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Get Strong at Go Series, Volume 1

Get Strong at the Opening

by Richard Bozulich

Kiseido Publishing Company
Chigasaki, Japan

Buy the full book at gobooks.com

The opening is the most enjoyable part of the game to study and to play. You do not have to memorize hundreds of variations as you do in joseki or read out countless possibilities as in a life-and-death situation or in a middle-game fight. You also do not have to make precise calculations as in the endgame. This is all hard and exhausting work. In the opening, precise calculations are impossible, even for the strongest players. What is required is intuition based on good judgment. Within this constraint, you are free to use your creativity to plan your strategy.

The best way to get strong in the opening is to develop a sense of which direction to play your stones. This book, with its 175 problems, will help you accomplish this. Most of the first 90 problems are based on four of the most common opening patterns: the niren-sei, sanren-sei, the Chinese opening, and the Shusaku opening. If you seriously think about these problems and remember the key moves, you will never be at a loss as to how to play in these openings. The last 85 problems are of a more general nature and are presented in order to develop your positional sense in the opening.

Copyright Page

Get Strong at Go Series, Volume 1
Get Strong at the Opening

by Richard Bozulich

Copyright © 1996 by Richard Bozulich

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 by Kiseido Publishing Company.

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

ISBN of the printed version: 978–4–906574–51–3

Converted for SmartGo Books by John Mifsud.

Contents

Get Strong at the Opening
Get Strong at Go Series, Volume 1

Copyright Page

Preface

Some Important Terms and Concepts

Introduction

Fuseki Problems

Problems 1–9

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

Problems 10–19

Problems 20–29

Problems 30–39

Problems 40–49

Problems 50–59

Problems 60–69

Problems 70–79

Problems 80–89

Problems 90–99

Problems 100–109

Problems 110–119

Problems 120–129

Problems 130–139

Problems 140–149

Problems 150–159

Problems 160–169

Problems 170–175

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Preface

The opening (fuseki) should be the foundation of all the games you play. If you come out of the opening at a disadvantage, you will have an upward struggle for the rest of the game, no matter how strong you are in the middle-game fighting and in the endgame. This is why professional players usually spend such an extraordinary amount of their allotted time thinking about the first 20 or so moves. Even for them, the opening is the most difficult part of the game to understand. There are so many possible good moves, and no one can say that a certain move is better than another. Unlike the endgame, life-and-death situations, and tesujis, where the result can often be precisely determined, results in the opening are often ambiguous.

Still, the opening is the most enjoyable part of the game to study and to play. You do not have to memorize hundreds of variations as you do in josekis or read out countless possibilities as in a life-and-death situation or in a middle-game fight. You also do not have to make precise calculations as in the endgame. This is all hard and exhausting work. In the opening, precise calculations are impossible, even for the strongest players; what is required is intuition based on good judgment. Within this constraint, you are free to use your creativity to plan your strategy.

The best way to get strong in the opening is to develop a sense of which direction to play your stones. This book, with its 175 problems, will help you accomplish this goal. Most of the first 90 problems are based on four of the most common opening patterns: the niren-sei, sanren-sei, the Chinese opening, and the Shusaku opening. If you seriously think about these problems and remember the key moves, you will never be at a loss as to how to play in these openings. The last 85 problems are of a more general nature and are presented in order to develop your positional sense in the opening. When studying this book, it is not important for you to get the correct answer to the problems. More important is that you think about the problem, come up with an answer, then compare the correct answer to your answer. The answers are usually only a few moves long, so you do not have to struggle over long and complicated variations. Hence, even if you are only a 20-kyu player, you will be able to gain a lot from these problems, and it will also prepare you for the more difficult three volumes on joseki (volumes 2 to 4 of this series).

Finally, I would like to thank the Nihon Ki-in for allowing me to use the problems in this book, all of which were taken from their publications.

Some Important Terms and Concepts

There are a number of Japanese and English terms that are used throughout this book. Each of these terms has a specific meaning in go, and the reader should review them before starting the problem sections. As the reader progresses through the problems, these terms and the concepts they represent will become clearer. I have also used the word ‘opening’ throughout the book for the Japanese term fuseki. This may depart from the usage I have adopted in other volumes of this series.

aji

Aji refers to latent possibilities that exist in a position. Although these possibilities may never be realized, their existence influences the course of the game and enables certain moves to be made.

Dia. 1a

In Dia. 1a the marked white stone in the corner is dead, but it still has aji. Because of its aji, White need not fear Black’s pushing through at A, so he can jump to 1, rescuing his three stones at the top.

Dia. 1b

If Black does push through and tries to confine White to the top with 1 and 3 in Dia. 1b, White ataris with 4. After Black defends with 5, the aji of the marked stone comes to life and White captures Black’s stones on the right with 6 and 8.

moyo

A moyo is a framework of stones which map out a large area of potential territory. Some moyos are huge, while others are modest in size.

Dia. 2

In Dia. 2, the four white stones in the upper left map out a moyo. The four black stones in the upper right map out an even larger moyo from his corner enclosure along the upper right side and the top right. If Black were to play at A with his next move, he would have mapped out a huge moyo in the upper right quadrant of the board.

sabaki

Sabaki is an important concept in go. When your stones are outnumbered in one part of the board, your aim will not be to make territory; rather, you will want to make good shape, rich in eye potential, so that your stones, if attacked, can easily make eyes in the area where they are attacked or can easily escape into the center. This is called sabaki. When making sabaki, it is not unusual to sacrifice some of the stones which are under attack. Here are two related concepts.

light

Stones are referred to as ‘light’ if they can be sacrificed to help other stones make good shape. A move played in the vicinity of stones that are to be sacrificed is called a ‘light move’. Moves that make sabaki are called ‘light’.

heavy

Stones that are heavy cannot readily make eye shape, and are vulnerable. If a group ends up as heavy, it has failed to make sabaki.

Here are some diagrams which illustrate these concepts.

Dia. 3

Dia. 4

In Dia. 3, Black has mapped out a moyo at the top. If White wants to reduce this moyo, he can begin with a probe at 1. If Black blocks at 2, White will cut with 3 in Dia. 4 and play the forcing moves of 5 and 7. Next —

Dia. 5

Dia. 6

White 1 in Dia. 5 looks like an efficient move because it defends the two cutting points at A and B. In spite of this, it is bad. Black will peep with 1 and 3 in Dia. 6, and White is left with a clump of stones lacking eye-making potential after Black 5. These stones have now become ‘heavy’.

Dia. 7

Since White 1 in Dia. 5 results in a heavy shape, it has failed to make sabaki. The correct way for White to play after Black 8 in Dia. 4 is with 1 in Dia. 7, White 1 is ‘light’ because it doesn’t defend the cutting points at A and B and treats the marked stones lightly — that is, White is willing to sacrifice them for the greater good.

Dia. 8

For example, if Black does cut with 1 in Dia. 8, White can make a shape with eye-making potential with the sequence to 8. White has made sabaki.

Dia. 9

Black could also cut at 1 in Dia. 9. White would then defend at 2. Black must extend to 3 and White jumps to 4 — a wedge has been driven between the two black positions at the top. He also has at least one eye at the top and is out into the center. White has succeeded in making sabaki.

thick

A thick position has few or no defects, i.e., cutting points. Such positions are hard to attack. Thick positions are useful in that they can be used for attacking. Conversely, thick positions are hard to attack and it should be impossible for the opposing side to make sabaki against it.

thin

Stones that are weak or widely separated are called thin. Unlike thick stones, these stones are easily invaded or attacked.

Introduction

The first 85 problems in this book concentrate on four fuseki patterns: niren-sei, sanren-sei, the Chinese opening, and the Shusaku opening. The first three patterns are modern openings which emphasize influence and quick development. The Shusaku opening is an old opening pattern that was thoroughly analyzed in the middle of the 19th century. All four are among the most often played openings in professional go and, by studying them, amateurs can master most of the basic principles of opening theory.

Dia. 1: Niren-sei

The niren-sei opening starts with Black occupying two of the corner star points on one side of the board with 1 and 3 in Dia. 1. After White 4, Black may then approach one of White’s stones on the left side with a move such as 5.

Dia. 2: Sanren-sei

Another Black option is to play on the other star point on the right side with 5 in Dia. 2 to make the sanren-sei formation. Black’s aim is to make a moyo, but White might play 2 and 4 in such a way as to reduce the effectiveness of a black moyo, so Black might want to play 5 on the left side instead. The popularity of the niren-sei has been increasing over the last few years. In 1995 for example, nearly 29% of all professional games started with Black playing the niren-sei formation.

The Chinese opening is a relatively new pattern. Chinese players were the first to popularize it in the 1960s (it was actually invented in Japan), and from 1970 it has been one of the most frequently played openings in Japan.

Dia. 3: The Chinese Opening

In this opening, after playing 1 on the star point in Dia. 3, Black plays 3 on the 3–4 point in the lower right corner. There are two versions of the Chinese opening: the high and the low. Black 5 is the high version, while Black 5 at A is the low version. Nowadays, the high version is not played as often as the low. Whereas the sanren-sei opening emphasizes influence over territory, Black aims for both territory and influence in the Chinese opening.

Dia. 4: The Shusaku Opening

Black 1, 3, and 5 in Dia. 4 are the famous Shusaku opening. It has been played for more than 150 years, but recently it has been eclipsed by the niren-sei and other opening patterns. The reason is that in modern tournament go Black has to give White 5½ points to compensate for his advantage of playing the first move. Without this compensation, it is hard for White to overcome Black’s first-move advantage, but with it Black is at a slight disadvantage in this opening, so he must play a bit more aggressively. Studying the Shusaku opening is a good way for beginning players to learn the fundamentals of opening theory.

Fuseki Problems

Problem 1

Black to play

Black has made a niren-sei formation on the right. If Black wants to play on the left side, which approach move should he make?

Answer 1

Correct Answer

Black usually plays the one-space high approach move at 1. This move is preferred because White does not have a good pincer against Black 1 in relation to his marked stone in the lower left.

The low approach

If Black plays a low approach with 1, White pincers at 2. If the joseki to White 6 follows, the white stone at 6 reduces the influence of Black’s star-point stones on the right.

The three-space pincer

The three-space pincer of White 2 is a good extension from White’s marked stone below. Black would most likely settle his stones with the sequence to 7, but then White 8 would reduce the influence of Black’s star-point stones on the right.

Problem 2

Black to play

Black has made a sanren-sei with the marked stone. Against White 1, the pincer of Black 2 is often played. How does Black answer White 3?

Answer 2

Correct Answer

With the marked stone in the middle of the right side in place, Black 1 is the only move. The sequence to Black 5 is a joseki which is often seen in sanren-sei fusekis.

Failure

With the marked black stone in place, Black 1 is in the wrong direction. After White 8, the marked stone is misplaced and is not working efficiently.

Problem 3

White to play

Black has played the high version of the Chinese opening with 5. How should White respond to this move?

Answer 3

Correct Answer 1

White 1 and 3 are the standard responses. It is not a good idea for White to play 1 at A or B without any preparatory moves. Whether Black has played the low or the high version of the Chinese opening, White 1 is still the correct move.

Correct Answer 2

White 1 is also possible. In response, Black will respond with 2. White will then play on the side star point with 3.

Problem 4

Black to play

White has played 4 in the lower left corner. What should Black do now?

Answer 4

Correct Answer

Black should take this opportunity to make a corner enclosure with 1. Allowing Black to make a second corner enclosure in the lower right corner would give him a large territorial advantage, so White must make an approach move with 2. However, Black can now take the initiative by playing a pincer with 3. This move is also an extension from his corner enclosure above. Instead of 1, making a corner enclosure with A or B would also be a good move.

Variation

If White makes a high approach move with 1, Black will play a high two-space pincer with 2 or a pincer at A. Black 2 at B is also possible.

Problem 5

Black to play

After the sequence to White 8, 9 is the usual way for Black to play. After White settles his position at the top with 10, where should Black play?

Answer 5

Correct Answer

Black should play the high extension at 1. If White plays 2 on the right side, the approach move at 3 gives Black an ideal position on the left side.

Variation

White could also strike at Black’s weak underbelly by extending to 2. Although this seems to be a severe move, Black has adequate countermeasures.

Problem 6

Black to play

Instead of making a sanren-sei at A, Black has played the marked stone. When White plays 3, in which direction should Black block?

Answer 6

Correct Answer

Blocking from the left side with Black 1 is the correct direction. The sequence to White 8 is a joseki. Even though White has taken profit, Black is happy with his thickness. Moreover, he still retains sente.

Failure

If Black does not have a stone in the middle of the right side, he should not block from above and play this joseki because White 6 erases the influence of Black’s wall below.