KBS Korean Go King Championship. This was shocking at the time. Before this, the consensus view was that go players would not reach top form until at least their thirties. There is so much to learn about the vast complexities of go and a certain maturity of character and judgment is necessary to play at the highest levels. Top players require a degree of patience and understanding of the pervasive ambiguity of moves, as well as control of their emotions—such things were thought difficult for a youth to attain. Nevertheless, the general reaction in the go world to Lee’s victory as a young teenager was not to think Lee was a genius, but to think less of the general level of go in Korea.

Things changed dramatically a few years later, when Lee was seventeen. He won his first international title, the 3rd Tongyang Securities Cup, defeating Rin Kaiho, one of the very top Japanese players, 3–2. Although many had been dismissive of Lee beforehand, after this there was no denying that he was an amazing talent. Lee still holds the record of being the youngest player to win a world championship. To date he has won twenty-one international titles; no one else is close to such a total. In fact, most pros dream of winning just one. He is the only player who has won every one of the active world titles at least once, and he has held all of the Korean titles, dominating most of them for years. Another record Lee holds is having won forty-one tournament games in a row in 1990. His achievements are so far beyond the norm as to be almost unbelievable.

Fujisawa Shuko, famous for winning the top Japanese title, the Kisei, six times in a row, and the author of many go books, once remarked that with any other player, he could go over their games once and understand everything that is going on. “But Lee Changho’s games”, he said, “I have to go over twice.”

Two of Lee’s best known nicknames are Alien and Stone Buddha: “Alien” because his achievements are so far beyond the norm that he seems to have come from another world. “Stone Buddha” because he sits impassively at the board, almost never getting up during a game and never changing his impassive expression, regardless of what is happening in the game. Lee is modest and soft-spoken, which makes the power of his go even more startling.

Lee Changho Wins His First World Title

The first game we are going to analyze is a very famous one. It is the decisive game of the best-of-five-game finals as a result of which Lee won his first world title, the Tongyang Securities Cup. Lee’s opponent was Rin Kaiho of Japan, who was a top player at the time, having won both the Meijin and the Honinbo titles in Japan several times, as well as the international Fujitsu two years before, defeating China’s number one player Nie Weiping in the finals. Rin has a very solid way of playing, making it difficult for his opponents to find any mistakes to exploit. Although Lee was dominating the Korean titles at the time, outside of Korea this was not seen as very significant, and at seventeen, Lee was clearly the underdog in this match. However, at this point in the tournament finals, the score was tied at two games each, and everyone was beginning to wonder if there was going to be a new record set for the youngest world champion.

Lee’s style is calm and solid. Generally, he is not looking for dramatic developments, such as killing big groups. His aim is to play solidly without mistakes. The theory is that no one can really know what the best play is. Expecting to make the 100% best move every time is obviously unreasonable. No one can be perfect. So Lee is not looking for perfection and does not expect big, dramatic surprises. He simply aims to attain an average level of efficiency in his moves that is a little better than that of his opponent.

In this game, Rin is Black and Lee is White with a komi of five and a half points. Basic time is three hours each, with the last five minutes treated as five periods of one minute as byoyomi. The date is January 27, 1992, and the game is played in Korea.

Moves 1–4

The point of White 4 is to counter a possible Chinese opening by Black. If Black plays at A, White B would be perfectly positioned to counter the influence of a black Chinese opening structure, the main potential of which is toward the lower left. At the same time, White’s corner enclosure with B would be ideal for developing the left side.

Moves 5–8

Black 5 attacks the weak direction of from the strong direction of , which makes sense. White 6 is typical of Lee’s style. He tries to avoid complications and attackable positions. White can easily settle after 6 by going into the corner at A, if Black pincers, or by making a base with White 8 as in the game. Of course, this gives Black a good corner as well as sente and may be seen as a slight loss for White locally. However, it is clear and simple. This is Lee’s concern: no mistakes and minimal risk. Lee is the best in the world in terms of risk management; he is not aiming for a “big” win, just a win. Confusion is to be avoided, because it is hard to know what will happen when the board becomes confused. Simple, calm, solid, and safe is the way. White 8 could reasonably be played at B, but such a loose, open position would be unusual for Lee Changho.

Moves 9–14

Since White did not respond to Black 5 (), Black naturally makes the normal attachment with 9 to take the corner. Lee responds with White 10; this is typical. Lee is just the opposite of Go Seigen in this regard. Go Seigen is constantly refusing to respond locally, giving the opponent no respect. Lee is more deferential: “You’re right. This is the place to play. I will follow.” Black is happy to get a nice position with 13. White 14 is also typical of Lee’s style. He finishes the joseki and gives Black sente again.

Do you guys know this joseki?

4 kyu: Yes, this is one you learn early on, but it would be hard for me to play White 14; at this point there are too many big plays elsewhere.
1 dan: I agree. White 14 doesn’t seem urgent.

A lot of strong professionals feel the same way. This is not a life and death situation for White. But White 14 is Lee’s style. Generally, he does not like to leave an incomplete shape. It is not a question of his group dying, but generally you will have to pay later for leaving an incomplete shape. Lee doesn’t like to accumulate debts. Moreover, there is one thing you can say for sure about this move: It is not a mistake. You may think other moves are bigger, but you don’t know for sure. However, you can know for sure that White 14 is not a mistake. So Lee continues to show his opponent respect and play calmly and solidly, keeping the game simple and clear. White has no weaknesses.

Moves 15–19

The top is obviously the biggest area to play in. Both of you would play there, too, right?

1 dan and 4 kyu: Right.

After Black 15, Lee again responds, choosing the correct joseki for this situation.

Playing Black 17 at A to make a moyo wouldn’t make sense when White already has a solid position on the right side. Up to this point nothing is difficult. Everything is easy to understand.

Moves 20–24

White 20 is clearly the next place to play, and the game becomes clear and peaceful overall—which is exactly what Lee wanted. The game is balanced and White has made no mistakes and has no weaknesses. Of course, Black has no reason to be dissatisfied either.

This is a common experience for Lee’s opponents. Everything seems to be going their way in the opening; there’s no resistance. They’re able to get what they want. But then … they lose. So they start to question themselves. Is what I wanted in the opening really good? Do I understand this game at all? What is going on here? Every player can understand that feeling. The normal way of playing is to try to prevent your opponents from getting what they want in the opening. That’s the usual struggle. Imagine being allowed to have your way, and then consistently losing. That’s what every top professional in the world experiences when he plays Lee Changho.

Moves 25–27

Black 25 is a very good move. It is better for Black to develop the top rather than the bottom because his bottom position is more open. Rin takes advantage of the lowness of White’s position here to press White down while expanding his own potential at the top. Again, Lee says, “Good move; I’ll respond.” Black presses White down significantly with Black 27 with the aim of developing center potential.

Black A next would be perfect. This is a good example of how understandable Lee’s games are. It is easy to see what the next move should be.

Obviously, White cannot now allow Black to seal him in at A and make a big moyo. It almost seems like White doesn’t have a plan; he’s just following Black around and making sure he gets key points when it’s White’s turn. To think that would be a mistake, of course.

Moves 28–31

Lee leans on Black’s strong top group with White 28, and White 30 prevents Black from sealing him in here.

Black 31 is another excellent move by Black. If Black does not play there, White could play at A and Black could not block at B because of the potential atari at C which would be followed by another atari at Black 31. If Black plays 31 at A, White would turn at D with sente. 31 prevents both possibilities and also helps to secure the black territory to the right. So it’s a very good move. Now we’ve seen two excellent moves by Black, but none by White. However, White has made no mistakes.

Moves 32–33

White 32 makes sense. White does not want Black to play at A, so he uses his thickness above to attack the two black stones. Lee’s moves continue to be simple and easy to understand. Black 33 is another good move. In combination with Black 29 and 31, this seals White in, giving Black great potential at the top. Black can block any white effort to break out here. (See diagrams Black Can Seal 1 and Black Can Seal 2.) After this, the bottom is obviously the biggest area.

Black Can Seal-1

If White plays this 1, Black would strengthen the three stones below with 2 and then block.

Black Can Seal-2

If White plays this 1, Black’s block with 2 would strengthen the three stones below.

Move 34

White invades the open area at the bottom at 34 before Black can play around A and finish a large position. It is easy for White to do this because his positions on the left and right are solid so he could afford to run 34 out.

1 dan: Doesn’t give White a severe invasion at B?

That’s right. Lee is taking advantage of the follow-up for the joseki move; so it wasn’t that slow when he made it.

Move 35

Obviously, Black is not going to defend on the left; Rin uses 35 to prevent White from making a two space extension to settle here.

The best for Black now would be for White to jump to A. Black B would chase White out and fix Black’s weakness to the left at the same time. If White then jumps again to C, Black can cap at D. That would be great for Black. However, the number one player in the world is not going to play that way. Now we will see Lee Changho’s strength in the middle game.

If White Invades-1

If White plays at 1 now, what does Black do?

4 kyu: I’d look at Black B first.
1 dan: Wouldn’t it better for Black to play at A?

If White Invades-2

This Black 2 is the safe play for Black, but the continuation is good for White. With a simple invasion White destroys a lot of territory. So this would be weak; Rin won’t do this.

If White Invades-3

After the diagonal Black 2, up to this Black 10 is the standard variation. What happens after this depends on reading ability, the strength of the players. A, B, and C are possible continuations for White, but this is not an easy choice. This is probably why Ben didn’t like this: it’s unclear and complicated.

1 dan: Right.

Well, it’s exactly the same for Lee Changho. It’s not clear what will happen in diagram If White Invades-3, and Lee dislikes uncertainty. He wants to avoid risks. This choice could lead to confusion, and the game might be decided in this fight. So watch what Lee does. Of course, it’s not that Lee can’t handle such complications; it’s just that he sees no reason to take such chances. That would not be a “calm and solid” way of playing.

Move 36

This is the game move, and here things become interesting. Lee believes the opening remains mysterious, so he has focused on studying the middle and endgame. This is an example of the result: a move that is Lee’s invention. Black has only two choices of response: A or B. This is an aspect of Lee’s style, to give his opponent two choices and say, “Okay, you pick.” Again, he shows his opponent respect. But he makes what was potentially complicated become simple. If Black descends to B, White pushes up at A, which is clearly good for White as it splits Black’s left side position. So Black must play A; he can’t give up his three stones to the left.

The full book continues this game to the end, followed by a thorough analysis of a second game.