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Weird and Wonderful

Volume 1

Extraordinary Moves by Professional Go Players

by
Kim Ouweleen and Peter Brouwer

Kiseido Publishing Company
Chigasaki, Japan

Buy the full book at gobooks.com

As go players we all study the game in our own way, be it leisurely or with near-scientific precision. We attempt to distill the moves and find their essence in recurring, understandable patterns. But every once in a while we are struck by a move we have never seen before. A move that is so out of the ordinary that we cannot help but marvel at it. A move to remember.

This book is a collection of such moves: the weird and wonderful of go. It bundles together highlights from professional games. Chapters include: miraculous tesujis that resurrect dead groups; ladders that do not work but are played out anyway for strategic purposes; dragons that bite their own tail; impossible looking invasions, deep inside enemy territory; endless loops to escape defeat; and rare sequences that look so bizarre they make you laugh. If you want to study professional play and marvel at the creativity of human go, you will enjoy this book.

Copyright Page

Weird and Wonderful, Volume 1
Extraordinary Moves by Professional Go Players

by Kim Ouweleen and Peter Brouwer

Copyright © 2021 Kim Ouweleen and Peter Brouwer
Cover design by www.murugandi.com

All rights reserved according to international law. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private use without the written permission from Kiseido Publishing Company.

Published by
Kiseido Publishing Company
Kagawa 4–48–32
Chigasaki-shi, Kanagawa-ken
Japan 253–0082

ISBN of the printed version: 978–4–906574–94–0

Converted for SmartGo Books by John Mifsud.

Contents

Weird and Wonderful, Volume 1
Extraordinary Moves by Professional Go Players

Copyright Page

Preface

About the Authors

A Time-Saving Move that Backfired

Magic on the First Line

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

Five Spectacular Invasions

The Raccoon-Dog Drums its Belly

Climbing on Broken Ladders

Triple Ko? I Don’t Think So

Exquisite Attachments on the Second Line

Golden Rooster Standing on One Leg

The Dragon that Eats its Tail

Double Ladder Breakers that Calmed the Gods

Wonderful Wedges

Chen Yaoye’s Creativity

Miraculous Escapes

A Different Angle

Subterranean Attacks

Extraordinary Life-and-Death Tesujis

Endgame Adventures

Eternal Life in the Void

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Preface

As go players we all study the game in our own way, be it leisurely or with near-scientific precision. We attempt to distill the moves and find their essence in recurring, understandable patterns. But every once in a while we are struck by a move we have never seen before. A move that is so out of the ordinary that we cannot help but marvel at it. A move to remember.

This series is a collection of such moves: the weird and wonderful of go. The first volume which you are now holding in your hands bundles together highlights from professional games.

Our main selection criterion was that the moves had to surprise: sometimes a move shone at us like an undiscovered gem and other times a sequence looked so bizarre that it made us laugh. Another prerequisite was that the moves were played by humans. Since the rise of superhuman computer-go programs in 2016, the world of go has changed. Human players now study computer moves more than they study each other’s, and modern game analyses are ruled by the recitation of win-rate percentages. Computers have increased the level of play tremendously and we also used computer programs to analyze positions in this book. However, our aim for this series is to share the beauty of human creativity. Human moves tell a relatable story: when we realize that it could have been us in that tournament, during that crucial moment of the game and all the emotions that come with it, we marvel all the more at the flash of genius of a professional player that transcends himself. Therefore, when the computer told us that such a spectacular human move was not its preference, this was not necessarily a reason for us to exclude it from the book.

Many of the moves that we introduce in this volume are rare in professional games. Some of the chapters include several examples of the same tesuji, but are by no means a complete collection of all their occurrences in history. On several occasions we have chosen only the game records that were most striking to us, or most unusual. A good example is the chapter ‘Climbing on Broken Ladders’, in which we analyze six games with broken ladders that were played out for strategical purposes: there are at least just as many examples that did not make our cut. One of them is very famous and was left out for that reason, as it has been published many times before, namely the game in which Lee Se-dol successfully played out a ladder against Hong Jan-sik in the KAT Cup in 2003.

The cover of this book is a portrait of Cho Chikun 9-dan, one of Japan’s most decorated go players of all time. He is also known for his eccentric appearance and personality. The go position that floats above him as a thought balloon highlights an exceptional move that he played against Kobayashi Satoru in 1996 and is described in detail in the chapter ‘Double Ladder Breakers that Calmed the Gods’.

Over the years, we collected a variety of go materials and worked together with many professional go players who are partly responsible for the content in this series. We want to express our gratitude to the following people: Alexander Dinerchtein 3-dan, Kim Seong-rae 8-dan, Kim Seung-jun 9-dan and Diana Koszegi 1-dan, Cho Hye-yeon 9-dan, Yoon Young-sun 8-dan, Kim Yoon-young 8-dan, Baek Ji-hee 2-dan, Yan An 7-dan, Kim Young-sam, and Andries Brouwer. Thank you all.

Last but not least, we want to sincerely thank Richard Bozulich for working with us and greatly improving the contents of this book. Without him we wouldn’t have been able to create a publication of such high quality.

We hope you enjoy this book and that it will give you inspiration for your own games of go.

Kim Ouweleen and Peter Brouwer
October 2021

About the Authors

Kim Ouweleen is an author, graphic designer and go teacher from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He has made numerous go-related artworks under his artist pseudonym Murugandi. Kim has worked for the European Go Cultural Center and the European Go Journal, and has created video content for EuroGoTV and BadukMovies. He previously authored the 2016 European Go Yearbook, commissioned by the European Go Federation. His playing level is 4-dan.

Peter Brouwer learned go at a young age. Due to his dual nationality he is able to compete in both Danish and Dutch national competitions. He won the Danish championships in 2003 and was runner up at the Dutch championships several times. He became the Dutch lightning go champion in 2013. Peter likes strange moves and novel ideas, and explored those in the video project BadukMovies, for which he made over 200 videos together with Kim. His playing level is 6-dan.

A Time-Saving Move that Backfired

We all know that moment: you are playing a tournament game and your time is ticking away in byo-yomi. You have only a few seconds left to make a move before you run out of time, but you don’t yet know where to play. You quickly play a sente move that you are sure your opponent will answer, giving you more time to think. But then your opponent doesn’t respond as expected; your move wasn’t sente and you just blundered!

Even professional go players make mistakes. However, for a pro to make a time-saving move that is a mistake, something exceptional has to happen, like a brilliant response. Here is such an exception.

Figure 1 (1–2). Lee Chang-ho. Sharp as ever

＞＜ ▶︎

This position arose in Game One of the 36th Paewang title match, played in April 2002, between Lee Chang-ho 9-dan (Black) and An Jo-yeong 7-dan. White was ahead on territory and played the time-saving move of 1, expecting Black to answer at A. White would then want to play B, the biggest point on the board. But Black stopped White in his tracks and played the brilliant connection at 2.

Dia. 1. Ko

＞＜ ▶︎

The aim of Black’s connection is to gain sente. White would love to switch to the center and play the big move of 1, but the exchange in the corner created a big problem: Black can start a ko with 2 and 4. White captures first, but he can never win this ko, as Black has too many ko threats in the upper left corner, starting with 6.

Figure 2 (3–9). A deeper meaning

＞＜ ▶︎

Since White could not afford to play as in Dia. 1, he was forced to defend in the lower right corner with 3. Black was happy to play the big point in the center with 4. Now the deeper meaning of Black’s move at 2 in Figure 1 becomes apparent with the moves from 7 to 9.

Figure 3 (10). Under the stones

＞＜ ▶︎

White captured four stones, but Black set up an under-the-stones tesuji and immediately recaptured three of White’s stones with 10. Locally, Black lost three points in this exchange, but he traded it for sente in order to play the marked stone in the center, which was much bigger. Because White had played a bad time-saving move, Lee Chang-ho (Black) ended up winning by half a point.

Magic on the First Line

Have you ever heard the go proverb ‘The second line is the line of defeat?’ This proverb gives the impression that opening moves near the edge of the board are bad. But that is not always the case. As a matter of fact, the first line, even one line lower than the proverb alludes to, can be a source of magic. In this chapter, we show two brilliant moves on the first line, played in the early stages of professional games. As the icing on the cake, we include a third game with a similar tesuji that occurred in the middle game.

Game One

Dia. 1. A flash of genius

Playing the marked stone was a flash of genius. It was totally unexpected and seemed to defy commonsense. It was played by Tong Mengcheng 4-dan in the Chinese A-League in July 2014. His opponent was Kim Ji-seok 9-dan.

Figure 1 (1–38). Unyielding

＞＜ ▶︎

The game between these two unyielding pros had barely started when a severe fight broke out. Up to Black 13 the opening was peaceful, but the well-timed peep of White 14 ignited a fire that spread throughout the lower part of the board.

Black could have simply defended against the peep by connecting, but that exchange would have given White a slight advantage. Instead, Black counterattacked with the moves from 15 to 19. White also did not want to budge and this resulted in a complicated sequence with the moves to White 38. After 38, Black is confined to the bottom. He has only a few liberties with his one-eyed group and seems to be in trouble.

Dia. 2. Normal does not cut it

＞＜ ▶︎

Playing a hane at 1 from above, seemingly the normal move for Black, does not work. White 6 is a clever throw-in that lets White start a ko with 8. This is a do-or-die ko. Since there are no ko threats for Black in the opening, this result is very good for White.

Dia. 3. Still not good enough
6: connects

＞＜ ▶︎

Instead of 3 in Dia. 2, a better move for Black is the two-step hane of 1 here. The moves to 7 allow Black to squeeze White and link up to safety on the first and second lines.

However, this is still not good enough for Black: White cuts at 8 and, after 9 to 13, White can capture two stones with 14. White is happy with this result: his clump of stones on the bottom is not yet captured and Black’s six stones on the right have been weakened significantly. Black needs to settle this group, but would also like to continue playing in the center, so he has his hands full.

Dia. 4. Brilliant tesuji

＞＜ ▶︎

The only move that works for Black is the brilliant tesuji of 1 on the first line. When Black plays 1, White can’t block with 4. Black will squeeze with 5 and 6, and, after Black extends at 9, White can’t approach at A because he is short of liberties.

Dia. 5. A seki in danger

＞＜ ▶︎

After Black 1, playing White 4 isn’t the answer either. Black plays on White’s shape point with 5. The sequence to Black 11 results in a seki, a local position in which neither White nor Black can approach the other. However, this seki is only a seki if all the stones connected to the marked white one can live. This group is very weak and has no escape route into the center, so White is in serious trouble.

Figure 2 (39–53). Black saves his group

＞＜ ▶︎

After Tong’s incredible move of Black 39, the game continued with White jumping to 42. When Black linked up on the first line with 43, White had to defend against an otherwise severe attack by playing 44. Black captured White’s three stones with 45, creating a thick and powerful group. White secured his group in the corner with 46 and the game continued with both players switching to other parts of the board.

Dia. 6. Overplay

＞＜ ▶︎

Note that White 44 in Figure 2 was absolutely necessary. If White plays 1 instead and keeps attacking Black’s group at the bottom, Black will win the capturing race with 2 to 8. This would mean game over for White.

Game Two

Dia. 7. Another first line gem

Here, too, magical things happened on the first line. This gem is from the first game of the best-of-five final of the 1st Mlily Cup, played between Gu Li 9-dan (Black) and Mi Yuting 4-dan in November 2013.

The marked stone was a spectacular move as it was the only way to bring White back from the dead in a position that seems lost to the average go player. Seventeen-year-old Mi Yuting went on to win this match for his first world championship victory. He was promoted to 9-dan accordingly.

Figure 3 (1–47). Fighting spirit

＞＜ ▶︎

This is how the game unfolded up to the crucial move in Dia 7. White 20 to 34 utilized the aji in Black’s position on the upper right side. Black reinforced his separated group with 35: normally, this is a sente move against the corner, but White chose to ignore it with 36! A bold statement by White, emphasizing the right side instead, followed by another bold statement by Black, who continued to play at the top with 37. The players disagreed on what was more important and ignored each other’s moves: fighting spirit does not allow either side to give in to the other’s plans. White 38 sealed in the black stones on the right. Black had no choice but to respond with 39, and it became clear that the upcoming fight would determine not only the fate of the black group on the right side, but also the status of the white corner. Moves 40 to 47 were a one-way street, and White seemed to be in trouble.

Dia. 8. Shortage of liberties

＞＜ ▶︎

Playing 1, moving White’s crucial cutting stones out into the center, looks natural for White. However, Black has more liberties. Black 6 is sente and allows Black to win the capturing race by one move.

Dia. 9. Hidden diamond

＞＜ ▶︎

Instead, White found a hidden diamond. White 1 sparkles with joy and is the only way to salvation. Suddenly the tables have turned. Black 2 to White 7 results in a ko, but this ko is not playable for Black, as there are no ko threats big enough in the opening.

Figure 4 (48–51). Gu Li’s compromise

＞＜ ▶︎

Gu Li realized that Dia. 9 was not an option and compromised with moves 49 and 51. Mi Yuting’s first line brilliancy shone brightly. Even though White managed to capture the five stones, Black became thick on the outside. In the end, this was an even result.

Game Three

Dia. 10. A first-line tesuji in the middle game

Brilliancies on the first line are not reserved only for the opening. Here White exploits a defect in Black’s position by playing on the first line in the late stages of middle game. This position arose in August 2011 in the final of the 24th Fujitsu Cup between Park Jung-hwan 9-dan (Black) and Qiu Jun 8-dan. White’s group in the lower right does not have two eyes, but the first line came to White’s rescue. The marked stone allowed White to gloriously make life for his group.

Dia. 11. A tempting block

＞＜ ▶︎

White 1 threatens to slip underneath Black’s stones and link up to White’s reinforcements. Blocking firmly at 2 is tempting for Black, but it is exactly what White wants. White will secure his first eye with 3 while taking away a liberty from the black stones blocking the connection. If Black goes for the kill with 4, White can continue at the bottom and cut with 5 to 11. White’s move on the first line is now perfectly placed to capture the black stones.

Dia. 12. Empty triangle

＞＜ ▶︎

Responding to White 1 by creating an empty triangle with 2 does not work for Black either. White 3 still threatens to link up and actually does so in sente: Black is busy fixing his shape with 4 to 8 and White has time to make the second eye with 9. Note that Black 8 is necessary, otherwise White can play A in sente and follow it up with B, capturing Black’s stones at the bottom.

Dia. 13. Tit for tat

＞＜ ▶︎

White’s move of 1 was brilliant, but in the game Black replied with a magnificent move of his own at 2. It looks tempting for White to capture the stone with 3, but that in turn would play into Black’s plan. Black will block with 4 in exchange for White’s first eye at 5 and then take away the second eye with 6. This is possible, because after the moves to Black 14, the exchange of Black 2 for White 3 prevents White from playing the atari at A due to a lack of liberties.

Dia. 14. Continuation

＞＜ ▶︎

After Dia. 13, White might try to escape into the center with 1 in order to gain liberties and kill Black’s stones at the bottom. With the moves to 16, however, everything falls exactly into place for Black. White’s stones are trapped with only two liberties, so Black wins the capturing race.

Figure 5 (1–10). Slithering to safety

＞＜ ▶︎

In the game, White was forced to ignore Black 2 and sacrifice a few points in order to make life. With the moves to 9, White’s first line brilliancy was successful, yet it was Black who got to play 10 and was ahead. Unfazed by his opponent’s attempts to crawl back into the match, Park (Black) managed to win the game and the 24th Fujitsu Cup.