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©2014 Richard Hunter

A completely rewritten and greatly expanded version of Monkey Jump Workshop.

The Monkey Jump

Richard Hunter

Buy the full book at gobooks.com

“The monkey jump is worth nine points.” This is a useful proverb that tells you that the monkey jump is a large endgame move. However, the monkey jump can actually be worth fewer points or even more points, and sometimes other moves are better. It all depends on the situation. Furthermore, the proverb does not help you know how to answer the monkey jump correctly when your opponent plays it. Indeed, the monkey jump can seem unstoppable to weaker players. One minute Black has a large territory and the next minute White slides in and undermines it. One often sees Black answering wrongly and losing a lot of points or even a whole group.

This book provides a systematic coverage of the monkey jump in endgame and life and death situations. Study this book carefully and you should be able to play and respond to the monkey jump with confidence.

The level is suitable for kyu players, but even dan players will find something new here.

Copyright Page

©2014 Richard Hunter

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

Photograph of Richard Hunter by Louise Bremner

Revision and Conversion to SmartGo Books by Richard Hunter

Preface to SmartGo Book

This SmartGo Book is a completely revised, reorganized, re-edited, and greatly expanded version of Monkey Jump Workshop.

It makes full use of the features of SmartGo Books. You can play through the moves in any diagram and also try your own moves. Problems are presented in interactive problem diagrams where you can try your solutions. These problem diagrams confirm the correct line(s) and refute some incorrect lines. The following pages explain the best solution, alternatives, and the most instructive failures. Inline diagrams (tap the brown colored text) illustrate some explanations written in the text or present earlier diagrams mentioned in the discussion in the text to save you turning back several pages. Internal navigation links (tap the blue text) will take you to relevant locations in the book such as diagrams being discussed or to an Appendix, the Contents, etc. Returning is easy: just tap in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.

The professional game records are given in the Appendix and can be quickly accessed from diagrams in the text by tapping a header “Game Example”. They are also included in the game database bundled with SmartGo Kifu.

The images of professional go players are from NHK TV broadcasts.

I am grateful to the following people for helpful comments on an early draft: Harry Fearnley, Scott Griffiths, Anders Kierulf, and Luke Oram.

Richard Hunter
Bristol, UK
July 2014

Preface to Printed Book

ISBN of print edition: 0–9706193–9–1

The monkey jump can seem unstoppable to weaker players. One minute Black has a large territory and the next minute White slides in and undermines it. One often sees Black answering wrongly and losing a lot of points or even his whole group. This book provides a systematic coverage of the monkey jump in endgame and life and death situations. Study this book carefully and you should be able to play and respond to the monkey jump with confidence.

The contents are based on my series of articles published in the British Go Journal, and reprinted here with permission from the British Go Association. While the journal is read by some people in other countries, the readership is undeniably limited. I’m delighted to have this opportunity to make this material available to a wider audience. I’d like to thank Brian Timmins, who was the editor of the British Go Journal at the time, and his team of helpers for putting my ideas onto paper. I’d also like to thank Matthew Macfadyen for advice and encouragement. Thanks also to Simon Goss for advice on fractional counting. The material in this book includes the complete contents of the BGJ series plus some additional material, practice problems, and game examples. I’ve corrected one or two minor errors and the material has been completely reformatted. The series was appreciated by readers of the British Go Journal and was also reprinted in translation by the French Go Journal. I hope you find it useful too. I’m extremely grateful to Kiseido Publishing Co. for giving me permission to include articles on the monkey jump from Go World, making this book a truly comprehensive coverage of the subject.

This is the second book from Slate & Shell based on my BGJ articles. Already published is Cross-cut Workshop. Coming soon will be an essential primer on counting liberties.

Print edition edited by William Cobb and Richard Hunter

Richard Hunter
Tokyo
March 2002

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Monkey Jump

Copyright Page

Preface to SmartGo Book

Preface to Printed Book

Introduction to the Monkey Jump

PART ONE: ENDGAME

Section I: Basic Endgame

Chapter 1: Basic Response Patterns

This sample provides selections from several chapters. The chapters in gray are included only in the full book.

Chapter 2: Alternatives to the Monkey Jump

Chapter 3: Review of Basic Endgame

Chapter 4: Review Problems

Section II: Advanced Endgame

Chapter 5: Timing in Patterns

Chapter 6: Playing Elsewhere

Chapter 7: The Battle for Sente

Chapter 8: Choosing Among Responses

Chapter 9: Forcing Moves

Chapter 10: Life and Death Considerations

Chapter 11: Professional Advice

Chapter 12: Big Monkey or Small Monkey?

Chapter 13: Commented Games

Chapter 14: Case by Case Responses

Chapter 15: To Err is Human

Chapter 16: Differing Opinions

Chapter 17: Risk Assessment

Chapter 18: Review of Advanced Endgame

Chapter 19: Endgame Problems

Problems 1–10

Problems 11–14

PART TWO: LIFE & DEATH

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Review Problems

Chapter 3: Problems

Problems 1–10

Problems 11–20

Problems 21–30

Problems 31–40

Problems 41–50

Problems 51–56

PART THREE: RESCUE & CONNECTION

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Review Problems

Chapter 3: Problems

Problems 1–10

Problems 11–20

Problems 21–23

PART FOUR: ASSORTED PROBLEMS

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Problems

Problems 1–10

Problems 11–20

Problems 21–23

Appendix 1: Game Records

Appendix 2: Glossary of Technical Terms

Appendix 3: Supplementary Diagrams

Appendix 4: Index of Subheadings

Appendix 5: Index of Positions and Problems

Appendix 6: Index of Endgame Values

About the Author

Buy This Book

About Go Books

Introduction to the Monkey Jump

Monkey jump

White 1, sliding into Black’s territory, is the infamous monkey jump. It is a move that frequently arises in actual games, and beginners often get themselves into trouble by answering it incorrectly.

This book will show you the correct way to answer the monkey jump in various positions, so you never get ripped off again. We will also calculate how many points it is worth, examine positions where other moves are better, and see how the monkey jump is used in life and death positions and in rescuing and connecting separated stones.

You might have read the The Endgame by Tomoko Ogawa and James Davies. Since it covers the whole of the endgame, it only has space to discuss the monkey jump rather briefly. If you have it, study Chapter 2, which explains the basic principles of endgame counting in more detail than I do here. On the other hand, this book will cover the basics of the monkey jump in more detail than The Endgame and then explore further. It starts off aimed at double-figure kyu players, but will gradually get more advanced, eventually introducing material that dan players may not know.

As you read this book, feel free to skip ahead. I recommend reading Part One, Section I Basic Endgame first even if you are a dan player. If you get tired of the advanced endgame topics, simply bookmark your place and skip on to life and death, for example. This book has links to relevant earlier material for you to read or review.

Do not worry about getting wrong answers to the problems. Some of them are difficult. Since the book is intended to treat the topic of the Monkey Jump, it covers a wide range of difficulty. Think about the problems, but do not spend too long on them. It is perfectly OK to look at the answers and read the discussion. The idea is to gain exposure to new ideas. Later, you can reread the book and aim to do better.

PART ONE: ENDGAME

Section I: Basic Endgame

Chapter 1: Basic Response Patterns

How should Black respond?

Black was expecting to get a large territory on the bottom side, but White has come sliding into it. How should Black respond? For weaker players, the most important concern is to halt White’s advance and preserve as much territory as possible.

Position 1
Black to play

First, you should understand that White 1 is a reasonable move. This large knight’s move from the second line to the first line, which is commonly known as the monkey jump, has an unbreakable connection to . If you try to cut this white stone off, you will probably come to grief.

Target

This is the best result you can expect in this position.

Disaster

This is an example of what can go wrong. I am not going to dwell on the wrong moves very much. Let us get right to the good moves: how to achieve the target result.

Response 1: Diagonal Contact

Response 1: Diagonal Contact

Black 2, a diagonal play from , halts White’s advance and preserves the maximum amount of territory. Black has several choices for 2, but the Diagonal Contact is a good starting point because it is straightforward.

Pattern 1
Diagonal Contact sequence

This is the standard sequence. Black defends at 8, so White ends in sente. Let us examine each of these moves in detail.

Pushing further in leads nowhere.

If White pushes further in with 3, Black can cut him off with 4. This is possible because protects the cutting point above 4. (Later, we will see what happens in positions where is absent.)

Moves 4–5

Black 4 in Pattern 1 forces White to connect out with 5. White could also connect by playing 5 on the first line but that would be a territorial loss.

White’s cut fails.

Cutting at 5, instead of connecting out, is unreasonable; Black 6 and 8 cut White off and he cannot live inside Black’s territory.

Moves 6–8

Finally, Black plays atari at 6 and connects at 8.

Please study this sequence until you understand these moves and you are convinced that White can be stopped from coming further in, as often happens somehow or other, especially in handicap games.

The Diagonal Contact in Pattern 1 is the most straightforward response and the one I recommend for beginners. However, it is not the only move that works. Next, we will look at some other responses.

※ The Diagonal Contact is not the best response in every situation. The arrangement of the stones affects the correct response. There are situations where a different move is better or even necessary to prevent a disaster, as we shall see later.

Response 2: First line Jump

Response 2: First Line Jump

Black can also respond to the monkey jump with the First Line Jump to 2.

Pattern 2
First Line Jump sequence
9: connects

Black 2 threatens to cut off White 1, so White plays 3 to capture it, but 2 is an intentional sacrifice. The end result is effectively the same as that for the Diagonal Contact response.

If White tries to penetrate further into Black’s territory instead of connecting out at 3, Black will cut him off and kill him.

Bad for White

White should not push further in with 7. Black 8 is atari, so White must capture the black stone or suffer a loss. If White does capture with 9, Black can leave the position as it is and play elsewhere; White does not have a good follow-up move: pushing above 7 would be gote and playing one point to the right, above 8 would be suicidal. Consequently, White 7 here gives up sente all for the sake of one point. This is an important principle that we will encounter again later, so study these moves until you understand them.

Response 3: Shoulder Hit

Response 3: Shoulder Hit

Another response to the monkey jump is the Shoulder Hit at 2.

Pattern 3
Shoulder Hit sequence
9: connects

Black 2 threatens to cut off White 1, so White connects out with 3 and 5; Black sacrifices a stone with 4 to get an atari at 6. The result is the same as that for Pattern 2 though the move order is different.

The Shoulder Hit is an important move to know and understand. In many situations it is a better choice than the Diagonal Contact. Later in the book, there is some further discussion of this response with a detailed explanation of its pros and cons and examples of the positions where it is appropriate and where it is not appropriate. The Shoulder Hit is advocated by Ishida Yoshio 9 dan in Chapter 11.

Response 4: Nose Slap

Response 4: Nose Slap

Blocking White’s advance by playing on the first line at 2 also works. I call this move the Nose Slap.

Pattern 4
Nose Slap sequence

Again, the end result is the same even though the order of moves is different. White has no choice but to connect out. If he plays atari on the black stone with 3 at 8, he gets cut off and captured.

Mistake by White

If White extends upward, he must defend in gote (e.g., with A); otherwise, his two stones can be captured.

The atari fails.

The risk in playing the Nose Slap is that White may counterattack. For example, by playing atari at 3. In this position, Black can cut off the white stones and they cannot live inside Black’s territory. In this position, the Nose Slap offers no advantages. The top candidates should be the other three responses. Later, however, we will find that there are indeed positions where the Nose Slap does offer advantages over the other responses.

Response 5: Elsewhere

Pattern 5: Elsewhere
2: elsewhere

Playing elsewhere is an option that many players overlook. The instinctive response to White’s move is a play somewhere nearby. After all, the monkey jump is known to be sente. Nevertheless, always check the sizes of other moves on the board and the size of White’s follow-up here. Playing elsewhere is discussed in more detail in Section II.

Summary of Correct Responses

Summary of correct responses

In this position, Black has four effective local responses to the monkey jump and one global response:

1. Diagonal Contact at A

2. First Line Jump at B

3. Shoulder Hit at C

4. Nose Slap at D

5. Elsewhere

Responses 1–4 all lead to effectively the same result in this particular position. However, in other positions where the stones are arranged differently, even slightly differently, the results are not the same at all.

Examples of Bad Responses

Failure 1

This first line contact move on the inside of the monkey jump is not the best response. It should halt White’s advance, but Black will end up losing points unnecessarily.

Failure 2

Blocking on the second line with 2 here is ineffective. White connects up with 3 and Black has to fall well back.

Failure 3

Giving way at 2 here is a commonly seen response, but it loses points unnecessarily and could lead to serious loss. Black 2 is also a shoulder hit, but it is the other side of White’s monkey jump stone.

Failure 4

Many people get totally frightened and fall back even further: to 2 here. After 3–6, Black’s territory has been greatly reduced.

Later, we shall find that these bad endgame responses are often correct in life and death positions.

How Many Points Is the Monkey Jump Worth?

Counting is an important aspect of the endgame, but not everyone enjoys it. If you would prefer to skip on ahead, that is fine. But do come back later.

Black first

Consider what happens if Black plays first in Position 1. The block at 1 is the best move for Black.

Gote for White

If White plays hane at 2, Black plays atari with 3, so White needs to defend at 4. Thus, the hane is gote for White. Rather than play it and end in gote, White will probably play somewhere else.

Sente for Black

Assuming that White plays elsewhere after 1 in the Black first diagram, what happens in this corner. Later in the game, Black will hane and connect with 1 and 3. Since this is sente for Black, whereas the hane in the previous diagram is gote for White, we consider this diagram to be Black’s privilege and assume he will get to play this way.

What happens if White plays hane as in the previous diagram but does not defend? The result is worse for White.

Local sequence for Black first
2: elsewhere

The local sequence when Black plays first is usually shown like this. There might, however, be several moves played elsewhere on the board between 1 and 3.

To calculate the size of the monkey jump, we compare the results when Black plays first and when White plays first. Consider the Diagonal Contact response of Pattern 1.

Black first

If Black plays first, he gets six extra points.

White first

If White plays first, he gets three extra points.

The White first diagram is sente for White, whereas the Black first diagram is gote for Black. Thus, the monkey jump in Position 1 is worth nine points in sente. Equally, if Black plays first, blocking is worth nine points in gote. Since Black’s gote move prevents a sente move by White, we say that Black’s move is reverse sente.

If White gets sente before Black plays the monkey jump, then blocking in reverse sente is a big move. The difference between reverse sente and sente is that White can play only one reverse sente move before giving sente back to Black, who can then play several sente moves one after another before ending with a gote (reverse sente) move. Thus, moves like the monkey jump are usually, but not always, played in sente.

The monkey jump in Pattern 2 has the same value.

Black first

If Black plays first, he gets six extra points.

White first

If White plays first, he gets three extra points (two points of territory plus one point for the black stone captured at ). Black’s sacrifice of the First Line Jump does not lose him any points.

There is a proverb that says:

“The monkey jump is worth nine points.”

Nine Points—More or Less

In some positions (such as Position 1), the monkey jump is indeed worth nine points. However, many people are unaware that it has other values in other positions. The value can be less than nine points or more than nine points. The meaning behind the proverb is: “The monkey jump is worth a large number of points.” The actual value depends on the position. Weaker players can limit themselves to learning the correct replies; stronger players should be able to calculate the value correctly in every case.

Less than Nine Points

Position 2
Only seven points

For example, in this position the monkey jump is worth only seven points.

Gote hane & connection
2: elsewhere

The difference between Position 1 and Position 2 is that if Black plays first, he cannot hane in sente.

Fair assumption

The hane is gote for both sides, so for the purposes of calculation we assume this intermediate result.

Black first

If Black plays first, he saves six points.

White first

If White plays first, he saves one point.

Thus, the monkey jump in Position 2 is worth seven points, i.e., two points less than in Position 1.

Whether or not Black can make the two-point hane in sente is a fundamental factor in calculating the value of the monkey jump.

More than Nine Points

11 points

Even less well appreciated is the fact that the monkey jump can be worth more than nine points. Here, White 1 reduces Black’s territory by the standard six points, but it saves five points instead of the usual three points.

Black first
2: elsewhere

If Black plays first, he can hane in sente and White has to give way at 4, so he loses an extra two points.

The Key Third Line Stones

Key third line stones

The key to understanding the monkey jump is to look at the stones on the third line. Here, these key stones are labeled 一 二 三 四, which are the first four numbers in Japanese (ichi, ni, san, yon). In Position 1, Black has only two stones on the third line (一 二).

How Many Key Stones?

How many key stones does Black have on the third line?

Count only the black stones that extend past the white stone on the second line. In this case, there are only three not four. Do not count the stone marked with the dot.

Which key third line stones does Black have here? The answer is given in the hint below.

The answer is two: 二 and 四.

Two Stones: 一 ∙ 三 ∙

Black to play

Black has two key stones on the third line, but this time they are arranged differently. How should Black respond to the monkey jump?

Failure 1

Black’s block on the second line at 2 is ineffective.

Failure 2

Playing on top with 2 fails to stop White. This is not a Diagonal Contact because Black is missing the second key stone on the third line.

Failure 3

The sacrifice at 2 does stop White, but it loses points unnecessarily.

Correct answer
Shoulder Hit

The Shoulder Hit is correct. This makes good shape with both 一 and 三.

Pattern 6
9: connects

Black sacrifices a stone at 4 to ensure that 6 is an atari. Black 8 is atari on two stones. White’s connection at 9 threatens to cut at 10. The sequence 1–10 (Pattern 6) is sente for White. This is the local sequence of moves. As we shall see later, these moves are rarely all played one after the other.

Also good
9: connects

The First Line Jump also works; however, the Shoulder Hit is more usual.

Black to play

Black to play. How should he protect the corner?

Ineffective

Blocking at 1 on the second line is not effective. The gap in Black’s stones on the third line means that White can still hane and connect in sente.

Correct answer

The correct move in this position is the jump down to the first line.

White 4 is gote.
5: elsewhere

White can push through at 2, but blocking at 4 would be gote. Black would play elsewhere since he can block White A with Black B.

Black’s privilege
4: elsewhere

So White will probably stop and play 4 elsewhere. In that case, Black can push at 5 in sente. Since this follow-up is sente for Black and gote for White, it can be regarded as Black’s privilege.

Three Stones: 一二三 ∙

Black to play

Black has three stones on the third line. What effect does 三 have? How should Black answer White’s monkey jump in this position? What is the best sequence for both sides? And how many points is the monkey jump worth in this position?

Not best: Diagonal Contact

Black 2, a Diagonal Contact from 二, while the standard response in positions like Pattern 1, is not best here. It certainly works to halt the monkey jump and you may be content with that, but it is possible to do better here. Black 2 does not make any use of the extra stone on the third line (三); it loses one point, but a single point can make the difference between winning and losing a game.

Pattern 7

The best move in this position is the Nose Slap. It makes nice shape with 三 and . With the sequence 1–4 (Pattern 7), Black still ends in gote, so what has he gained? His territory is the same as in the previous diagram.

Let us calculate the value.

Black first
2: elsewhere

Black saves six points.

White first

White saves two points (as explained below).

Thus, in this position White’s monkey jump is eight points. There is another proverb that says:

“The monkey jump is worth eight points.”

The value of the monkey jump varies depending on the position and the configuration of stones. This position with three stones on the third line is the one used to illustrate the eight point proverb.

The standard monkey jump that we met first is worth nine points, so where’s the difference?

Later

After 4 in the White first diagram, Black 1 here is sente, so White loses the point he previously made on the first line at C. If White does not connect at 2, Black can throw in at 2 and catch White in a shortage of liberties.

Slightly inferior

Instead of jumping at 3, White could also pull back here. This is equivalent in terms of territory, assuming Black plays his forcing move. However, this 3 increases the size of Black’s ko threat here.

Not best: Shoulder Hit
9: connects

In this position, the Shoulder Hit does work in that it halts White, but it is not the best response. Like the Diagonal Contact, it fails to make use of 三 and loses one point compared with the correct answer (Pattern 7).

Not best: First Line Jump
9: connects

Likewise, the First Line Jump also gives away a point.

Failure

Some people sacrifice a stone at 2 in order to get 4 in sente. That is unnecessary here. It needlessly gives away a point.

Danger with the Nose Slap

Nose Slap danger

The danger in playing the Nose Slap is the atari at 3. In this carefully chosen strong black position, Black can cut off the White stones and they cannot live. However, later we shall look at positions where this atari does work and Black must choose one of the other responses, giving up the extra point for safety.

Simple Tip for Counting

A useful principle of endgame counting is to make comparative approximations.

Nine points

Black only has two stones on the third line. This monkey jump is worth nine points.

Eight points

With an extra stone on the third line, Black is stronger toward the edge of the board, which he is trying to defend. This reduces the value of the monkey jump by one point: to eight points here.

Four Stones: 一二三四

Black to play

How about when Black has all four of the key stones on the third line? How should he respond? What difference does the extra stone (四) make?

Correct response

Black can answer White’s monkey jump with 2 on top of the white stone. Black 2 also forms a Diagonal Contact from 二 just like in Pattern 1.

Continuation: mistake by White

If White continues by pulling back at 3, he ends in gote because 四 is already protecting the cutting point. Ending in gote is usually a mistake when playing the monkey jump.

Pattern 8

Therefore, White should bow before Black’s extra strength and give way a little. White jumps back lightly to 3 and Black has to block at 4. The sequence 1–4 (Pattern 8) is sente for White.

Alternative: also correct

Black can also switch the order of 2 and 4, starting with the Nose Slap. The result is the same. Indeed, the Nose Slap is a common response in professional games. An example is given in the Appendix.

After 4, both sides will leave the position until the endgame has reached the level of smaller moves.

Later

Probably what will happen is that Black will capture at 1 and White will answer at 2. However, Black does not have a strong follow-up, so there is also a chance that White will connect at 1. Each time we get a gote move, its value has to be halved, so the final value ends up as some fraction. This type of calculation is handled much better in The Endgame (Tomoko Ogawa and James Davies) and I recommend you read Chapter 2, which explains it in more detail than I want to go into here.

Failure

Playing the small knight’s move (small monkey jump) at 1 here instead, thinking that this is the way to take sente, is a mistake. The small monkey jump is correct in a different position, but this is not the position in question. White 1 here is worth five points, so it is significantly worse than the correct line (Pattern 8). Instead of connecting with 3, playing atari on 2 would be suicidal.

Simple Tip for Counting

The more key stones Black has on the third line, the smaller the value of the monkey jump. The monkey jump is worth less in a position with four key stones than one with three key stones.

For a position with four key stones, the values given in books cover a range of more than one point: most books give approximate values (e.g., 7- or 6+) because for their target audience, knowing the exact value is not important; it is more important to avoid making one- and two-point errors. I recommend using a value of slightly more than six points (6+ points). Feel free to calculate it for yourself.

One Stone: ∙ 二 ∙ ∙

Black to play

Black has only one of the four key stones on the third line. How should he respond to White’s monkey jump?

Safe

Even though Black has only one stone on the third line, it is the most important one: the second of the four. Black 2 is a Diagonal Contact from 二. The sequence of moves is exactly the same as for Pattern 1. Of course, it also has the same danger of the atari of 5 at 8; but in this position White will be cut off and killed.

In this position, the other basic responses work too.

Black 2 at 6, the Shoulder Hit, is OK because White does not want to push out and end in gote; a game example of this Shoulder Hit response is given in the Appendix.

Black 2 at 7, sacrificing a stone, is effectively the same as the Shoulder Hit; a game example of this First line Jump response is given in the Appendix. Should it be called a First Line Jump when there is no stone on the third line above it? Call it whatever you like: the name is not important; halting the monkey jump is the goal.

Black 2 at 4, the Nose Slap, offers no advantages in this position, so it is not recommended.

One Stone: 一 ∙ ∙ ∙

Black to play

This time, Black’s single stone is the first of the four key third line stones. How should he respond to White’s monkey jump?

Failure 1

Many people play the contact move of 2; perhaps they are thinking of the Diagonal Contact where 2 is played on top of the monkey jump stone, but the configuration of stones is different here. Black is missing the second of the key third line stones, so 2 is not connected to any black stones. White can extend and Black cannot cut him off.

Failure 2

Blocking at 2 here is hopeless.

Correct: Shoulder Hit

The Shoulder Hit is best in this position. However, owing to the weakness of Black’s position, the follow-up is slightly different from the sequence we saw in Chapter 1.

Pattern 9
9: connects

The extension along the second line at 6 is an important move in this sequence. It is best for White to capture with 7. The sequence 1–10 (Pattern 9) is sente for White. Note that is essential for this sequence to work. Starting with 2 at 4 is effectively the same in this position, but beware: later we will encounter a position where it is not the same.

Mistake by White
13: connects

Pushing out further with 7 here is not good for White. His stones get caught in atari and connecting leaves him ending in gote. White has gained only a few points for the loss of sente.

Black to play

This position is almost the same as the previous one. However, there is one crucial difference. is on the fourth line instead of the third line. How should Black respond to White’s monkey jump in this case?

Failure 1

If Black plays 2–6, as in Pattern 9, White comes out at 7 and Black suffers a serious loss. The location of makes a huge difference.

Failure 2

The Nose Slap is not good either because Black’s position is weak. White can extend upward at 3, or alternatively consider playing atari with 3 at 4 depending on conditions further to the right.

Correct answer

Black 2 and 4 in Failure 1 are fine. The move order can also be reversed: 2 at 4 is fine too. However, after 5, Black should play atari at 6 on the first line.

White’s option

You might worry about White coming out at 7. With 8–10, Black makes good shape and puts White’s stones into atari. Note that (or a stone one point to the right) is essential for this sequence to work. Connecting at 11 leaves White ending in gote. On the other hand, playing elsewhere leaves behind a large gote move (discussed below).

Pattern 10
9: connects

White will probably capture with 7. The sequence 1–10 (Pattern 10) is sente for White. The result is the same as that for Pattern 9 though the order of moves.

In the White’s option diagram, the difference between White connecting after 10 and Black capturing is 11 points. White could make either five points more or six points less than in Pattern 10. White’s best choice depends on the size of other endgame moves on the board.

One Stone Positions

Nearby black stones

When Black has only one key third line stone (一), the presence or absence of other stones nearby on the third, fourth, and fifth lines is crucial. There is further discussion of this in Chapter 2.

Cut or No Cut?

Reference position

In Pattern 1 for a position such as Position 2, Black must connect at 8.

Cut

If he does not connect, White will cut at 1 and capture the stones. However, if Black’s position is stronger, this cut may not work.

White to play

For example, in this position, after 1 and 2, where should White play next?

Correct answer

White should jump back lightly to 3.

Mistake by White

If he thoughtlessly plays the standard sequence, Black will not connect after 7 and White will end in gote. The cut does not work in this position.

Disaster for Black

Black’s stones are arranged slightly differently. This time, choosing not to connect results in a nasty surprise for Black because White 1 and 3 destroy his position. Some example continuations are given in the Appendix.

Appendix 2: Glossary of Technical Go Terms

In this book, I have kept the use of Japanese terms to the minimum. Most English speaking go players quickly incorporate a number of Japanese and English go terms into their vocabulary. The following are assumed to be familiar, but here are their definitions and links to their first occurrences in the text:

aji: the latent potential left in a position; can be used by itself simply as aji or qualified as good aji (little scope for nasty surprises) or bad aji (troublesome weaknesses)

atari: the condition of having only one liberty left so that the stone or group could be captured on the next play; can be used as a noun (an atari) or as a verb (to atari, to play atari)

bent four in the corner: a shape that sometimes occurs in the corner; under AGA rules, the position must be played out unless both players agree that it is dead.

dan: grade used for expert go players

gote: a play that does not require a local answer

hane: a play that bends around in contact with stones of the other color; can be used as a noun (a hane) or as a verb (to hane, to play hane)

joseki: generally agreed-upon sequence of play (especially in the corner) which can result in a fair outcome for both players

ko: a situation in which both players can continue recapturing single stones in a way that recreates the same local position

kyu: grade used for weaker players

miai: two points of equal value such that if one player takes one the other player will take the other

seki: a situation in which two groups of stones are intertwined in such a way that neither can capture the other and hence both are alive

sente: a play that requires a local answer

tesuji: a skillful tactical move, usually a well known way of dealing with a difficult situation in fighting

Monkey Jump Etymology

The term “monkey jump” is well established in English go literature. I picked it up from stronger players when I was a beginner. It appears in several early go books: it is in the widely read Basic Techniques of Go, first published by Ishi Press in 1969. But that was preceded by Segoe’s Go Proverbs Illustrated (translation by John Bauer) published by the Japan Go Association (usually known these days as the Nihon Kiin) in 1960.

It is a rather strange expression really. Jump implies use of the feet or legs to leap upward. But a better image is a monkey swinging from one branch to a lower one. The Japanese term from which we get monkey jump is sarusuberi or saru suberi. The suberi means slip, slide, or glide rather than jump, which is a translation of tobi as in “one point jump” (ikken tobi).

So let us look back a bit at the origin.

Many books use the expression
大ゲイマスベリ ōgeima suberi.

ケイマ keima in go is a knight’s move. It comes from shogi (Japanese chess). The knight (桂馬 keima) moves like a knight in Western chess.

大ゲイマ ōgeima is a large knight’s move.

大ゲイマスベリ ōgeima suberi is a large knight’s move sliding from one line to a lower line often under an opponent’s stone.

For a large knight’s move from the second line to the first line, older books mainly use the expression
大げいますべり or
大ゲイマスベリ ōgeima suberi
(in hiragana or katakana), while more recent books favor sarusuberi.

Why is this move a jump? Perhaps it is because in shogi and chess, the knight moves by jumping over the intervening squares even if they are occupied rather than traveling through them.

Older books give sarusuberi in kanji, while modern ones prefer katakana.

猿 or サル saru means monkey;
滑, 滑り, or 辷り suberi means slip, slide, or glide. The kanji 辷り is an older form now replaced by 滑.

When comparing a large knight’s move with a small knight’s move, Japanese books use:

大ゲイマ ōgeima

小ゲイマ kogeima

When comparing big and small monkey jumps, they use:

大ザル ōzaru

小ザル kozaru

What Does Sarusuberi Mean?

Sarusuberi is the common name for the tree Lagerstroemia indica, the crape myrtle tree, which is written either as サルスベリ sarusuberi or as 百日紅 sarusuberi. The kanji 百日紅 come from the Chinese name meaning 100 days red, but in Japanese they are read as sarusuberi not hyakujitsukō [1]. Strangely, the English Wikipedia page calls the Japanese crape myrtle tree lagerstroemia fauriei while the Japanese Wikipedia page for sarusuberi calls it lagerstroemia indica and only mentions L. fauriei as an island variant on Yakushima. That is all Greek to me; I am not a botanist.

[1] Footnote. Kanji given assigned readings are called ateji (lit. assigned characters). They are fairly rare. A well known example is 二十日 (the twentieth day of the month), which is read hatsuka not nijūnichi.

In his book 200 Endgame Problems, Shirae Haruhiko tells an interesting story about the etymology of the monkey jump. He says that the go term comes from:

“the name of the crape myrtle tree (sarusuberi in Japanese), the branches of which resemble a large knight’s move. But since saru means ‘monkey’ and suberi means ‘slide’, somehow or other the image became one of monkeys sliding or jumping into enemy territory.”

Photo: 季節の花300
http://www.hana300.com

That is interesting because it is the only reference I have managed to find that relates sarusuberi with the shape of the branches. Every other reference refers to the fanciful idea of the smooth slippery bark being difficult for monkeys to climb. Hence, it is known as “monkey slip” tree. If you search on Google Images for “sarusuberi tree” you will find lots of images.

Finally, I would mention the famous Japanese saying or proverb: Saru mo ki kara ochiru, which means, “Even monkeys fall out of trees.” The English equivalent would be, “Even experts make mistakes,” or “Everyone makes mistakes.” This has nothing to do with the sarusuberi tree or with the go term sarusuberi, but it is nonetheless a lovely expression that is certainly applicable to go in describing human imperfection.

Monkey Jump Japanese

猿滑 sarusuberi

猿滑り sarusuberi

猿辷り sarusuberi

猿すべり sarusuberi

サルスベリ sarusuberi

大げいますべり ōgeima suberi

大ゲイマスベリ ōgeima suberi

大ザル ōzaru

&

けいま keima

ケイマ keima

小げいま kogeima

小ゲイマ kogeima

小ザル kozaru

External Links in English (Wikipedia)

Lagerstroemia
Shogi

External Links in Japanese (Wikipedia)

sarusuberi (tree)
sarusuberi (go)

Appendix 3: Supplementary Diagrams

This Appendix contains linked diagrams that supplement the text in the main body of the book.

Diagrams for Chapter 1

Does the cut work?
8: elsewhere

Cut

Yes, the cut does work.

Continuation 1

Here are some example continuations. Black collapses.

Continuation 2

Continuation 3

Continuation 4

Appendix 4: Index of Subheadings

This appendix presents a partial list of subheadings for easy access. The order is not identical to the order of appearance in the book.

How Many Points Is the Monkey Jump Worth?

Summary of Responses

Nine Points—More or Less

The Key Third Line Stones

One Stone: 一 ∙ ∙ ∙ (Ch. 1)

One Stone: 一 ∙ ∙ ∙ (Ch. 2)

One Stone: ∙ 二 ∙ ∙

Two Stones: 一二 ∙ ∙

Two Stones: 一 ∙ 三 ∙

Three Stones: 一二三 ∙

Four Stones: 一二三四

Cut or No Cut?

Big Monkey Jump or Small Monkey Jump?

Alternatives to the Monkey Jump

Small Monkey Jump

Clamp

Diagonal Move

One Point Jump

Weak Walls

Appropriate and Inappropriate Responses

Reverse Monkey Jump

Limiting Forcing Moves

Open on Both Sides

Pre-response Probe

After the Joseki

About the Author

Richard Hunter

Richard Hunter is a British go player currently living in the UK. He lived in Tokyo, Japan, from 1980 to 2008. He was introduced to the game by his elder brother, Derek (then British Go Association Secretary), and began playing at Birmingham University Go Club and then at Oxford University, where he served as club secretary and president. He attended the opening of the London Go Centre, where he met Iwamoto Kaoru 9 dan and Magari Reiki 9 dan and later lost a 9 stone game to Magari in Bristol. Hunter was a member of the BGA council in 1978.

Hunter’s relocation to Tokyo allowed him to take lessons from Iwamoto and some of his disciples, and he eventually managed to get to four stones against Iwamoto and three stones against Magari. He was a regular contributor to the British Go Journal from 1991 to 2006. He received a UK 4 dan certificate in 1991 but currently plays as 3 dan. He regularly plays in British tournaments and has in the past played in several European Go Congresses, most recently Dublin 2001, and one US Go Congress (Washington DC, 1994). While in Japan, Hunter enjoyed browsing through second-hand book stores in Tokyo looking for old go books.