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Essential Go Proverbs

by
John Power

Kiseido Publishing Company
Chigasaki, Japan

Buy the full book at gobooks.com

Essential Go Proverbs is the ultimate guide to mastering the ancient game of go. Written by the author of Invincible, this book compiles a comprehensive collection of the most important go proverbs, distilled from centuries of wisdom and experience from the game’s top players. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned player, these proverbs will deepen your understanding of the game and improve your play. Each proverb is accompanied by detailed explanations and examples, making it easy to apply them to your own games. With Essential Go Proverbs, you’ll develop a more intuitive sense of the game and learn how to make strategic decisions with confidence. This book is an indispensable resource for any go player looking to take their game to the next level.

What you will find in this book:

• 104 proverbs with 431 examples and 258 problems in 522 pages.

• These examples and problems will not only deepen your understanding of the proverbs but also the strategy and tactics of the game itself.

• 45 years in the making, this is the largest and most comprehensive collection of examples and problems focussed solely on the go proverbs ever published in any language.

• Not only does this book analyse the proverbs in detail, it also shows the relationship between various different proverbs.

• Contains many interesting and profoundly original games in which these proverbs are applied.

Copyright Page

Essential Go Proverbs

by John Power

Copyright © 2023 John Power

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: 978–4–906574–20–9

The cover: Elegant Beauties Performing the Four Accomplishments (ca. 1811). Perhaps the middle panel of a triptych by Kikukawa Eizan (1787–July 17, 1867). From the collection of Erwin Gerstorfer. For a detailed commentary on this print and an image of its associated right panel, see Japanese Prints and the World of Go, published by Kiseido.

Converted for SmartGo Books by John Mifsud.

Revision 1.A

Contents

Essential Go Proverbs

Copyright Page

Introduction

Glossary

About the author

Bibliography

Chapter One: Proverbs that every go player should know

The enemy’s vital point is my vital point

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

The ponnuki is worth 30 points

The tortoise shell is worth 60 points

Attack is the best means of defence

Shortage of liberties is shortage of life

There are no liberties in duffer go

Atari, atari — the sign of duffer go

If you don’t know the ladder, don’t play go

Every stone played in a bad ladder costs seven points

Don’t peep on both sides of a bamboo joint

Even a fool connects against a peep

The onlooker sees more

Resign if you lose all four corners

Single groups don’t die

Large groups never die

Learn a joseki and become two stones weaker

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Chapter Two: Life and Death

Eight live, six die

Bent four in the corner is dead

The comb shape is alive

Death lies in the hane

What a difference a hane makes

Don’t forget the hane after the triple tenuki

Strange things happen on the 2–1 point

The vital points in the corner are the 2–1 and 2–2 points

The carpenter’s square is ko

Chapter Three: Capturing races

Fill in the outside liberties first

Two hanes make an extra liberty

Strange things happen on the 2–1 point

A fight between a group with an eye and a group without is a fight over nothing

Sometimes a fight over nothing means something

Make sure you capture the head, not the tail

The nakade formulas: 3–3, 4–5, 5–8, 6–12

Big-eye beats small-eye

The bamboo joint quickly runs out of liberties

Chapter Four: Tactics

A cut can decide the game

Capture the cutting stone

Increase the sacrifice to two stones

Increase the sacrifice to three stones

The diagonal move is sometimes an exquisite move

Play at the centre of symmetry

Play at the centre of three stones

When crosscut, extend one

Reduce a moyo with the shoulder hit

Reduce a moyo with the capping move

Reduce on the outside border of a moyo

Answer the attachment with a hane

Always hane at the head of two stones

Cut across the knight’s move

Don’t cut when the opponent cuts across your knight’s move

Don’t push into the knight’s move

Never miss the double knight’s move

Answer the cap with the knight’s move

Answer the knight’s move with the diagonal move

Chase with the knight’s move; flee with the one-space jump

Attack with the capping move

Chapter Five: The opening

First, empty corner; second, enclosure or approach move; third, extension

Don’t crawl along the 2nd line

The 3rd line is the normal line; the 4th line is the winning line

The 3–3 can be invaded

Approach from the wider side

Extend three spaces from two stones

The diagonal move is never bad

The one-space jump is never bad

Chapter Six: Shape

The empty triangle is bad shape

Iwami Jutaro’s prison break

The goblin’s-nose attachment

The raccoon-dog’s belly drum

The weasel’s-belly attachment

The dragonfly is bad shape

Don’t permit the double-wing formation

Chapter Seven: Ko

There are no ko threats at the beginning of the game

Take the ko last in a capturing race

Sacrifice a three-stage ko

A ko with three approach moves is not a real ko

A double ko is three years of trouble

Start with the smallest threats in a ko fight

The thousand-year ko is alive

Chapter Eight: The endgame

The hane + connection is worth 13 points

The monkey jump is worth nine points

Linking up on the edge is worth eight points

Chapter Nine: Strategy

Divide and conquer

Make a leaning attack

Feint to the left when you want to play on the right

Attach to settle your stones

Don’t attach against a stone you want to attack

Play the iron pillar to prevent the opponent from settling his stones

Beware of playing forcing moves

Keep your options open

Beware of having to go back to patch up your moves

Don’t peep at a cut

The peep is sometimes a bad move

Play the urgent point rather than the large move

Don’t push the cart from behind

Don’t surround an area open at the side

Don’t discard key stones

Don’t try to capture useless stones

Don’t rescue useless stones

Don’t hang on to forcing moves

Don’t help the opponent split you into two

Avoid family feuds

Don’t let yourself be sealed in

Don’t approach thickness

Use thickness to attack

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About SmartGo Books

Introduction

Learning go proverbs is one of the easiest and most painless ways to improve at go, as they present their lessons in an entertaining and often dramatic way that makes them easy to understand. Once heard, many of them are never forgotten. I believe that even a casual reading of this book will make a big difference to your game, whether you are a double-digit kyu player or dan level. It’s astonishing how often even strong amateur players contravene the go proverbs — on occasion, even professionals too, as some of the examples show.

However, I don’t want to mislead the reader: a collection of proverbs is different from an ordinary textbook that presents its material in a carefully organized and progressive fashion. I have tried to organize this book in as methodical a way as possible but the presentation of each proverb is necessarily separate and independent. Inevitably some proverbs are more helpful than others. To some extent, no book on go proverbs can avoid looking like a random compilation. Therefore, it’s necessary to say a few words about the organization of this book and give some hints about how to use it.

Organization

• Each proverb is complete and self-contained and may be read without reference to other proverbs. However, similar proverbs or proverbs on the same theme have been grouped together. At the beginning of each proverb, I list the related proverbs (which in some cases may be in a different chapter).

• The treatment of each proverb starts with the simplest examples and progresses to the most difficult. Likewise with the problems. It may be said that presenting problems together with the proverbs they illustrate makes them easier — a random selection would be more realistic, from the point of view of actual play — but they are meant to amplify and extend the analysis of each proverb. In short, I wanted to present the treatment of each proverb complete, in one package. Sometimes, unfortunately, a problem could not be separated from the answer.

• It’s not necessary to read each proverb from beginning to end — you may prefer to leave the harder sections and problems for later — but I recommend you to skim through the whole proverb, to check what is there, especially if there are many subsections in the treatment. I might also mention that there is a spirit of fun in the go proverbs, so some of the examples are presented for entertainment rather than purely educational value.

• It’s not necessary to read this book in order; you may gain just as much by dipping into it at random. I believe that the most helpful proverbs are the ones relating to tactics, which is why that chapter takes up nearly half the book.

Originality of this book

This book has been compiled without reference to other books on go proverbs available in English. There are certain time-worn, traditional illustrations for many proverbs that are common to all books, and any proverbs book worthy of the name must include them. Some of the examples will be found in nearly every book on go proverbs. However, I have included countless new examples, so most of the contents of this book is new in English.

Limits of this book

I have made no attempt to cover all the existing go proverbs and some of them have made a token appearance of a page or less. I have concentrated on the proverbs for which I was able to find useful material.

Further study

Almost any professional game will provide illustrations of the higher-level proverbs, for example, Don’t approach thickness, but it’s not always easy to recognize them. In addition, it should be realized that a higher logic (the desire to win) sometimes governs professional play, that is, the conventional or standard move may not be enough to defeat a professional opponent, who will know how to deal with it.

Acknowledgements

Relating to content, I owe a particular debt to two persons: Rob van Zeijst, whom I consulted on countless occasions, and Jochen Fassbender, whose proofreading covers a lot more than just typos. I am also much indebted to Peter Blommers, Richard Hunter, David Thayer, and Jonathan Wood, who checked various generations of the book. However, the prolonged genesis of this book means that I am solely responsible for any errors in the final manuscript.

In the actual production of the book, I am greatly indebted to Richard Bozulich, who managed the production and publication of this book, and John Mifsud, who processed the book and made printing possible. Anders Kierulf provided invaluable assistance by crosschecking games with GoGoD records. GoGoD, compiled by John Fairbairn and the late T Mark Hall, is a marvellous resource.

John Power
Tokyo
March 2023

Notes

I regret that I have been unable to find full details for some of the game records referred to.

We use the McCune-Reischauer romanization system for Korean names. The most significant differences from usual English pronunciation are given below. Ch = j; ch‘ = ch; k = g; t = d; t’ = t. In the name Yi, the ‘y’ is silent; this name is often written as ‘Lee’ in the west, but actually the ‘L’ is also silent.

Moving towards tengen (the 10–10 point) is up and towards the edge of the board is down.

There were two Meijin titles. The first (1962) to 14th (1975) was sponsored by the Yomiuri Newspaper. The second, from the 1st (1976) to the present, is sponsored by the Asahi Newspaper.

Glossary

This is a brief glossary for some important terms. In some cases, rather than define a word, we refer the reader to an example.

10,000-year ko: see thousand-year ko.

dipping down (hekomi): a technique for making eye shape when a solid extension fails; see Play at the centre of symmetry Example 14; Problem 16 Dia. 1 shows a rare example of a ‘double dip’.

dragonfly (tonbo): two large-knight enclosures from a star-point stone; Same as kannon-biraki. See The dragonfly is bad shape Dia. 1.

hanekomi: a hane in-between two enemy stones in a one-space-jump formation; see Play at the centre of three stones Problem 2 Dia. 2

hane-goroshi: killing with a hane

jingasa (medieval soldier’s wooden helmet): an inefficient four-stone shape; see The empty triangle is bad shape Example 4 Dia. 2.

kannon-biraki (double-door formation): same as dragonfly; see A cut can decide the game Example 15 Dia. 6.

kiri-musubu (to cross swords): see When crosscut, extend one section 2 Dia. 3.

leaning attack (motare): a diversionary (lit. ‘leaning’) attack, that is, pretending to attack a group when your real target is another group. See Divide and conquer.

miai: points of more or less equal value; when the opponent takes one, you take the other; see Don’t approach thickness Example 3 Dia. 3.

oi-otoshi: capturing stones through successive ataris; see The vital points in the corner are the 2–1 and 2–2 points problem 5 Dia. 2, and The carpenter’s square is ko Irregular attack 3 Dia. 5.

oshi-tsubushi (literally, ‘push, crush’): making two eyes by giving atari to two (or more) enemy stones that can’t connect because it would be suicide; see Shortage of liberties is shortage of life Example 3 Dia. 6.

sabaki (settling a group): see Attach to settle your stones box.

sakaregatachi: being split into two, split shape

sanrensei (three stars-point stones in a row): see If you don’t know the ladder, don’t play go problem 1.

shinogi (rescuing a group): see Attach to settle your stones box.

tennozan: an all-important strategic point; see Never miss the double knight’s move.

tenuki: switching elsewhere, especially in a position in which you would usually play another move

tewari: removing superfluous stones or changing the order of moves to analyse the efficiency of the core shape; see When crosscut, extend one Example 22 Dia. 3.

thousand-year ko (mannen-ko): see The thousand-year ko is alive.

tobitsuke (jump-attachment): see When crosscut, extend one Example 3 Dia. 1.

tombstone squeeze (sekito-shibori): see Increase the sacrifice to two stones Example 3 Dia. 6, and variations of the tombstone squeeze.

wariuchi (splitting move): a move played between two enemy positions with room to extend in both directions; see Keep your options open Example 4 Dia. 1.

wedge (warikomi): wedging in-between two enemy stones in a one-space-jump formation (the difference from the hanekomi is that the wedge is not adjacent to an ally); see The one-space jump is never bad Example 11 Dia. 1.

About the author

John Power was born in Armidale, N.S.W. in 1946. He specialized in Japanese at Sydney University and graduated in 1967 with First Class Honors and a University Medal in Japanese. He received a Ph.D. in modern Japanese literature from Sydney University in 1973. In 1967 he spent a year at Tokyo University and three years at Waseda University from 1973 to 1975. In 1978, he became a lecturer in English at the College of Law, Nihon University, and was promoted to associate professor in 1985 and full professor in 1995. His research interests included Anthony Trollope and Tanizaki Junichiro. He retired in 2016 but taught three more years as a part-timer.

Since he learnt go in Japan in 1967, it has been his main hobby. He worked part-time for many years at the Nihon Ki-in as translator and interpreter. He was assistant editor of the Nihon Ki-in’s magazine Go Review 1974~77. He founded the magazine Go World for Ishi Press in 1977 and edited over 100 of its 129 issues before it ceased publication in early 2012. He has written or translated 19 go books.

Power comments on Essential Go Proverbs, which will be the 20th:

‘This book reflects a lifetime in Japan immersed in the game and in the go media. I started to compile it in the late 70s, because copyright problems prevented the Segoe Kensaku classic Go Proverbs Illustrated from being reprinted, though there was a strong demand in the West for a proverbs book. On the one hand, I continually had to put it aside because of book projects and magazine deadlines; on the other, I became more and more ambitious about what to include. I drew freely on instructional articles and game commentaries from the wide variety of magazines, well over a dozen, that have existed over the years. I also drew on live commentaries and TV programs and consultations with strong players. I’m proud of the fact that I have adapted much of the material in the book from contexts that were not ostensibly connected with proverbs.

‘I am also proud of the fact that this book, assembled as it is from a great variety of sources, constitutes a remarkable and varied collection of useful, artistic and inventive go problems. Likewise, not only have I found a great variety of instructive and enlightening illustrations from professional and amateur games, there are also many examples of striking and original play.

‘I am grateful to all the people who have helped me prepare the book for publication. I’m hoping the strong demand referred to above still exists.’

Bibliography

Kato’s Attack and Kill: Kato Masao (Ishi Press, 1978)

Life and Death: James Davies (Ishi Press, 1975; Kiseido, 1996)

Invincible: The Games of Shusaku: John Power (Kiseido, 1982)

The Treasure Chest Enigma: Nakayama Noriyuki (privately printed, 1984; rev. 2nd. ed., Slate & Shell, 2005)

Opening Theory Made Easy: Otake Hideo (Kiseido, 2002)

‘Go Proverbs That Are Always True’: Furuyama Kazunari, Go World 74~77

Chapter One
Proverbs that every go player should know

This chapter is a collection of the best-known go proverbs, ones that even relative beginners in Japan would be familiar with. Some of them are so well known that even non-players might have heard of them.

Reading just this chapter will give you a handy introduction to the go proverbs and should make you stronger. In a sense this is the ‘elementary’ chapter in the book, so you should be able to apply these proverbs immediately in your games. However, as mentioned in the introduction, the level may become more advanced during the discussion of a proverb, and some of the material is included for its entertainment value, such as the examples from professional games in the ‘ladder’ proverb.

The order of presentation in this chapter is arbitrary and doesn’t follow the organization of the rest of the book. If you wish to study the proverbs here together with other proverbs in the same category, they could be classified as follows:

Shape

The ponnuki is worth 30 points

The tortoise-shell capture is worth 60 points

If you don’t know the ladder, don’t play go

Every stone played in a bad ladder loses seven points

Don’t peep on both sides of a bamboo joint

Even a fool connects against a peep

Life and death

Shortage of liberties is shortage of life

Single groups don’t die

Large groups never die

Tactics

The enemy’s vital point is my vital point

There are no liberties in duffer go

Atari, atari — the sign of duffer go

Strategy

Attack is the best means of defence

Resign if you lose all four corners

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Unclassifiable

The onlooker sees more

Learn a joseki and become two stones weaker

Incidentally, we cannot claim that the proverb Every stone played in a bad ladder loses seven points is really well-known, but it has to accompany the other ladder proverb, which could well be the first proverb a beginner learns.

We were unable to decide the affiliation of the last two proverbs.

Note that the proverbs are not given in the order that they are listed above. Also, there are a few other proverbs that could just as well have been included in this chapter, The empty triangle is bad shape, Divide and conquer, and Bent four in the corner is dead being good examples, but we were more reluctant to detach them from their companions.

The enemy’s vital point is my vital point

Related proverbs
Play at the centre of symmetry
Play at the centre of three stones
Never miss the double knight’s move

This is one of the most familiar and basic of the go proverbs. It applies to all stages of the game, from the opening to the endgame (and is also one of the few go proverbs that make sense outside go). The related proverbs listed above (all to be found in the ‘Tactics’ chapter) are just more specific applications of this proverb.

When you have trouble finding your next move, it may be helpful to try to think where your opponent would play if it were his turn. Quite often the same point will be a good point for you to play, whether in attack or in defence.

Part 1. The vital point in fighting

This proverb is most often applicable to positions that feature hand-to-hand fighting, in which category josekis can naturally be included, but it also applies to larger-scale fighting.

Example 1: a basic joseki

Dia. 1: White’s vital point…

This is a basic example from the attach-and-extend joseki. White 1 is the vital point.

Dia. 2: …is Black’s vital point

If it is Black’s turn to move, he will block at 1 without hesitation. This makes a very strong shape — the opportunity to create it should never be passed up.

Example 2: excellent shape

This is the standard illustration of this proverb. Like the previous pattern, it comes up countless times in actual play.

Dia. 1: good eye shape

White 1 is the vital point, creating a resilient shape with good eye potential.

Dia. 2: a severe attack

The difference when Black plays 1 is obvious. White has to defend against the cut in gote and will have to look after an eyeless, running group.

After 1 in Dia. 1, Black has no chance of making a severe attack on White.

Example 3: the vital point for attack and defence

Dia. 1: the vital point

This position is more complicated, but the same principle holds good. Black 1 makes good shape and prevents White from attacking. Defending at 1 should be automatic.

Dia. 2: spoiling Black’s shape

White 1 is severe: at one stroke, it spoils Black’s shape, as he has no good defensive move. If Black ‘a’, White can stop Black from getting two eyes with ‘b’; Black will be handicapped in fighting elsewhere so long as this group is insecure.

Dia. 3: an insecure group

Black 2 is also clumsy; being forced to connect at 4 next is painful. White can continue his attack by jumping to ‘a’, as Black can’t get two eyes at the top.

Black 1 in Dia. 1 is obviously a key move.

Example 4: a severe attack

Dia. 1: the vital point

White 1 is the vital point for attacking Black. Black 2 is the standard answer, but after White 3 the whole black group is in imminent danger of extinction. In view of this, Black probably has no choice but to play 2 at 3, leaving White with the cut at ‘a’, unappealing though that may be.

Dia. 2: safe

If Black gets the chance to defend at 1, he will be safe from attack.

Example 5: pre-emptive defence

Dia. 1: Black to play

This is a more open position, so the best move may not be obvious. Still, it should be possible to apply the same reasoning: work out where White would play to attack and see if that would be a good point for Black.

Dia. 2: a severe attack

Black’s group has no eyes, so White 1 will be a severe attack. Black will have to grovel to make two eyes, so in the process he will help White to strengthen himself. This one move gives White the initiative. Therefore —

Dia. 3: a strong group

Black 1 must be a good move. Black’s group is now quite strong, and it will be hard for White to attack it.

If Black gets a chance to push up at ‘a’, White will have to defend at ‘b’, becoming overconcentrated.

One move makes all the difference.

Part 2. The vital point for attack and defence

Strictly speaking, this is not really a separate category — all the examples involve attack and defence — but we have added it for the sake of convenience.

One of the difficult things about go is that sometimes you have to hasten slowly. Not every move can be a knockout punch — you have to have the patience to build strength and bide your time. The position below is a good example.

Example 6: correct shape

Dia. 1: Black to play

Black’s position is vulnerable. What is the best way for him to reinforce it?

Dia. 2: aggressive?

Black ‘a’ feels too passive, so Black plays 1. This move fills a white liberty, so it feels more aggressive or, at least, more positive. However —

Dia. 3: painful

White immediately forces with 2 and 4, answering which with 3 and 5 is painful. Black has gained little from avoiding ‘a’ in Dia. 2.

Dia. 4: also bad

The descent of 1 is a strong-looking move, but only on the surface. White can aim at making the placement at 2, which Black can’t resist. Black 1 also has to be rejected.

Dia. 5: correct shape

Jumping down to the second line with 1 is the best move. This makes good shape and creates ample eye space. Note that it was the key point for White in attack.

When you take the time to make yourself strong like this, you’ll be able to play more strongly later.

Dia. 6: no threat

White 2 is no threat, as Black can keep White short of liberties with 5.

Part 3. The vital point in the opening

The proverb also often applies to manoeuvring for position in the opening, where the key is not to fall behind in the contest to build influence.

Example 7: the key point on the side

Dia. 1: good

This is a simple example. In this position, White 1 is an excellent fuseki point, as it expands the white moyo. In view of this —

Dia. 2: good

If it is Black’s turn to move, 1 is also an excellent point for him. At first glance, this may not seem an exciting move, but the comparison with Dia. 1 should convince you that it is the vital point for both sides.

Note that White ‘a’ is no worry — see There are no liberties in duffer go, Example 4. White has to defend at ‘b’ before the peep becomes a threat.

(This example could also illustrate the proverb The one-space jump is never bad in ‘Shape’.)

Example 8: slow but sure

This example comes from a slightly later stage of a game.

Dia. 1: the vital point

Black 1 may seem a little slow, but it is the vital point of the shape. If Black omits this move —

Dia. 2: a sharp move

White attacks at 1 and Black has no good way of defending the cutting points in his position.

Dia. 3: bad shape

If Black 1, White can force with 2 and 4, then take up position with 6. He is building influence in the centre, while Black is left with very bad shape — the marked stones are overconcentrated (they do nothing for Black). Instead of 1 —

Dia. 4: cut into two

If Black attaches at 1, White cuts with 2 and 4. Instead of 2, White could also just hane at ‘a’; Black has to defend the cutting point, so White can expand his position at the top.

Dia. 5: helping White

Black may try to defend his cutting point more efficiently than 1 in Dia. 1, for example, by attaching at 1 here. The drawback is that he also helps White to strengthen his position.

Black 1 in Dia. 1 is the proper move. Black plays patiently and aims at exploiting the aji in White’s position later.

Part 4. The vital point in capturing races and life and death

Often the same point is the key point for both sides in capturing races and life-and-death positions.

Example 9: skilful play

Dia. 1: White to play

This position is not as simple as it looks.

Dia. 2: White loses

Cutting at 1 is no good. Black plays at 2 (the weasel’s-belly attachment — see the chapter on shape) and wins the fight by one move.

Dia. 3: the vital point

From the result in Dia. 2, one can conclude that Black 2 there is the vital point, so what if White plays it himself with 1? Without the tesuji in Dia. 2, Black cannot win this fight, so he must connect at 2. White then lives in the corner with 3 and 5.

Dia. 4: source

This is how the original position might come up in actual play.

Example 10: a surprising weak point

White to play

There is a right and a wrong way to attack Black’s eye shape.

Dia. 1: helping Black

Reducing the size of Black’s eye space with 1 is the instinctive move, but it’s wrong, as it loses sente. It becomes apparent that 4 is the vital point, so —

Dia. 2: the vital point

White occupies it himself. This may look slow, but Black is now helpless.

Dia. 3: dead

If Black 2, White can now make his atari from the outside with 3.

Dia. 4: dead

Going for the widest-possible eye space with 2 doesn’t help, as Black can’t connect after 3.

When you find the right answer immediately, you don’t need a proverb. When you can’t find it, check out what the good moves are for your opponent.

Example 11A: self-indulgent reading

Dia. 1: White to play

This problem can be solved through the same process of reasoning as in the previous examples: find the vital point for attack and secure it for defence.

Dia. 2: one-sided analysis

White 1 is naive: White has not looked for Black’s best counter (this is known as katte-yomi, literally, ‘self-indulgent’ or ‘selfish reading’). Black does not connect, of course, but plays at 2. Now there is not enough room for White to get two eyes — if he captures two stones, Black recaptures one stone. Since 2 is the vital point for Black —

Dia. 3: White lives

Things go better if White takes the vital point himself. Black 2 is forced (Black 3 would be suicidal: White ataries), so White gets two eyes with 3 and 5. This is the same result he expected when he played 1 in Dia. 2, but he has played here with more respect for his opponent.

Example 11B: maximizing profit

Exactly the same technique is involved in this example — the difference is it is concerned only with endgame profit.

Dia. 1: a false assumption

If Black plays at 1 here, White won’t connect as expected. Instead, he hanes at 2; when Black captures at 3, he recaptures and has robbed Black of at least two points of endgame profit.

Dia. 2: correct

Making the placement of 1 gives White no choice about his answer. This way Black secures all his rightful endgame profit.

Example 12: a deadly blow

Dia. 1: Black to play

What is the vital point for killing White?

Dia. 2: letting White live

White has so little space inside his group that it looks easy to kill him. The knight’s move of 1 seems good enough, but White has a surprise in store for Black. He captures at 2, threatening to get another eye at ‘a’, yet if Black plays at ‘a’ to stop that, White will counter at ‘b’. Black won’t be able to save his stone at ‘a’, so White will get his second eye. It is now clear that 2 is the vital point, so —

Dia. 3: the vital point

Black tries playing there himself with 1. White 2 is forced, so Black now kills him with 3. This time White ‘a’ doesn’t work: Black answers at ‘b’, then, if White captures, makes this a false eye.

Part 5. The key point in large-scale fights

Example 13: don’t follow joseki

Dia. 1: the joseki is dubious

When White slides to 1, the joseki books give 2 as Black’s continuation locally. However, in this position it’s slack: White moves out with 3 and 5. Black has failed to make good use of the marked stone. Instead of 2 —

Dia. 2: White to play

Pushing along with 1 and 3 works well in combination with the two stones to the right. This builds up a large-scale position that may dominate the top half of the board.

The question now is: how should White continue at the top?

Dia. 3: White’s vital point

Quietly defending with 1 is the shape move: White is now impervious to attack. Bumping into Black with 1 at ‘a’ would be bad — it just helps Black to build thickness with ‘b’, White ‘c’, Black ‘d’. White can’t resist.

In practice, though, White may omit 1 if there are urgent moves elsewhere. If so, how does Black continue?

Dia. 4: Black’s vital point

Black plays at the same point, 1, which can be called a ‘placement’. Playing Black ‘a’ instead would just give White the chance to belatedly seize the vital point.

Note that the aim of 1 is not to kill White.

Dia. 5: building a wall

Black 1 induces White 2 etc., which helps Black wall off this area. In most positions, this result would be very favourable for Black, so White has to think carefully before omitting 1 in Dia. 3.

The placement of 1 is a dan-level (high-dan-level?) technique, but you don’t have to wait until you have a diploma before playing it.

Dia. 6: the standard variation

The previous diagram is too good for Black, so White may just defend at 2. In fact, it’s the standard move. Black makes good aji with 3, whereupon White usually defends the corner with 4. This move is not essential, but if omitted —

Dia. 7: barely alive

Black can harass the corner with 1. After 2 to 5, White 6 is the only way of living unconditionally. Next —

Dia. 8: seki

If Black makes a placement at 1, White has to resort to a seki; after 4, ‘a’ and ‘b’ are miai. Since this is a sente seki for Black, White won’t be happy.

Note that switching Black 3 to 4 fails: White ‘b’–Black 3–White ‘a’.

Problem 1: the only move

White to play

This problem comes from a professional game, so you might wonder what it’s doing in the ‘elementary’ chapter. However, every player from amateur 10-kyu to professional 9-dan should be able to find White’s next move instantly.

Answer 1

The only move
White: Moriyama Naoki 8-dan; Black: O Rissei
9-dan. 16th Kisei Tournament (26 Sept. 1991).

The focus of this game is clearly the centre left, as the other areas are more or less settled. Black has invaded White’s left-side moyo and is trying to lead his group out to safety.

If Black were allowed to hane at 1, his group would not only be strengthened but also be given good eye-making potential. In addition, Black 1 would make it difficult for White to move into the centre top, so it would enrich the potential of Black’s top moyo. That makes White 1 an extremely important point.

Also, keeping up the pressure on this black group helps to look after the insecure white group below.

Problem 2: correct defence

Black to play

Here’s another elementary problem from a professional game. White has just played the marked stone, putting pressure on Black. How should Black answer?

Answer 2

White: Kobayashi Satoru 9-dan; Black: Takemiya Masaki Meijin. Semifinal, final section, 21st Kisei tournament (31 October 1996).

It’s tempting to try to take sente by pushing up with Black ‘a’ etc., but each move Black plays only helps White to strengthen himself (Black would be pushing the cart from behind). Sooner, rather than later, Black will have to defend at the vital point of 1 to forestall a white move there. In that case, it’s better to play Black 1 immediately.

This may look like a straightforward example — and it is — but still there’s a lot to learn from Black’s calm attitude. He concentrates on strengthening his own group without doing anything to help White.

In the actual game, White made no further attempt to attack this black group.

Problem 3: the key point for development

White to play

This is another easy problem from a professional game. Hint: the answer also illustrates another proverb.

Answer 3

Dia. 1 (1–16): the key point for both sides
White: Takemiya Masaki 9-dan; Black: Yoda Norimoto Gosei. 24th Meijin League (1 July 1999).

White 1 is the key point of the opening: letting Black play here would be unbearable. As a developing move, Black would gain more than White from playing here, but it’s still big for White, quite apart from blocking Black and also setting up an invasion at the top.

The other proverb White 1 illustrates is The one-point jump is never bad. In fact, one could coin a new proverb, Never miss a double one-space jump.

The rest of the opening is shown, up to Black 16. This move defended the cutting point of ‘a’, but Black ‘b’ was more urgent.

Problem 4: life-and-death tesuji

Black to play

Besides being a good illustration of the proverb, this example involves a stylish tesuji all players should know.

Answer 4

Dia. 1: wrong

One’s first instinct is to defend against the cut with the diagonal connection of 1. However, that lets White kill Black with the placement of 2. Black 3 is the only move, but after 4 Black can’t make a second eye.

Instead of 2, Black expected 4, which would let him live by playing 2.

Dia. 2: correct

Since 2 in the previous diagram was the vital point for attack, Black tries playing there himself with 1. If White ataries at 2, Black plays 3 and vice versa: either way, Black is alive.

Problem 5: capturing race

Black to play

The marked white stone is sitting right on the vital point of Black’s eye shape, but all is not lost. What is the vital point for winning the capturing race unconditionally?

Answer 5

Dia. 1: wrong

Connecting at 1 lets White hane at 2, after which a ko is unavoidable (1 at 3 gives the same result). Since 2 is the vital point —

Dia. 2: correct

Black tries occupying it himself. White now finds himself handicapped by shortage of liberties: he can’t atari, so Black wins the fight.

Problem 6: a classic problem

Black to play

This may look like a small-scale capturing race, but it’s quite a difficult problem. How can Black win the fight?

This problem is a perennial in life-and-death anthologies.

Answer 6

Dia. 1: wrong

The direct method has a pitfall. If Black fills a liberty with 1, White has the tricky move of 2, which gives him a ko after 4. Black has no alternative to 3: playing below 4 loses outright when White plays 4 (one-eye vs. no-eye). It’s clear 2 is the vital point for White.

Dia. 2: correct

Black 1 is a surprising-looking move: it is counterintuitive, as it doesn’t fill in a white liberty, but it is the only way to win the capturing race outright.

Dia. 3: Black wins

White must play 2 to stop Black from getting two eyes, but, thanks to the presence of the marked black hane, it takes White a long time to put Black into atari — just time enough for Black to win the fight.

Black 1 in Dia. 2 is a famous tesuji, so we have taken the liberty of repeating this problem in the ‘Capturing races’ chapter under the ‘2–1’ proverb.