Modern Joseki and Fuseki

MODERN JOSEKI AND FUSEKI
Volume One
Parallel Fuseki
by
Sakata Eio, Noninbo-Judan
translated and edited by

RICHARD BOZULICH
THE ISHI PRESS

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA
1
Published by The Ishi Press. Box 1021,
Berkeley 1, California, U.S.A.
Copyright 1968, by The Ishi Press
All rights reserved according to international law. This book or any parts thereof may not be repro-
duced in any form without written permission of the publishers.
This book may be ordered from The Ishi press, Box 1021, Berkeley 1, California, U.S.A.
First Impression March 1968
2
Contents
Foreword.............................................................................................................4
Preface................................................................................................................ 5
PART I - Fuseki Type l: Black Shimari in the Upper Right Corner.................... 6

Introduction: The problem of a White kakari.....................................................7
CHAPTER 1: Kogeima Kakari............................................................................. 11
a) Sangen basami.........................................................................................11
b) Niken Takabasami...................................................................................13
c) Tenuki......................................................................................................41
CHAPTER 2: Ogeima Kakari............................................................................... 61
CHAPTER 3: Ikken Takagakari............................................................................ 87
CHAPTER 4: Kogeima kakari : Ikken Basami................................................... 111
PART II - Fuseki Type 2: San-san and Komoku.................................................123

CHAPTER 5: A New Fuseki with Black at San-san...........................................124
CHAPTER 6 Kogeima Kakari: Ikken takabasami.............................................. 138
CHAPTER 7: A Large Scale Fuseki Fig. 1: (1-4)............................................... 168
Definitions of Japanese Go Terms................................................................. 173
3
FOREWORD
I was very pleased to learn that this book, entitled "Modern Jose-
ki and Fuseki", based on my writings, has been made available to
Go players throughout the world through the translation efforts of
Mr. Richard Bozulich, 3-dan.
I believe this is a wonderful thing for European and American Go
lovers who, though eager to become masters of the game, cannot
improve their skill due to the lack of proper text books on Go writ-
ten in English.
I hope that this book will succeed in this respect and I look for-
ward confidently to a time when Go will be as developed interna-
tionally as. it now is in Japan.
Sakata Eio
Honinbo-Judan
4
PREFACE
The purpose of this book is to present for the first time in English a compre-
hensive and systematic study of modern evengame opening theory. This book is
the first volume in a two volume set and covers afl the basic komoku josekis.
These josekis are studied in the context of professional games with appropriate
emphasis being made on the choice of joseki considering the overall situation on
the board. The main emphasis in the first volume will be joseki while in the sec-
ond volume emphasis will be on fuseki. These two volumes will form the first
part of a series of books on Go theory. In preparation is a two volume set on
Chuban Sen (Middle Game), one volume on the Complete Yose (End Game) and
others dealing with various phases of the game of Go.
The material for this book was obtained from the supplements to Kido which
appeared from September 1965 to June 1967 entitled `Sakata's Go School'. The
contents have been arranged and edited by the translator to avoid redundancy and
also to allow the material to flow forth in a logical, systematic and elegant order.
Hopefully this has been achieved, while at the same time retaining Sakata's origi-
nal meaning and intentions.
Many of the ways of playing discussed in this book are neither to be interpret-
ed or construed as the only way to play nor as absolutely good or bad moves un-
less explicitly stated. These moves are given as those most commonly employed
by professional masters and it is the reasons why they have been adopted essen-
tially that we are discussing here. I would like to refer the reader at this point to
an article in the October 1967 issue of Go Review entitled "Way to Sho-dan"
written by Professor Ryuichi Akiba who has elaborated on this question in great
detail.
At this point I would like to acknowledge my indebtedness to Nihon Kiin for
use of their facilities and to Messrs. Makoto Ito, Kiyoshi Kuihara and Kohei
Yoshida of the Nihon Kiin editorial stafl' without whose kind assistance and en-
couragement this book would have never been possible. I must also express my
gratitude to Messrs. Mitsuru Nakada and Shunro Narazaki for their invaluable aid
during translation.
Richard Bozulich
Tokyo. 1965
5
PART I
Fuseki Type l: Black Shimari
in the Upper Right Corner
6
INTRODUCTION: The problem of a White kakari
Reference Figure for Part I.
The sequence up to White 4 is an example of a parallel fuseki; i.e., Black
plays only on the right side while White plays only on the left side. White 4 at
san-san has become quite fashionable recently, however White could also play
this move at à' or `b'. If White had played at `b', the configuration formed by
White in conjunction with his first move at 2 would be ealled mukai komoku.
With his move 5, it is common for Black to form a shimari in the upper right cor-
ner. This shimari may be made at either the point 5 or at `c'. The shimari of Black
1 and 5 is called kogeima shimari while the one formed with Black 1 and a Black
stone at `c' is called ikken shimari. Of course, it is possible for Black to play else-
where and not make a shimari with 5, but the study in Part 1 will be concerned
only with Black making a shimari with his move 5 in the upper right corner. Fur-
ther White's move 4 will only be studied at à', `b' or 4.
Dia. 1: Kogeima kakari

To allow Black to form two shimaris is considered to be, if not bad, then
rather passive. Consequently, White will usually make a kakari at 1, à' or `b'. In
ancient times, it was considered bad for White to play the kogeima kakari at 1
since Black would then reply with the sangen basami at 2, making a good relation
with the kogeima shimari in the upper right corner. However, modern Go theory
no longer subscribes to this idea and the kakari at 1 is often played by
professional players without any fear whatsoever.
7
Dia. 2: Ogeima kakari
The belief that the kogeima kakari was disadvantageous, lead to the adoption
of the ogeima kakari of White 1 and this belief was held only until a few years
ago. When White plays in this way, he resigns himself to giving profit to Black
and hence it is considered to be a passive way of playing. After Black 2, White
extends to 3 to avoid an attack from Black. After this, Black makes an ideal ex-
tension and blocking move at 4. This kind of fuseki was popular during the tran-
sition between ancient and modern Go. However, it is still played today.
Dia. 3: Ikken takagakari

In this diagram, Black has an ikken shimari in the upper right corner and now
it is considered undesirable for him to play kogeima kakari at à'. In a configura-
tion of this sort the proper move is generally felt to be the ikken takagakari of
White 1. The reasons for this will now be shown.
Dia. 4: Tenuki
Because of the situation on the upper right side of the board after the Black
hasami at ", it would be unwise for White to play tenuki. If he does, then Black
will play the kosumitsuke of 1, and after the White tachi at 2, he will attack these
two White stones with 3. Now, of course, Black has no desire and also no chance
of capturing these stones, but White must escape and if he does so with a move
like 4, Black will play the tsuke of 5 and consolidate the upper right side. Black
now has gained a huge profit and White must still be concerned with the safety of
his three stones.
8
Dia. 5: Double wing formation
Therefore, after the hasami of Black ", White must stabilize his position in
the lower right corner and play the kosumitsuke of 1. The sequence up to Black 6
will be adequate for Black, because after White makes a shimari with 7, he will
have a golden opportunity to make a double-wing formation with 8. Besides giv-
ing Black a large prospective territory, Black 8 also opposes the White shimari in
the upper left corner. Needless to say, in order to consistently carry through with
his strategy, Black must not play sagari at 3 with 2, for to do so would cause un-
necessary complications.
Dia. 6: Double-wing formation with a kogeima shimari

On the other hand, suppose Black tries this same strategy when he has a ko-
geima shimari in the upper right corner. In this case, he can't expect the same
good result as Dia. 5, because after the exchange of White 1 and Black 2, the
keshi of White 3 diminishes the effect and territory of the double-wing formation.
Because of this defect, the Black strategy has failed. Notice that there is no such
weakness in the formation of Dia. 5.
9
Dia. 7: An easy fuseki for Black
So after the sequence up to Black 6 in Dia. 5, when Black has an ikken shi-
mari in the upper right corner, White 1 in this diagram is a reasonable move that
will prevent a double wing formation. But to play White 1 before making a shi-
mari is premature, and so Black makes a kakari at 2. Now when White plays the
kosumi of 3, Black à' suffices to make an easy fuseki for Black.
In conclusion, when Black has an ikken shimari in the upper right corner,
White will play the ikken takagakari of 1 in Dia. 3. On the other hand, if Black
has a kogeima shimari in this corner instead, both the kogeima kakari and the
ikken takagakari are considered good.
Dia. 8: Wariuchi
The wariuchi of White 1 is also a way to play. This is a special technique, but
to allow Black to form two shimaris would give him too large a profit. Besides,
after the hiraki of White 3, Black has sente.
10
CHAPTER 1: Kogeima Kakari
Reference Figure for Chapter 1.

In this chapter, we will study the kogeima kakari of White 1. Against this
move, the Black responses at à', `b', `c', `d' and è' are the most common. Our
study will be divided into three sections: in the first section we will study the san-
gen basami at à'; the second section will be concerned with the niken takabasami
at `b'. However, in the third section, Black makes no response to White 1 but
plays a kakari at `B' against a White komoku at À'. The josekis involved with the
responses at `c', `d' and è' will be studied in different contexts, but after the study
presented in this book has been completed, the reader should have the necessary
knowledge to successfully utilize these josekis in any context.
a) Sangen basami
Dia. 1: Sangen basami
In this section we will study the josekis arising from the response of Black 2
to White 1. Black 2 is called sangen basami.
Dia. 2: To live 1
Against the sangen basami, if White wants to live he will play the kosumits-
uke of 1 and after the sequence to Black 6, no problems will arise.
11
Dia. 3: Hane-kaeshi
However, White must be careful of the order of moves in Dia. 2, for if he
plays 1 and 3 as in this diagram, Black will play the hane-kaeshi of 4 which wifl
produce a bad result for White. Black 4 was not well thought of in ancient times,
but nowadays it is considered to be a natural move and this is indicative of the
progress of Go theory.
Dia. 4: Continuation
Continuing from Dia. 3, White plays ate at 5 and Black captures one stone
with 6. Again White plays ate with 7 and now Black connects with 8, after which
White plays the kaketsugi of 9. Black now has a good, strong shape in the corner,
and in spite of White 9, there remain the nozokis of à' and `b' for Black to play
some time in the future. Thus we see that the White stones are still open to attack.
Dia. 5: Black's resistance

If Black resists White 1 with the sagari of 2, then White will play the osae of 3
and Black must then play kiri at 4 because if he were to play this move at 5,
White would play the nobi of à' and thus the position of Black would be too low.
Consequently, against the kiri of Black 4, White will also plav sagari at 5 and the
future fighting wil) be difficult for both since there are many variations which
can be played.
Dia. 6: One of the variations: profit versus a wall
Continuing from Dia. 5, after Black plays 6, V~ite can play 7 and 9, capturing
three Black stones. After the sequence to Black 16, the result is even; for White
has profit whereas Black has a thick wall.
12
Dia. 7: Unsatisfactory
Against Black 2, White may sometimes play the tobi of 3. However, in this
way Black gains some profit and the result will be unsatisfactory for White; and
since the Black sangen basami is far enough away from the resulting White wall
to nullify it, it is now no longer considered sufficient compensation for the profit
Black has made. Consequently, this sequence is thought of as loose play.
Dia. 8: Niken tobi

The niken tobi of White 1 has essentially the same meaning as the sequence in
Dia. 7. However, opinions on this differ. White 1 was played in order to avoid a
strong Black attack. Also, since White can easily live with a tsuke at à', it is a lit-
tle different from Dia. 7.
b) Niken Takabasami
Reference Figure for section b
Against the niken takabasami of Black l, White can choose one of the many
responses from à' to ì'. But this choice must always be made, of course, by con-
sidering the circumstances of the whole board.
13
Dia. 1: First response; niken tobi
The niken tobi of White 1 induces the profit making move of Black 2, but at
the same time, it lessens the effect of the attack by the niken takabasami. After
this, the uchikomi at à' produces a very difficult fight, but when White chooses
to play 1, he must be very sure of his intention to play here.
Dia. 2: A positive way of playing
However, if White has a shimari in the upper right corner, White 1 and 3 form
a pincer attack and thus the tobi of White 1 now becomes an extremely powerful
and positive move. As one can see when comparing Dias. 1 and 2, the value of a
joseki varies, depending on the disposition of stones throughout the whole board.
Dia. 3: Joseki
Black can also play the tsuke of 2, but when we compare the sequence up to
White 11 with Dia. 1, White seems to be in a more satisfactory position since he
now has a strong thickness which cancels the effect of the Black shimari. This is
a common joseki.
Dia. 4: Tesuji
So, considering the bad result of Dia. 3, Black resists with 9. White 10 is tesu-
ji and now the sequence continues to White 16. This is a playable way for both.
Dia. 5: Bad for White
If White neglects to play the tesuji of 10 in Dia. 4 and instead plays 1 in this
diagram, the sequence to Black 6 will result very badly for White.
Dia. 6: Another variation
Instead of 13 in Dia. 4, Black can also play the move 13 of this diagram. The
sequence up to White 18 is forced, and now Black plays 19 rather reluctantly as
this move provokes the nobi of White 20. However, depending on the circum-
stances, this variation may be playable.
14
Dia. 7: Second response; kosumitsuke
Against the kosumitsuke of White 1, Black can play the sagari of 2. If White
plays 3 and 5, he will be compensated for Black's profit by the possibility of an
uchikomi on the right side. But the time to play an uchikomi is another problem.
Dia. 8: Profit versus outside thickness
Against the osae of White 3, the only reponse for Black is to cut with 4. After
the sequence up to White 15, White makes profit in the corner while Black gets
outside thickness. Black had little choice but to play like this after White played
the osae of 3, but he is compensated for this by the fact that White must end play-
ing gote.
Dia. 9: White stabilizes

Against White ', Black can also play the hiki of 1, but then White can stabi-
lize his stones with 2 and 4, and this is precisely what White hopes for when he
plays '. However, this doesn't mean that it's bad for Black. He may be irritated
but then this is only a problem of personal preference.
Dia. 10: Third response; tsuke
This time White responds with the tsuke of White 1. Black 2 is natural. A-
gainst White 3, if Black plays the ate of 4, the sequence up to White 9 is forced.
After this, Black has the option of attacking with nozokis at à' and `b'. If Black
had played 4 at 5, this sequence would have reverted back to the sequence in Dia.
9, and the purpose of the kosumitsuke there was to avoid the sequence in this dia-
gram.
15
Dia. 11: Watari
Black will most likely play watari with 1 and 3 because Black " turns out to
be on a good point.
Dia. 12: Fourth response; Hazama tobi
The diagonal jump of White 1 is called hazama tobi. This sequence is impor-
tant and it should be memorized. After White 9, à' and `b' are points of miai, i.e.
if Black plays à', White will play `b' and viceversa.
Dia. 13: Settle the situation
Black 1 and 3 settle the situation, but then Black cannot avoid the tobi komi of
White at à' which is of great value.
Dia. 14: Defending the corner
If Black defends the corner with 1, White 2 is absolutely necessary. Not only
are these points miai, but they must be played.
Dia. 15: Tenuki
If White plays tenuki after Black ", Black will play 1,3 and 5; and because of
the cutting point at à', White can't play at `b'. So White is dvided into two
groups and there is nothing he can do about it.
In this variation, after Black 6, White cuts at 7. Black captures two stones, but
the ate of White 13 is rather irritating. However, the profit in the corner is large
enough for Black to feel satisfied.
Dia. 17: A good result for Black
This time instead of à' White plays hane at 2. After this, Black captures one
White stone with 3 while ignoring White 2, and this is favorable for Black. Now
16
White can play the tactics of shibori beginning with the sagari of à', but after
completion of these tactics up to Black `f', the White stone at 2 is no longer nec-
essary and has become a wasted move.
Dia. 18: Going through the middle
If the hazama of Black 1 were good, White would never have played White ~.
White 2 is the natural way to play against Black 1 and after the sequence up to
Black 9, Black " has become useless.
Dia. 19: A steady way for White
If Black responds with 3 and 5, White simply falls back to 6 and this is a
steady way.
Dia. 20: Utilizing the right side
After White ', (White 5 in Dia. 12), there is a way for Black to utilize the
right side with Black 1. However, because of Black 3, he must give way in the
lower corner with 5 and 7.
Dia. 21: Tsugi
Instead of 5 in Dia. 20, Black plays tsugi at 1 and then White will play osae at
2. The sequence to White 10 is very straightforward and no one can say who has
the advantage, but neither can anyone deny White's steadiness.
Dia. 22: Fifth response; kake
We will next study the kake of White 1 against which it is common for Black
to play degiri with 2 and 4. After the sequence to White 9, it is difficult to evalu-
ate the result at this early stage of the game.
Dia. 23: Lower lines
There is a theory that White is at a disadvantage in the battle which follows
White 1, since White is forced to crawl along the lower line because of the high
position of Black's stone ".
17
Dia. 24: Played with a good feeling
However, if Black " were one point lower, then White could play 9 with a
good feeling.
Dia. 25: Sixth response; counter ikken basami
The counter ikken basami of White 1 can be regarded as a sacrifice stone used
to make good shape in the corner if the sequence to Black 8 is followed. Note that
the order of playing White 3 is important.
Dia. 26: Unreasonable
The hane-komi of White 1 should not be played, for the White ~ becomes use-
less as a sacrifice stone after Black 4. Hence White 1 is unreasonable because of
this bad result.
Dia. 27. Profit versus outside thickness

If White wants only the corner, then he must play the nobi of 1. Up to Black
14, White gets profit while Black gets outside thickness. However, instead of the
nobi of Black 6, there is another way.
18
Dia. 28: Variation
In this variation, Black plavs ni-dan bane With 1 and then against White 4, he
plays the hane of 5. Black gets part of the corner and the result is not unsatisfac-
tory for either side.
Dia. 29: Seventh response; counter niken basami
There is a great difference between the sixth and seventh responses in that the
counter niken basami of White 1 pays much attention to the lower left side. After
Black 2, White should play the hanekomi of 3. White 7 is tesuji and the sequence
up to White 13 is a direct way of finishing off the joseki. Black can now attack
with 14 and 16 if he so desires.
Dia. 30: Variation
Since White played ' to develop the left side, he will want to avoid the se-
quence in Dia. 29. So instead of 13 there, he will extend to the point 1 in this dia-
gram. After Black 2, White must make life with 3 and 5 and Black will then de-
fend his weakness with 6. Now Black can play the hane-tsugi at à' with sente and
the space between the two Black positions on the right side is ideal. But it is natu-
ral that White should suffer here for having allowed Black to play 2.
Dia. 31: Cut
However, Black should not play 1 immediately (instead of 12 in Dia. 29) be-
cause of the cut of White 2. The sequence which follows is not good for Black
because White 2 leaves bad aji (i.e., taste) behind. White makes the corner safe
and now waits to see how the game will develop.
Dia. 32: Mediocre
White 1 is a mediocre play and he should play the tesuji at à', instead.
19
Black can fight by playing 2 against 1 and the sequence which follows is very
difficult. But when Black plays the nobi of 22, the situation becomes completely
untenable for White.
Dia. 34: Dissatisfied
Against the katatsugi of Black 1, White cuts at 2, and the sequence up to
Black 7 is natural. However, Black is dissatisfied with this result because of
White's large profit. Black should have played 1 at the point of 4 and this would
have been a very sensible play.
Dia. 35: Vital point
The hane of White 1 is not tesuji. Against this move, Black obediently re-
sponds with 2 and 4, and Black " is now on the vital point so White's result is
unsatisfactory. Hence, White 1 must be played hanekomi at hoshi.
Dia. 36: Trade
The obvious intention of White 1 is to trade. After the osae of Black 2, the
situation will be better for Black in this area, but as far as the overall situation is.
concerned, it is difficult to decide who has the advantage.
Dia. 37: A loose play
The kosumi of Black 2 is a loose play. After White 3, Black will not be
pleased to have to play 4, and this diagram is obviously inferior to Dia. 36, which
is in good style. Furthermore, if Black plays at à', White will play at `b'.
20
Dia. 38: Eighth response; counter niken takabasami
This response is distinctly different from the seventh response. Up to Black 6,
the sequence is the same, but after the tesuji of White 7, Black should play the
nobi of 8. Since White 1 was played high, the relation can be seen at once. After
White secures the corner with 13, Black plays the osae of 14. The situation has
stabilized and both should tenuki.
Dia. 39: A variation
If White pushes out with 1, Black makes a profit in the corner with 2, and af-
ter the exchange of 3 and 4, both sides tenuki.
Dia. 40: Bad
As before, White 1 is a bad play because after 2 and 4, White ~ becomes use-
less.
Dia. 41: Ninth response; tenuki

If White plays tenuki, Black will attack the one White stone with 1. If he can
also play osae at à', his stones will work very efficiently.
Dia. 42: Kosumitsuke
The kosumitsuke of Black 1 is also another way. If White plays at à', Black
will attack at `b' and chase the White stones into the center. The choice of Dia. 41
or 42 depends, of course, on the structure of the game.
21
Reference Figure for the tenth response; kosumi
Against the kosumi of White 1, the kaima at à' is the most common response.
The ogeima at `b' can also be played as can `c', `d' and è'. The kado of è' is the
most recently invented and is due to Go Seigen. A thorough study will be made
of it.
Dia. 1: First response; keima
The keima of Black 1 is the most common rcsponse against the kosumi. After
Black 3, the situation stabilizes for the time being and beth players should play
elsewhere. Black 3 can also be played at à', but this is a rather restrained way of
playing. Against Black 3, the tobi at `b' is a good point.
Dia. 2: Out of fashion
The tsuke of White 2 is an old joseki and is nevcr played nowadays. White has
certainly stabilized himself, but Black has also become strong and stable.
Dia. 3: A good point
Continuing from Dia. 1, White 1 will become a very good point some time in
the future and so White 2 in Dia. 1 is the better choice.
22
Dia. 4: Magari
However, after Dia. 2, the magari of White 1 is not such a serious threat. Cer-
tainly Dia. 3 is far more severe and furthermore....
Dia. 5: A non-urgent attack
The attack of Black 1 is non-urgent. Instead, the attack at à' is the one that
should be played. So, in conclusion, the last three diagrams show the reason why
the joseki of Dia. 2 has been abandoned. The principles involved should be stud-
ied for they have implications beyond these josekis.
Dia. 6: Caution
After White 3, Black must not play hikuri-kaeshi with Black 4. When White
replies with 5, Black plays 6....
Dia. 7: A good result & shape
After the tsugi of White 9, White's shape becomes very good and the result is
bad for Black. White played kosumi at ' because he wanted to avoid this hikuri-
kaeshi joseki. So the implication is that this is not a good joseki and this has been
demonstrated here.
Dia. 8: Hasami
Before stabilizing himself in the lower corner, White may have a chance to
play a hasami at 2. This move looks efficient but White will suffer on both sides
after Black 3, 5 and 7. VVhite 2 is a move that spreads effort too thinly and doc-
sn't work well because of the Black shimari " in the upper right corner.
Dia. 9: Playable
However, if White ' is there instead of a Black shimari, White 2 can be
played. After Black 3, White defends with 4 and in rcply to Black 5 he plays the
tobi at 6.
23
Dia. 10: Second response; ogeima
The ogeima of Black 1 depends on the taste of the player. The suberi of White
2 is again a common response. If the situation in the lower left corner is as here,
then the hasami of Black 3 is a very good point.
Dia. 11: Vital points
If Black can afford to play 1, the attack at à' will be very promising and also
Black's territory becomes very large.
Dia. 12: A good shape for Black
If White plays 2 and 4, in spite of the ogeima at Black 1, Black's shape be-
comes very good after 5. In regard to the historical development of this joseki, it
was thought that against the ogeima of Black 1, White should play suberi with 2
at 6. On the other hand, if Black simply played keima at à', White should play as
in Dia. 2.
Dia. 13: A defect
The ogeima of Black " has the defect of being attacked by White 1 and after
Black 2, White plays the tsuki-atari of 3 and Black should simply abandon that
one stone.
Dia. 14: Third response, nikenbiraki
The nikenbiraki of Black 1 is played so as to finish the sequence in this corner
with one move. In this case, White also plays suberi with 2. However, since
Black played only once, he must resign himself to being attacked at à'.
Dia. 15: Kikashi
It is not necessary to play the kikashis of Black 1, 3 and 5 immediately, How-
ever, if White finds it useful for some reason or other to play on the outside, these
moves are available.
24
Dia. 16: Fourth response; kosumitsuke
Playing the kosumitsuke of Black 1 depends on circumstances. The sequence
up to White 7 gives Black a profit. Although this is the only variation of this jose-
ki, White's formation is relatively safe. Further, since Black " is a bit near to
White's thickness, White should plan for early uchikomi on the upper right side.
Dia. 17: An example from an actual game

As an example and an application of the joseki in Dia. 16, we will study the
opening maneuvers of a game played by Sakata (Black) and Kitani (White). This
game was played without komi and so Black was satisfied to simply play this
joseki in the sequence up to Black l5, taking profit in the corner. At this point,
White immediately plays uchikomi at 16. With this move, it might seem that
White is sticking too much to the right side, and one wonders why he doesn't play
a shimari at 31 or à'. The reason is that these two points are miai and if Black
plays one of these points, White will play the other. Against the uchikomi of 16,
Black 17 is a good move. White plays the sequence to 22 with a plan in mind and
Black must be careful. But Black 23 was a doubtful move and this is the move
White expected when he played 22. Now White expands with the tsuke of 24,
and after 26, there is no way for Black to stop White from securing territory with
30 and this was White's plan. After this sequence, Black plays a kakari at 31 and
White responds with the niken takabasami of 32.
Dia. 18: How Black should have played
Instead of Black 23 in Dia. 17, Black should have resisted White's plan by
playing the tobi of 1. White has now been cut in two parts and in spite of the ate
of White 2, his two formations will come under severe attack.
25
Reference figure for the fifth response to the kosumi response; kado
The kado of Black 1 was rather recently invented. Of White's replies, the oshi
à' is the most easily understood, but its also the most disadvantageous and the
other two replies at `b' and `c' become extremely complicated.
Dia. 1: Oshi
The oshi of 1 and 3 is quite common but is not good. Here White gets no prof-
it and on the contrary suffers a great deal by letting Black play along the fifth line
with 2 and 4, while White 5 only provokes him to reinforce his upper right side
and this is even worse.
Dia. 2: Still bad
After White ', if White tries to take root in the corner with 3, 5 and 7, the re-
sult is still bad. The exchange of White ' for Black ", followed by Black 8 is
very unsatisfactory for White.
Dia. 3: Kosumitsuke
The kosumitsuke of White 1 is a reasonable play. Against Black 2, White
26
plays the osae of 3 and the sequence up to 6, gives Black thickness, but White has
the profit. In this fuseki, White will play 7.
Dia. 4: A variation
When Black plays ni-dan bane with 4, he is in a sense taking a risk. If White
takes the one Black stone with 5 and 7, everything will turn out alright and after
12 it is better for Black.
Dia. 5: Problem for White
After the ni-dan bane of Black 1, if White tries the kirinobi of 2 and 4, Black
will play the ate of 5 and it cannot turn out bad for Black. But on the other hand,
White is left with many problems.
Dia. 6: Creeping
The creeping move of White 1 is frightening for Black and this is the risk he
takes in playing the ni-dan bane of Dia. 4. It is almost unbearable for Black to
play 2 because after White 3, there is the cutting point of à'. So instead of 2, it is
perhaps better to simply play the osae at `b'.
Dia. 7: Tsuke
According to most people, the tsuke of White 1 is disadvantageous for White.
After 3, Black will play the hane-kaeshi of 4 and after 6....
Dia. 8: A disadvantage for White

The result up to Black 12 is better for Black because of his profit. To sum up,
there are three ways for White to respond to Black ^ n, but the best way is with
the kosumitsuke of Dia. 3 and the other plays are not worth seriously considering.
Dia. 9: Let White out
The kosumitsuke of White 1 has many variations. If Black lets White out with
2 and 4, White wifl stabilize with 5, 7 and 9 and the sequence ends here. Now
both players should play tenuki.
Later, White 1 will become a good point and Black will have to defend with 2.
But if Black doesn't play there, White will play at 2 and this will be very severe
on Black.
27
Dia. 11: Thickness
However, it will also be good for Black to play 1; because after sticking out
with 3, he will have thickness.
Dia. 12: Giving up the cut
Before securing the corner with 3, White can play here at 1. This is good for
White since Black can't extend any further than à'. However, when White plays
1, it means that he has given up the cut at `b'.
Dia. 13: Thickness
With Black 4, the joseki threatens to become very complicated. But after
White 5, things will become quite simple if Black plays the kaketsugi of 6. And
so, White will make profit and Black must be content with thickness after playing
8:
Dia. 14: Complicated
But if Black plays 6 against the hane of 5, White must cut at 7 and then it be-
comes very complicated. Please assure yourself that White 7 is the only good cut.
Dia. 15: Confinement
Against the cut of White 1, Black can't give up the corner so he plays the ate
of 2 and then makes life with 4 and 6. After White 7, Black will try to confine
White with 8.
28
Dia. 16: Fifth-fifty
An easy way for White to play is to slide with 1 and against a at à', White can
play hane at `b' and then trade after Black cuts at è'. If Black plays kosumi at `b',
White will play à' and after the Black nobi at `c' the equalizing point for White is
at `d'. Following the tsuke at à', White can play è', Black at `b', White `f', Black
`g' and then White can live easily.
Dia. 17: Mediocre
If White cuts and takes one Black stone with 1 and 3, the sequence up to
Black 8 will be very disadvantageous. Next, Black has a good point at à' and
with this move he doesn't intend to kill White but rather to make some profit with
sente. Also there is a pincer attack on the lower side which Black may play.
Dia. 18: Tesuji

White 1 is tesuji. But the tsuke of Black 2 is also tesuji. What will happen?
Dia. 19: An equal result
After the exchange of the two tesujis at 1 and 2 it is best for White to connect
at 3. After the sequence to White 7, Black confines White with 8 and so White
must make life with 9 and 11. The sequence after Black 12 is natural and after
White captures with 17, he keeps sente and develops at the crucial point of 19.
The result up to this point is not bad for White affil can be evaluated as equal.
29
Instead of the tsuke of White 9 in Dia. 19 it would be bad for White to now
play suberi at I. The difference between this diagram and Dia. 16 is that the form
in the lower left is already settled. If White wants to play this way, he should do
so without playing the sequence to White 7 in Dia. 19 first. A principle to remem-
ber is, "always slide (suberi) first. Since Black has played consistently, White
can do nothing but play 3 and take one stone with 5 which is extremely bad for
him.
Dia. 21: Also bad
If White makes life with 3, 5 and 7, Black gets thickness with the tsugi at 8
and again the result is bad for White.
Against White 1, Black can confine White with the sequence to Black 8 be-
cause of the forcing plays of 4 and 6. Hence the most White can expect is life and
a small one at that. Thus, White 1 and 3 are useless and only allow Black to get
more thickness.
30
Dia. 23: Trade
After the exchange of 1 and 2, if White plays 3 and Black plays 4, White will
play 5 and after 6 and 7 the result is a trade and this can never be disadvantag-
eous for Black.
Dia. 24: The wrong order
Instead of 1 and 2 in Dia. 23, suppose White plays the kosumi of 1 first. Black
will then play osae at 2 and follow it by the nobi of 4. Now when White plays
osae at 5, Black will answer with 6, and after 7 and 9, the result looks bad for
Black, but this is not the case. Note after White 9, Black must not play nobi at à'.
Dia. 25: Ko
After Dia. 24, Black must play the ate of 10, and now the ponnuki of White 11
is absolutely necessary, so Black now plays the cut at 12 and White must connect
with 13. Next Black takes ko with 14.
Dia. 26: Black is ahead
The biggest ko threat is at 15, but Black ignores it and plays 16 and 18 and
White takes the corner stones with 17. After this, White can't omit 19, so Black
can play the very good point of 20 and now Black is ahead. However, if White
doesn't play 19....
After 1 and 2, Black plays nozoki at 3 forcing White to play 4 and then Black
plays kikashi with 5 and 7 ending with sente.
31
Dia. 28: Another way
So, after the sequence to Black 4 in Dia. 24, White must play nobi at 5 as in
this diagram. Now Black will play oshi at 6 and this will develop in another di-
rection.
Dia. 29: Standard procedure
After White ', Black plays the oshi of 1 and 3 and now White must play the
nobi of 4. After that, the sequence to 17 is a standard procedure. In the process,
White must play 12, 14 and 16 to live. However, to play as far as 17 is not always
good for either Black or White and it is given only as a reference to aid in the un-
derstanding of this sequence.
Dia. 30: Another standard procedure
In this sequence, White doesn't cut at 12 as in Dia. 29 but plays the tsuke giv-
en here. Against it, Black cuts at 13 and plays tsugi with 15 and now White must
play 16 and 18 to live. With the move 18 it seems as if it would be possible to
play ni-dan bane at 20, but this can't be done because of damezumari and if White
should play in this way, Black will play ate at à' and capture the White stones.
Therefore, White must play the sequence to 22 and now the two groups in the
center will fight it out and this fight will be the focal point of the game.
32
Dia. 31: A problem
Getting back to the nobi of White ' in Dia. 28, there is another way for
Black to play and that is with the kikashis of 1, 3 and 5 followed by the tsugi of 7.
Now White must cut at 8 and Black plays the kake of 9 confining White to the
corner forcing him to make life with 10 and 12. After this, Black plays the good
fuseki point of 13. However, there is only one problem; what if White plays à'?
Dia. 32: Sacrifice

After Black ", if White plays 1, Black can consider playing the sequence to
8, sacrificing six of his stones hoping to make a large area. However, this is a
huge sacrifice, because after 8, White can play uchikomi at `b' or the tsuke at à'
and these are good moves since the point of `c' is not yet sealed off. And so, be-
cause of this large loss, the result will be disadvantageous for Black.
33
Dia. 33: Fight
After the sequence to White 3, Black can play the osae of 4 and naturally
White will cut with 5. After that, Black will ate with 6 and then play 8. The fight
that will follow will be difficult for both but it's possible. If White plays 9, Black
will play 10 and 12, attacking the White stones. Against Black 8, it would be bad
for White to play à' and provoke Black `b'. After Black 12, if White plays `c',
Black will play `d'.
Dia. 34: White's disadvantage
If against Black 7 in Dia. 31, White doesn't cut with 8 but instead plays 2 as in
this diagram, he can't expect a good result, because Black will play 3 and 5 and
after 7 White must cut with 8. Now White will be confined with 9 and 11 and so
he must make life with 12 and 14. After 15, Black's wall is very strong and Black
will have the advantage even if White plays at à'.
Dia. 35: No cut
Against the kikashi of White ', Black can play 1 followed by the hane of 3,
and it will not be possible for White to cut at 4. But in Dia. 34, it's bad for Black
to play this 3 because White will play à' and get some territory. But what if
White doesn't play à' and cuts with 4?
Dia. 36: Black captures the White stones
After playing 1 and 3, Black plays ate with 5 and 7 easily captures White.
Dia. 1: A game with an unexplored joseki
The game given in this diagram was played between Yamabe Toshiro, 9-dan
(Black) and Sakata (White). The sequence up to White 16 is familiar to us. How-
ever, after White 16, Black has the freedom to choose the variation of this joseki
that he desires. Very little is known about this joseki as no detailed or
comprehensive study has been made of it so both players must be very careful as
they venture on unknown ground. This game entered the middle stage almost
34
without either player realizing it. After the ate of Black 17, the oshi at 19 was a
new pattern. Actually this is not unknown but is rather rare. Black felt that by
playing in this way, after playing oshi at 23 he would be on unfamiliar ground
and because of this he would gain some advantage. Black 23 induced the counter
attack of 24 and the sequence up to 26 was completely unexpected. White 28 was
a necessary move and after this, the game has already passed the fuseki stage. We
will now study this joseki.
Dia. 2: The usual way

Instead of Black 23 in Dia. 1, the usual way to proceed is with Black 1 and 3
in this diagram giving Black life in the corner. Now White will respond at either
à' or `b'.
Dia. 3: Undesirable
After Black plays the tsugi of 0, White 1 appears to be tesuji but here it only
invites disaster. After Black 4 and 6, because of the kikashi of 2, White will be
shut in and thus White's position is undesirable.
35
Dia. 4: A Black defect
The correct move for White is the kosumi of 1, Usually, it's a rather mediocre
play, but in this case it's good. Now Black forces White with 2, 4, 6 and 8 and
then drives White out to the center with Black 10. But as White responds with the
tobi of 11, aiming at the degiri of à' the result is disadvantageous for Black, so....
Dia. 5: A fight in which neither side can gain an advantage

After the sequence to 9, Black declares war with 10. This move strengthens
the Black stones on the lower side and the sequence after White 11 can't be omit-
ted. Black runs after White with 16 and in response to 17, defends with 18. As a
comsequence White has made profit on the lower side while Black has made
profit on the right side. In the center, the position is stalemated but is playable for
both.
Dia. 6: Magari
White can also play the magari of 1. If Black makes shape with 2, it will be
natural to play the kosumi of 3 and then proceed into the center. The sequence af-
ter Black 4 is a straightforward exchange and there now doesn't seem to be any
obvious distinction between this diagram and Dia. 5.
36
Dia. 7: Mature judgement
After the magari of White 1, if Black confines White with 2, White can live
with the sequence up to 9. White's position would seem to be too low but even so
it indicates mature judgement. Next, White may aim at the point of à'. Besides,
the Black stones in the lower part seem to have extreme defects, but it's hard to say
exactly what these defects are. We might simply say that they have bad aji (taste).
Dia. 8: Trade
Against the tsuke of Black 2, White plays a vigorous trade up to the extension
of 9. However, the shape of the Black stones is not good. Further, the captured
White stones will continue to be a nuisance and Black may have to play another
stone.
Dias. 9, 10, 11 and 12: Complete loss for White

Against Black 2 in Dia. 7, it is unreasonable for White to play 3 and 5 for
these moves will fail. Black 6 is natural and next White plays the ate of 7 and 9.
It look likes a ko when White plays 11, but after Black 12, White must play the
tsugi of 13. Now Black escapes with the ate at à' and since Black has escaped,
White is almost completely lost.
37
Dia. 13: Black's intention
Going back to the actual game in Dia. 1; after forcing White to play 1 with the
osae of Black ", Black intended to live with 2 and 4. The sequence up to 5 may
not be bad for White but........
Dia. 14: Counter-counter kikashi
Against Black " in Dia. 13, the osae of White ' here is a counter kikashi.
Now Black can't play 1 and 3 because after the nobi of White 4, Black 5 is abso-
lutely necessary and because of the presence of White ', Black will be at a dis-
advantage in all succeeding sequences. So in the game of Dia. 1, Black 25 and
White 26 were counter - counter kikashis.
Dia. 15: White 26 in Dia. 1

White 26 in Dia. 1 was absolutely necessary and without this move, White
can't hope for a good result. For instance, if White plays the hane at 1 in this dia-
gram, Black will connect at 2 and then 3 and 5 will be met by Black 6. This move
will be used as ko material and then Black will start a ko fight with 8.
Dia. 16: Trade
Black makes a ko threat with 10 and now if White connects at 13 Black 14
will lead to a bigger ko fight. Black 16 is a big blow to the White stone at sansan
and this result is not good for White.
38
Dia. 17: Lower right corner
Black may be able to make part of his group live in the corner by playing 1
and 3, however, this will end in gote and since the territory is small, he can't play
in this way.
Dia. 18: Squeeze
Black should play the squeeze up to Black 5 and his loss is not as big as it first
appears.
Dia. 19: Sabaki

If White cuts at 1, Black should not try to save the 5 stones but give them up
by playing sabaki with 2 and 4.
Dia. 20: Efficiency of stones
Going back to Dia. 18, in order to better visualize the gain and loss in the cor-
ner we subtract an equal number of Black and White stones and we see that
White's gain is not really very large. If Black can play at à' then the exchange of
Black " and White ' is not favorable for White. This is one opinion. However,
some people feel that because the cutting point at `b' and the subsequent capture
of the Black stones will be very large, the result is more favorable for White. So
as we see, there are pro and con arguments on these results and it's difficult to de-
cide who has come out better.
39
Dia. 21: Chuban
We now continue the game started in Dia. 1. White 36 is a special variation of
a well known joseki and White can play this way because the shicho at à' is good
due to the presence of White '. Black 37 and 39 were natural and the sequence
up to White 42 is joseki.
Dia. 22: A proper thick move
In this game, Black chose the point à' for his 27th move, but Black 1 would
have been a very thick move. However, it is not easy to decide which is better.
Superficially, Black I will not bring hirn any real gain, however, in future fights,
such a play will contribute greatly to his strategical advantage. White 28 in Dia. 1
prevents Black from making such a move.
Dia. 23: Joseki
The reason why White chose such a special joseki is that should he choose the
common one shown in this diagram, after the forced sequence to White 19, Black
40
will make a severe attack with 20. Now if a fight occurs on the lower left side, it
is quite probable that it could soften or eliminate the cut at à'.
Dia. 24: Disadvantage
However, if Black blindly follows joseki and plays osae at 20, this will make
White very happy, because Black ends up with gote and White can play the two
good points of 29 and 31. After White 27, Black 28 is a common point to play
and White 29 is a defensive move. Now Black must capture one stone with 30
and when White plays 31, the result will be bad for Black because, even though
he has a strong wall, White can make a large area on the left edge.
c) Tenuki
We will now study a game in which against the kakari of White 1 in the
reference figure for chapter 1. Black does not play hasami but plays a kakari on
the other side of the board.
Fig. 1: Opening stage (1-7)

The game we are going to study was played by Kitani Minoru, 9-dan (Black)
and Sakata (White). In this game Black played kogeima shimari with 1 and 5 and
komoku with 3, while White played mukai komoku with 2 and 4. Against the
kakari of White 6, Black plays tenuki and attacks White 4 with a kogeima kakari
at 7. We will now study the implications of this move.
Dia. 1: White shimari
Against the kakari of Black 1, it seems natural for White to make a shimari
with 2 in the upper left corner. At this point, Black will most certainly play a
hasami at 3 and this will turn out to be disadvantageous for White.
41
Dia. 2: Hypothetical diagram
Consider the Black and White shimaris, " and ', which are pointed in the
same direction. Now if Black plays the hasami of 1, White will most likely play
the hasami of 2 and these moves will have exactly the same value. (Of course,
since Black has sente, he has some advantage.) So in this diagram, there is no val-
ue in playing a kakari instead of a hasami. However......
Dia. 3: The actual game
In the actual game, Black 1 is more valuable than White 2 and this is because
of the directions of the shimaris. Black 1 is an extension as well as a hasami.
However, White 2 is only a hasami and it's relation to White's shimari is not so
good. When Black played the kakari of 7 in Fig. 1, his purpose was to make it dif-
ficult for White to play a shimari.
Dia. 4: Preventing a shimari

So as we have seen, the purpose of Black 1 is to discourage White from mak-
ing a shimari in the upper left corner. It is possible that White will extend to 2 in-
stead. Now Black will play 3 and he has succeeded in his strategy of making one
shimari while preventing White from making one in any of the other corners. Be-
cause of this, Black will be at an advantage.
Fig. 2: (8-12)
Although it is difficult for White to make a shimari at à', he can't always be
forced into a disadvantageous position and this problem is a natural consequence
of the fact that White had to play second to begin with. After 8 and 9, White in-
tends to play ogeima at 10. This is the key point in the strategy of this fuseki.
When Black plays 11, White fully extends to 12, attacking the one Black stone.
Dia. 1: Common form
In this diagram, White plays kogeima at 1 and then extends to 3. This is a
common development and there are no interesting or unusual variations. Of
42
course this is not a problem of good or bad style but now Black will probably
play a kakari in the upper left corner.
Dia. 2: Strategy
The shape of 1 and 3 is not really very good and is rather loose. However,
White's intention is to develop quickly and not allow Black to play a kakari in the
upper left corner. Also, since White is behind by one move, its natural for him to
play rather loosely.
Dia. 3: Prevention
If Black wants to prevent White from playing the above strategy, he can play 2
and avoid White's hasami. But now White will play the sagari of 3 and attack the
two Black stones. However, it's not necessary for Black to play in this manner be-
cause the development in Fig. 2 is not really disadvantageous for him_
43
Dia. 4: The vital point
It is bad for White to play at ' and then extend to 1 because then Black will
play at the vital point of à'.
Dia. 5:
The question in Dia. 4 is interesting since against the ogeima of ', Black 1 is
not the only vital point. This is because the ogeima structure has two vital points,
one at 1 and the other at à' hence the White shape is light.
Dia. 6: Intention to fight
If White extends to 1, Black can then play uchikomi with 2. This means that
once White plays ogeima at ', there is no suitable point for White to extend in
this area. White's attitude in playing ' is not to make shape in this area, but
rather to begin a fight in the lower right corner.
Fig. 3 (13-19)
Black's kosumi at 13 is one type of joseki, however the hane at 15 is a new
play. Black plays 15 because of the loose shape of the ogeima. Now there is no
other way except to cut at 16. After that the moves 17, 18 and 19 are standard
procedure. Reference Figure Mokuhadzushi ikken basami
The situation of White ' against the komoku of Black " is called kogeima
kakari. However, when White 1 is added to this configuration White ' becomes
mokuhadzushi, although please note that the name of this configuration is not so
important. White 1 is a severe hasami and there are various ways for Black to re-
spond. We will now study the most common variations of this joseki.
Dia. 1: Natural
The intention of White is to play 3 when Black makes the kakari of 2 against
White 1. After White 3, it is natural for Black to play à' or `b'.
44
Dia. 2:
White 1 is a move which places emphasis on the lower part of the board and
especially takes into consideration the situation of White '. Situations such as
this are often seen in actual games and Black must not tenuki.
Dia. 3: Common
It is common for Black to play kosumi at 1 and then jump to 3. Against the no-
zoki of White 4, there are two ways for Black to respond. One way is with a tsugi
next to 4 and the other is the tsuke of à'.
Dia. 4: Tsugi
In case Black plays tsugi at 1, White 2 is natural. Now Black will make a liv-
ing form with the kosumitsuke of 3 and White naturally extends to 4.
45
Dia. 5: An old joseki
After the kikashi of Black 1, Black plays the kosumitsuke at 3. This is an old
joseki and after Black 3, White has the move of 4 which he may play.
Dia. 6: White develops on both sides
Following Dia. 5, Black plays 1 and 3 then captures the one White stone with
5. Now, in order to make himself stable, White captures Black 1 with 6 and 8,
while Black stabilizes himself by playing 9. But now White plays 10, developing
on both sides and the result is a bit more advantageous for White.
Dia. 7: Efficient
If Black dislikes the joseki in diagrams 5 and 6, Black 1 is a new play. Against
White 2 Black plays 3 and the problem of the defect at à' is solved. This is an ef-
ficient result for Black.
Dia. 8:
Therefore, against Black 1 White will play 2 and against Black 3 he will cut at
4. This sequence is one of many variations and after White 12 it can't be decided
who has the advantage.
Dia. 9: Simple
The tsuke of Black 1 is simple and there are not many variations in this se-
quence. After Black 13, the White group can't be captured even if Black plays the
osae at à', although in this case White must live with only two eyes.
Dia. 10: Gote
It is also possible to live by playing the keima of White 1 instead of 12 in Dia.
9. In this case White can play watari at à', Black `b', and White `c'. However,
White will end in gote, although this depends on the game.
46
Dia. 11: Light play
White can also play lightly at 2 against Black 1. Black 3 is natural and now
White extends to 4. After this, the kosumitsuke by Black at à' is natural.
Dia. 12: Making a living shape
It is also possible for Black to simply play 3 and S in order to make a living
shape. This same kind of sequence can also be played in the komoku ikken basa-
mi joseki. It is usual for White at this point to play tenuki, but if he wishes to play
here, the tsuke at à' is the right point.
Dia. 13: Kake
After 1 and 2, Black can also play a kake at 3. If White jumps to 4, Black S is
a good point. After that, it will be difficult for White to find a good play.
Dia. 14: Oshi

If, after Dia. 13, White plays the oshi of 1, the sequence will continue up to
White 7. However, in this case, the Black shimari, marked ", cancels out the ef-
fect of the White thickness and these stones become inefficient. Thus again we
see that a joseki must be selected with regard to each individual situation.
47
Dia. 15: Atsumi
After the kikashi of White 1, if White plays 3, Black will play the kikashis of
4 and 6 and then play the good point of 8 and this gives Black a good thickness
(atsumi). This sequence is also one which can be considered in the game now un-
der discussion.
Dia. 16: Fight
If White plays 2 against Black 1, Black will play kikashi at 3 and 5 and then
attack with the hasami of 7. Of course, after this, a fight will ensue.
Dia. 17: Tsukehiki
The tsukehiki of Black 1 and 3 is a formula. If White responds with the kake-
tsugi of 4 placing emphasis on the lower side, Black 5 is the proper move consid-
ering the shimari in the upper right corner White 6 indicates a desire to trade and
after Black 7 White has the point à', left for the future, with which to reduce
Black's area.
Dia. 18: Variation
If, against Black 1, White plays 2 in order to escape, a fight will result. After
that, the sequence to Black 13 is standard procedure and again the point of à' is
left for White. White may select this variation if the situation calls for it.
48
Dia. 19: Solidifying the left side
In this sequence, White intends to live by playing 2 and 4. After Black 3,
which is good style, Black plays 5, 7 and 9 in order to make a strong wall. Now
White's area on the lower side has become solidified.
Dia. 20: Good for Black
After the katatsuki of White 2, Black plays 3 and 5 making himself strong on the
upper right part of the board. After this, Black makes a living form with 7 and 9.
Black can now play the hanedashi at à' sometime in the future and since this will
give White much trouble, White can't be considered to have too good a shape.
Dia. 21: A high position

Black can also play the high hasami at 1. The variations will be omitted but
whatever Black plays, he should consider the surrounding stones and he can also
expect success.
Dia. 22: Living
If White plays 1 in order to live, Black cuts with 2 and will also live with 4
and 6. White at this point should connect with 5 for if he plays à' instead, he will
end in gote. Beginners must be careful about such things.
Dia. 23: Nobi
In case Black plays the tsukenobi of 1 and 3, the katatsugi of 4 is a good move.
Dia. 24: Fight
Continuing from Dia. 23, after Black plays tsuke at 1 it is joseki for White to
play 2 and then jump to 4. If we only look at this section of the board, Black will
play the uchikomi of 5 and the sequence will continue to 11. However, the the se-
quence changes, depending on the disposition of stones on the left side. In any
case, a fight will result.
49
Dia. 25:
If we think carefully about the lower left part of the board, it may be good for
White to play 2 and 4 so as to live in the corner. In this case, White can defend at
10 after playing 6 and 8. On the other hand, Black is not at a disadvantage since
he can play the osae at 11 and make a good shape on the right side of the board.
Dia. 26: Sudden fight
To play Black 1 is not very good since, after White 2, the cut at à' remains.
However, in this game, it is possible for Black to play 1, since after the uchikomi
of 3, he can expect an immediate fight.
Dia. 27: Here and there
Black plays tsuke at 1 and then plays another tsuke at 3 after White plays 2.
This is a possible way of playing but as Black plays first here and then there, it
seems as if he is undecided in his plan. This was a popular form in ancient times.
Dia. 28: Disadvantage

It is bad for White to play the ate of 4. After the trade up to Black 7, the result
for White is not good because of Black's large profit and the ponnuki is too far
from the White stones in the lower left to work effectively. Instead of White 4, he
could also play ate at 6, but please study this variation yourself.
Dia. 29: Complicated
The main idea of Black's "here and there tactics was to play the nobi of Black
2 against the hane of White 1 and then against White 3, Black plays the kirikaeshi
of 4 allowing White to play a ponnuki at 5. Now Black plays the ate of 6 even
though he can't win the ko....
Dia. 30: Thinness on the lower side
White plays tsugi at 7, and up to 13 makes a large profit. However after the
nobi of Black 14, White's two stones on the far left have become extremely weak.
50
Dia. 31: Tesuji
White can also play the simple nobikomi of 3 and after the cut of Black 4,
White captures two Black stones with the sequence up to 9; now after the Black
cut at 10, there appears to be an interesting tesuji.
Dia. 32: The appearance of territory
Black cuts at 14 and then cuts again at 16 and then plays tesuji at 18. After
White defends against shicho with 19, Black captures two stones with 20.
After this sequence, White will play watari at à' and from the local point of
view the result appears to be fifty-fifty, but the lower edge has now become
White's territory.
Dia. 33: Trade
The sequence up to White 6 giving White profit in the corner results in a
trade. White can certainly play kikashi at 8, but the disposition of the White
stones cry out for more thickness.
Dia. 34: Pin-tsugi

Against the pin-tsugi of Black 3, White may occupy the corner with 4. At this
point, the cut of Black 5 forces White to play 6 and 8 and Black secures himself
with 9. However, White has no reason to be dissatisfied.
Dia. 35: Simple nobi
Anyway, there are many variations and White can also play a simple nobi at 4
instead of the bane of à'. In any case, White has the option as to how to play.
51
Dia. 36: Formula
After White plays 6, Black plays 7 and then White connects at 8. After that,
it's almost natural to play the sequence to White 14 and this is a formula for only
this local area. In connection with the ogeima on the lower left side. This formula
will work very well but the player must judge for himself.
Dia. 37: Tsuke
Black can also play the tsuke of 1. When he plays tsuke on the right side, his
intention is really on the left, i.e., he intends to attack the stone on the left side.
This is a principle of Go and the result in the next diagram will verify the princi-
ple.
Dia. 38: Joseki
The have of White 2 is natural. When Black makes a bamboo joint with 3 and
5, White will obtain the corner area and then Black will play hasami at 7 and
make a living form. This is a joseki, but in this case White will find it hard to de-
velop his two stones in the lower left and hence, White shouldn't play this way.
Dia. 39: Old joseki
Instead of White 6 in Dia. 38, it is suitable for White to play the kosumi of 1.
Black 2 is a miai point and it is natural for Black to play it. So as to make a large
area White plays the tobi of 3. It is not certain that White's area will always
materialize but this is a consistent way of playing.
52
Dia. 40: Old style
In this variation, against White 1, Black plays the tsukenobi of 2 and 4. Al-
though this is an old style, the intention of this configuration is almost the same
as Dia. 39. The only problem is one of selection.
Dia. 41: Changing the order of moves
After Black 1 and 3, if White plays à' the variations will be the same as in
Dias. 29-34. However White can play differently now.
Dia. 42: Equal
The difference begins with White 4 and this will result in White making area
in the corner and Black making thickness. However, in this game, the White
ogeima will become weak and so White will hesitate to choose this way. But,
considering only the lower right corner, the result is equal.
Dia. 43: Transposition
If the sequence in this diagram is followed the situation reverts back to Dia.
29.
Dia. 44: Equal result
However, instead of 4 in Dia. 43, White can play tsugi at 2 and if Black plays
3, White can play osae at 4 so as to trade and in this local area the result is again
equal, but of course the whole board must be considered.
Dia. 45: Tsuki-atari
Black can also play the tsuki-atari of 1 and this is also an old joseki. At first
sight, it seems to be a strange play, but this move is based on a principle of Go.
53
Dia. 46: Old joseki
The kosumi of White 2 is a tesuji and the joseki continues to White 14 with
White expanding the lower sector. White didn't play 2 at à', because if he had,
the stones would have worked ineffectively since White would have had a double
nozoki against a bamboo joint.
Dia. 47: Variation
It is also possible for Black to play the tobi of 3. The sequence then continues
up to Black 9.
Dia. 48: Conclusion
After White 1, there are many variations. However, the intention of this move
is to make the White stones ' work more efficiently. Hence, Black must choose
a joseki so as to thwart White's intention. Of course the shimari in the upper right
corner is related to this also, but it seems to be obvious that in this game, the
point of focus is the two White stones '.
54
Dia. 49: Kaketsugi
Up to now we have studied various josekis. But Black 1 is a rather recant in-
novation which is not found in joseki books. If White plays hane at 2, the kakets-
ugi of 3 is very good. Now if White plays nobi at 4, Black wifl shut White in with
5 and the result will be very bad for White.
Dia. 50: Strengthening
White 1 is an aggressive move by which he can reduce Black's corner area.
However, as a result of this joseki, even though Black doesn't make much area in
the corner, the effect of a White play at à' is nullified and Black has a deep val-
ley of territory. This is why White is bad even though he has gained some profit.
It may well be possible for Black to play 2 and allow White to live, because
then Black plays at "a and however White plays, it will be bad for him.
Dia. 52: Good placement
It is bad for White to extend to 4 because after the exchange of 5 and 6, Black
fully extends with 7 making a good relation with the shimari in the upper right
corner and so Black keeps the advantage of good placement.
Next Play: How should White play?

In conclusion, after Black plays 1, there is no other way except for White to
cut with 2. Black 3 and 5 are natural. Where should White play 6? This is not dif-
ficult, as it is often seen in many games.
55
Fig. 4: (20-24)
The ate of White 20 is the correct answer and this kind of move is useful in
many instances. If Black plays the nobi of 21, White plays ponnuki at 22 and then
Black will secure the corner steadily with 23 and will not feel any dissatisfaction
with the result. White 24 intends to gain area on the lower part of the board and
since he can't do this with only one stone, he plays rather loosely. It will now be
difficult for Black to choose the next point.
Dia. 1: A good way

After the ate at 1, if Black tries to escape with 2, the nobi of White 3 is a good
way.
Dia. 2: Welcome
After Dia. I, Black must play oshi with 4 and 6 and then-defend at 8. White
then jumps to 9 and now a fight will certainly develop in the center. White will
welcome this because his territory on the lower edge has now become very large.
Dia. 3: Katachi
Against White 1, if Black plays 2, White should play nobi at 3 and Black "
can't escape (White captures by geta). Furthermore, White still has the aji at à'.
Dia. 4: Bad
It is bad for White simply play nobi at 1. Black 2 is the vital point in this fig-
ure. Now White must defend with 3 and Black can chase White with the tobi of 4
after which he can defend the corner with 6. There still remains some aji at à',
but the degiri at `b' is very severe on White.
Dia. 5: No plan
Against Black 1, it makes no sense for White to simply play 2 and 4. This is
not an adequate way to end this sequence.
56
Dia. 6: Very bad for White
Continuing from Dia. 5, White 1 can't be omitted and so when Black plays 2
White will be at a loss because he will not be able to develop the area on the low-
er side. The aji at à' is now entirely unusable.
Fig. 5: (25-31)
After the exchange in the lower right corner, which is equal, Black plays
uchikomi at 25, the vital point. This move is typical of Kitani's style of play.
White 26 would have been better played at the point of 27. The shitahane of
Black 29 is a very good play and at this point, both players are considering their
future strategies.
Dia. 1: Vital point

Besides Black 1, there is another vital point, the uchikomi of à'. However,
White's wall on the right is thick and strong and so the uchikomi at à' is rather
dangerous.
Dia. 2: Upper Osae
Against Black 1, it would have been better for White to have played osae at 2.
There are only two ways to play now but in the actual game, both players were
rather puzzled. Naturally Black would play à', so let's construct the situation and
see what would have happened.
57
Dia. 3: Very bad; beneath discussion
Against White 2, it is very bad for Black to play 3 and 5 for when White con-
nects at 6 and plays osae at 8, the relation between the two White groups is ideal.
Dia. 4: Ni-dan bane
Against White 2, Black 3 and the bane at 5 can naturally be expected. Now
White plays the ni-dan bane of 6 and this is a good play because after that...
Dia. 5: Trade
If Black cuts with 1 and captures the one White stone with 3 and 5, White will
also capture two Black stones with 4 and 6 and a trade is made. However, Black
must play one more stone to live in this narrow area and the stone he plays will
have no effect on White and Black is annoyed by this.
Dia. 6: Good aji
However, if Black connects at 2, then after White 3, Black will watari with 4
and 6 and the result will be bad for Black. Anyway the nidan bane is a very good
move and Black should expect this play.
In this game, the sequence to Black 5 was played and 5 is a very good move.
We will now examine this move.
58
Dia. 8: A natural move
If Black first plays the hane at 1, White will connect at 2 and the hanetsugi of
3 and 5 are natural. These moves seem almost the same as the moves in Fig. 5,
but they are different.
Dia. 9: Available kikashi
White cuts at 1. Now when Black answers with 2 which appears to be very
solid, White 3 is still kikashi and this is a big difference.
Dia. 10: No point in the future
If White ' were not present, Black would aggressively play at 1 in the future.
However, White ' is there so the White area has been solidified with good aji.
Fig. 6: (324)
It seems as if Black is playing an impossible cut at 33 against White 32. How-
ever there is a strategy involved in this move. In conclusion, these moves indicate
that Black is looking for aji to reduce White's area but White is preventing this.
The sequence ends with White 44 and both players reach a compromise.
59
CHAPTER 2: Ogeima Kakari
Fig. 1: Opening stage (1-10)

The game we will study in this chapter, was played between Hashimoto Shoji,
9-dan (Black) and Sakata (White). There was a komi of 4 1/2 points. The Black
form of 1, 3 and 5 is commonly seen nowadays, but the formation of White 2 and
4 was very strange at the time this game was played, especially the san-san of
White 2. White played 2 and 4 as sort of a whim, but he had his reasons. This
was Sakata's second attempt at this form. Against the ogeima kakari of White 6,
Black 7 is a steady response which pays more attention to profit than attacking.
The hiraki of White 8 is expected. The kakari of Black 9 and the hiraki of White
10 are points of miai. Up to here the play has gone according to White's plan, but
the situation is by no means unsatisfactory for Black.
Dia. 1: Comparison
White 4 in Fig. 1 is a strategy by White. However, against the komoku of
White ', Black can also play the kakari of 1 and White will still play the hiraki
60
of 2. The point to be compared is the confrontation of the Black and White
stones. The feeling that this diagram is better for White is a superficial
impression and has no basis. This will be explained precisely.
Dia. 2: The situation in Fig. 1
After the natural extension of Black 1, the effort on the third line is doubled.
Also, Black's structure is inclined to be one sided. But....
Dia. 3: The situation in Dia. 1
This time the structure with Black 1 feels good because it forms a wedge be-
tween the two White positions. Of course, we can't completely cover the situation
with such simple comments, but this is intended only to give a feeling for the
style of placement. There are countless variations but perhaps Dia. 3 is better for
Black than Fig. 1.
Reference figure : Ogeima kakari

Although there was a time when the ogeima kakari was often played, it's not
seen very much nowadays. This kakari may be classified as an abnormal one in
that it has little effect on the Black stone at komoku. Further, because of this
move, White may give Black profit. Hence, knowing these drawbacks, there must
be an adequate reason to play this move. So, against White 1, Black has three re-
sponses: the kosumi at à'; the kata at `b'; and the hasami at `c'. We will now
study these moves in detail.
Dia. 1: Profitable and steady
The kosumi of Black 2 is considered to be the most profitable and steady re-
sponse against the ogeima kakari of White 1. There are only two responses for
White: the niken hiraki at à' and the sangen takabiraki at `b'.
61
Dia. 2: Niken hiraki
Black 2 is quite common as is the defense of the niken hiraki at White 3. Any-
way, since the ogeima kakari at 1 is not a positive attitude, it's a bit hard to think
of it as a kakari and it is played more from the point of view of a wariuchi. Dia. 3:
A good point
In this configuration, the tsume of Black 1 is a good point since it is backed up
by the Black shimari in the upper right corner. So White must make a plan so as
not to allow Black to play 1.
Dia. 4: Miai
In the configuration of this game, against the immediate tsume of Black 1,
White will respond by making a shimari at 2. The points of Black 1 and White 2
are called miai points and no matter how good the tsume of Black 1 may be, the
shimari of White 2 is at least as good. Hence, in the sequence of figure 1 Black
considered it urgent to play the kakari at 9 allowing White to play another hiraki
at 10 and this sequence is considered to be perfectly natural.
Dia. 5: Bad
The kakari of Black 1 is certainly urgent, but for White to provoke a battle
with an hasami at 2 is questionable. Considering a likely sequence from 2 to 6,
we see that Black keeps sente and hence it results in giving Black the good point
of 7. This is why it is considered urgent to play the hiraki of 10 in Fig. 1, leaving
out an hasami in the lower left corner.
Dia. 6: Sangen-taka-biraki
Against Black 2, White can also play the sangen-taka-biraki at 3. The idea of
this move is to play 5 if Black plays at 4 as in this diagram. As the shimari af
Black is kogeima, White will be satisfied with 5, but this does not mean that
62
White has an advantage. There are many places where White is vulnerable to at-
tack by an uchikomi in this area. We will now investigate these attacks.
Dia. 7: One way of playing

Continuing from Dia. 6, Black might continue with the tsuke of 1 and wait to
see how White will play. This is a preparatory move before playing 5 and 7 on
the left side. Hence if White responds with 2 and 4, Black will play as he wanted
with 5, 7 and 9. Although the White stones in the lower left corner are safe, Black
has obtained a large area on the lower part of the board. It can't really by deter-
min-. ed which position is better, but both have obtained area and this is one way
of playing Go.
Dia. 8: Shicho strategy
If White plays 2 against Black 1, this will satisfy Black and he will proceed
with 3, 5 and 7. Now when White tries to capture Black 1 with 8 and 10, Black
plays a shicho break with 11. As this move works very well in this particular
game, the result will be disadvantageous for White. So, since this disadvantage
was caused by the shicho maneuvers of 8 and 10....
63
Dia. 9: Difficult
White can play the nobi of 1 and after that the sequence will be difficult.
However, against Black 1, it's bad for White to play the hane of 2. After 5,
Black can play either at à' or `b' and White can't defend both these points.
Dia. 11: Oshitsuke
Black can also play the oshitsuke of 1 and 3. White 4 is natural and now Black
can play 5, 7 and 9 to make a large area as in Dia. 7. Against White 10 Black can
play the osae of 11. This is a common result against the White structure.
Dia. 12: Ikken shimari
If the shimari is an ikken shimari the circumstances will change. In this case,
White 1 will not have much effect on Black's shimari. Black will wedge at à'
some time in the future.
64
Dia. 13: Tsume
If White omits 1 in Dia. 12, the tsume of Black 1 is a very good point. There-
fore, when Black has an ikken shimari in the upper right corner, the sangen-taka-
biraki is not good for White.
Dia. 14: An emergency measure
In this diagram, White 1 can be considered. The sequence after 2 is natural. In
this sequence, White plays 9 forcing Black to play 10 (if Black doesn't play 10,
White will play nozoki at à'). After this, White will play another oshi at 11 and
then will extend to 13. However, this should be played only if absolutely neces-
sary and is one variation after White '.
Dia. 15: Tsume
Against White 3, Black can also play the tsume of 4. This 4 is a severe point
and aims at the uchikomi at à'. Against 4, White can't find a suitable response for
defense.
Dia. 16: Force

Of course it is absolutely necessary for White to play 1 and this configuration
makes a light form for White. But White will probably omit this move be-
cause..:...
Dia. 17: Quick development
In spite of the tsume of Black !', White makes a shimari at 1. White plans to
make a good shape on the right side after he is attacked with Black 2. Against 2,
White plays tsuke at 3 and then plays to make a light form. Against White 7, if
Black plays 8, White will make a good shape with 9 which defends the weak
point at à'. Now when Black extends to 10, White plays 11 to make an ideal
structure on the left side. This way of White shows that to play 1 is better than
defending against Black ".
65
Dia. 18: Immediate attack
It is also possible to play 4 attacking the structure of White 1 and 3 immedi-
ately. This is very severe on White and because of this White 1 and 3 is a doubt-
ful way of playing.
Dia. 19: Hanekomi
In response to the attack in Dia. 18, White can only play the tsuke at 1. Any
other play would be bad, but even against 1 Black can still play the hanekomi of
2 and White will be at a loss as to how to continue. Black's style here should be
memorized by everyone.
Dia. 20: Shicho relation
If the shicho is good for White, he can cut with 2 and connect with 4.
However in this game the shicho is good for Black and he can capture the one
White stone by playing 5 and the result will be bad for White even though he can
play at à' and connect underneath. However, Black has a stronger way to play.
Dia. 21: Separation

The stronger way is to play tsuki atari with Black 5. This is rather vulgar but
there is no really suitable defense for White, as White has been separated into
two groups, it's easy to understand how this result is entirely bad for White.
Dia. 22: Resistance
Against Black 5, White tries to resist with 6 and 8, but he still can't obtain a
good result. After White 8, Black plays the hane tsugi of 9 and 11 and this is
natural because....
Dia. 23: Capture
Now Black plays degiri with 13 and 15 and then after 17 plays the osae of 19
to capture four White stones. Further, White is left with two separated groups and
not only has White lost the initiative but also the game.
66
Dia. 24: Explanation
After the sequence in Dia. 23, it is impossible for White to escape by playing
1 because Black responds with the atekomi of 2. After White cuts with 3, Black
plays atari with 4 and 6 then captures the White stones by shicho.
Dia. 25: Sagari
So White must play 1, 3 and 5 as this is reasonable and the only way, although
it's still bad for him.
Dia. 26: Watari
After Dia. 25, the cut of Black 1 is a good play. When White captures with 2,
Black will force White to play 4 with 3 and then connect underneath with 5. Now
the three White stones are under strong attack. Furthermore, the White group on
the upper right side is still not completely secure.
67
Dia. 27: Upper part
Against Black 1, if White plays magari at 2, Black will play nobi at 3 and the
upper right will constitute a large sphere of Black influence. On the other hand,
the White stones are cramped. It is easy to see that Black has the advantage.
Dia. 28: Outer osae
Consequently, against the hanekomi of Black 1, from the preceding discuss-
ion, we must conclude that White must respond with the outer osae at 2. The re-
sult gives Black a sizable area while White gets the thickness. After Black 7,
White can't omit the kaketsugi of 8 so now Black can play 9 and the area to the
right is now almost entirely Black's.
Dia. 29: Cut

However if White doesn't play 8 in Dia. 28, Black will cut at 1 in this diagram.
If White plays at 2, Black will cut on the opposite side with 3 and in spite of the
bad shape will play 5 and 7. It is clear that since now White is separated, he is at
a loss after this encounter.
Dia. 30: Conclusion
Consequently, when Black plays 2 against White I, White should only extend
to 3. Since Black secures the corner area with 2, White must play 3 to equalize
the situation in this area. This is a principle of Go.
68
Dia. 31: Uchikomi
To play White 1 so as to maintain a high position is an overplay in this situat-
ion because of Black's severe uchikomi of 2. However if White has confidence
and isn't afraid of a fight, he may play 1.
Dia. 32: Hasami
In this case, against White 1, Black has played the sangen basami of 2. But no
matter which hasami Black chooses, the idea is to utilize his shimari.
Dia. 33: Tsuke

Against the hasami of Dia. 32, White may respond with the sansan tsuke of 1.
White may occasionally play a tsuke at à' instead but this is dependent on cir-
cumstances. In this situation, White 1 is most common. A tobi at `b' is not good
because it is ineffective.
Dia. 34: Submissive
The sequence from 2 to 6 is too submissive and is by no means good for Black
as White may easily secure his stones with 5. Even if Black plays 6, White can
wedge at à' without any fear.
Dia. 35: Hanedashi
Black's proper response to White I is with the hanedashi of 2. White will then
cross-cut with 3 and this leads to a frequently used joseki.
69
Dia. 36: Joseki
Shown here is the correct order of play and the result here ends in a trade.
There is a proverb which says, "When caught in a cross cut, extend!"; but in this
case Black has no time to abide by the proverb.
Dia. 37: Wrong Order
However, Black must be careful of the order of plays in this joseki. If he plays
at 1 first as in this diagram, after the ate of 3, White will cut at 4 and now the se-
quence will continue to 8 and this will result in an influential outside thickness
for White. However, if Black had played the moves in the proper order as in Dia.
36, this could never have happened. The reader should study this.
Dia. 38: A good result for White
The magari of White ' was absolutely necessary. Now if Black plays 1,
White will play 2. The sequence shown here is by no means favorable to Black as
White can effectively play à' on the right side at some future time.
Dia. 39: Vital point

Instead of 1 in Dia. 38, Black should take the vital point of 1, in this diagram,
first. This move invites White 2 and now Black plays 3. This is the proper se-
quence.
Dia. 40: Continuation
In response to Black 1 White can only play 2 after which Black plays 3. The
exchange of 4 and 5 will allow White to make a shimari with 6 because it is not
possible for Black to play à'.
Dia. 41: Fight
If Black plays nobi at 2 in response to White 1, White 3 is unavoidable. After
this, if Black makes a kakari with 4, White wedges with 5 and starts a fight.
70
Dia. 42: Another way to play
Considering the distance of Black ", Black can play the oshikiri of 1, 3 and 5
with resolution, although he gives White profit with the sequence up to 6.
However, Black's outer wall is solid and has no cutting defects. Of course all this
area on the right side can't be considered to be entirely Black's but he certainly
has constructed a deep valley and White will have to contend with it sometime in
the future. With the kakari of 7, Black changes the field of battle and the intention
of this move is to erase the prospective White territory and Black will play lightly
in this area. This is one way of playing. Now what about the nobi of White 6....?
Dia. 43: Dangerous
White may be inclined to play here at 6, but this involves a risk since Black
will cut with 7....
Dia. 44: Hane
The attack of White 1 and 3 will be met with the Black hane at 4 and White
will be at a loss as to how to continue because all the variations will be bad for
him due to the presence of Black ". Hence White must not play the hone of 6
but instead patiently play the nobi of 6 in Dia. 42.
71
Dia. 45: Narrow hasami
When Black plays a narrow hasami like 1 here, it indicates an attitude of plac-
ing more value on the upper right part. However, at this stage in the game, it's im-
possible to decide which is best, a wide or narrow hasami.
Dia. 46: According to circumstances
If Black plays 1 expecting the sequence of Dia. 40, White will instead play the
oshitsuke of 2 and 4 and now the Black form doesn't work. Hence, once again one
must play according to circumstances and not follow the joseki blindly.
Dia. 47: Tsuke
Against the hasami of Black 1, White can play tsuke with 2. This move must
also be made according to circumstances and it is usually used only in case of
emergency. Let's study this response.
Dia. 48: Capture

There are actually two responses: The nobi towards the corner and away from
the corner. Against Black 1, the osae at White 2 is a natural response. The kiri of
Black 3 as well as the sagari of White 4 are also natural but the sequence up to
White 6 is bad for Black. Resistance with 7 and 9 only results in Black being cap-
tured with the tsuke of 10.
Dia. 49: If Black tries to live
Black can avoid being captured by playing 1, but after the kikashi of White 4,
White defends with 6 and two Black stones are left drifting in the center. These
stones will be a problem for Black and it would have been better for Black to
have let the corner stones die than to have played the sequence here.
72
Dia. 50: Too low
Instead of cutting, Black plays hane at 3 and the sequence up to 8 can be con-
sidered as natural. However, this is rather unbearable for Black as his position is
too low.
Dia. 51: Trade
Since Dia. 50 is considered unsatisfactory, Black can consider playing 2, 4
and 6 against the sagari of White 1 giving up the corner stones. However, this se-
quence loses much for Black before he makes any actual gains and the White
profit in the corner is very large.
Dia. 52: White's cut

White can cut at 7 and then capture with 9 because of his advantage in shicho.
Black must play magari at 10 and from the immediate challenge of 11 and 13
Black gets no advantage.
Dia. 53: Variation
After the sagari of White 4, the sequences which follow will not turn out good
for Black. However, with the suberi of 5, Black seeks a better solution so as to
avoid the problems previously mentioned.
Dia. 54: Playable
With the sequence up to 7, Black secures himself in the corner. It seems as if
the two Black stones in the center are drifting, but since Black " stops the four
White stones from developing, the fight which now develops will not be unsatis-
factory for Black.
73
Dia. 55: Severe
The 50-50 result of Dia. 54 is unsatisfactory for White, so he must choose a
more severe way. Against Black 1, White plays 2 and 4. Now, what will happen?
Dia. 56: Shibori
Black 5 is natural. Now White plays shibori with 6 and 8 and the sequence up
to 12 is advisable for White.
Dia. 57: Sacrifice stone strategy
Continuing from Dia. 56, against the creeping play of Black 1, White plays
kake at 2 which doesn't work as a geta because of the push at 3. However, against
the osae at 4, Black must play a losing move at 5 and the nobis of 6 and 8 are the
correct responses. Now considering the overall structure, White plays a large
scale move with 10 and considers the four stones captured by Black 9 to be sacri-
fice stones. This is a very mature way of proceeding since all the White stones
work very well.
Dia. 58: Captured

If Black wants to avoid the sacrifice stone tactics of Dia. 57, he can try to re-
sist with the magari of 1. However, after the osae of White 2, Black can't live in
the corner and White will respond to the ate of 3 with the tsugi of 4. Further the
exchange of 5 and 6 is useless for Black.
Dia. 59: Large
The sequence following 1 and 3 also doesn't pay because Black must lose time
by defending the cutting point at 5 and now White lives by playing 6 and the cap-
ture of the Black stones in the corner is too large a loss for Black to endure.
74
Dia. 60: Order of moves
If White makes shape with 1 and 3, this will give another result since Black
now has another way of playing. In this case, Black plays the nobi of 4 and after
5, White plays the shibori tactics of 7 and 9. . . .
Dia. 61: Fight
Against Black 10, White must play 11 and after living with Black 12, the se-
quence after White 13 develops into a fight in the center. This sequence is cer-
tainly playable for both, but a slight change in the order of moves can now
change the result of the whole game.
Dia. 62: Nobi away from the corner

So from the preceding discussion, we see that it is not good for Black to play
nobi into the corner at san-san. Hence, Black must play the nobi away from the
corner with 1 and this is the correct response. Now White can't expect more than
the result here up to 6. Black is satisfied with this sequence because the nobidashi
at 5 takes the vital point.
Dia. 63: Tesuji
Against Black 1, the ni-dan bane of 2 and 4 is tesuji. Against 5 and 7, White
plays kake at 8 and up to the pin-tsugi of 10, this sequence gives White a light
style.
75
Dia. 64: Shicho-atari
However, in the configuration of this game, after White ' Black can play the
katatsuki at 1 immediately. This move is a shicho-atari and because of it the re-
sult will turn out to be unsatisfactory for White. If White now plays the tsugi of 2,
he must suffer the osae at Black 3. So, no matter how good a tesuji the ni-dan
bane of Dia. 63 may be, White can't play it without any regard to the the shicho
relationships.
Dia. 65: Concave shape
If White responds to. Black 1 with 2, Black begins a shicho tactic with 3 and
5. The watari of White 6, letting Black play nuki with 7 is unbearable for White,
but he can't choose otherwise. Even though White has a chance to play 8, the re-
sult is not good for White because of his concave shape in the lower right corner.
Further even though White has made a profit; after the ponnuki of 7, the Black
thickness is massive.
76
Dia. 66: Katatsuki
The last response against the ogeima kakari of White 1 is the katatsuki of
Black 2, and depending upon the circumstances, this move is often played.
Dia. 67: Playing on both sides
Against the oshi of White 2, the modori of 3 is the most advisable way to play.
White 4 is natural and Black now plays a tsume at 5 to deprive White of a base in
which he can take root. Hence, Black is satisfied as he was able to play on both
sides.
Dia. 68: Hane
Against White 2, Black can also respond with the hane of 3. If White plays 4,
Black plays 5. The result here is unfavorable for White and this is because of his 4.
Dia. 69: Fight
White 4 is a natural response to Black 3. Now Black plays osae at 5 and the
sequence shown here follows. After this a fight will develop involving the two
separated Black and White groups.
Dia. 70: Nobikiri
Against White 1, from the standpoint of shape Black 2 is natural. However, in
the fight which follows, Black will be at a loss after White plays 7.
Dia. 71: Real profit
Continuing from Dia. 70, Black must capture with 8 and the sequence to 13
follows. However the territory that White has realized is too big in comparison to
Black's outside influence.
Dia. 72: Keima
It is possible for White to play 2 in answer to Black 1, but in view of the Black
shimari ", Black 3 is a good move. This procedure is mentioned as a special
technique to be used only when appropriate.
77
Dia 73:
White 1 intends to gain the corner but it's no good because Black will proceed
with 2 and 4 and then will make the good osae of 6.
Dia. 74: A procedure
White 1 is the only good move and in response to Black 2 White must play 3.
The sequence continues to White 7.
Dia. 75: Common tesuji
Continuing from Dia. 74, Black 8 and 10 are tesuji which are in common use.
When Black suffers White 11, he takes with ko (Black 12 in the next diagram)
and here White must stop to consider his next move.
Dia. 76: Hane-kaeshi
After Dia. 75, White must play 13 allowing his one stone to be captured by ko
and now Black will take one more stone with 14.
Dia. 77: Black's thickness

After Black 14 in Dia. 76, White squeezes with 15 and 17. Next White plays
the kaketsugi of 19 allowing Black to take one stone with 22 and now Black's
outside influence is very thick. This is not really considered to be a joseki but is
mentioned as an example.
Dia. 78: The reason
White's connection at 13 against 12 is not good as White ' now becomes a
worthless move.
Dia. 79: An unfavorable sequence for White
Back to Dia. 74 where this sequence began, instead of cutting at 3 as there,
White may be inclined to cut with 1 as here. However, this will be met with
Black's operations from 2 to 12 and the influence White has gained by the ponnu-
ki of 9 is inferior to Black's huge profit.
This completes our study of the ogeima kakari.
78
Fig. 2: (11-13)
The key point of the fuseki of this game was White's ogeima kakari but now
it's settled and Black holds sente. The sangen biraki of Black 11 is a calm play.
Black could have also played one point wider at à'. After 11, White defends at 12
and Black plays wariuchi at 13.
Dia. 1: Uchikomi
Instead of White 12 in Fig. 3, White could also have played uchikomi at 1 in
this diagram and this is a very active play. Black will now play 2 and 4 and White
will use the uchikomi to make shape with 3 and 5. Against the hiraki of 7, Black
plays kikashi at 8 and 10 without any hesitation and the expansion with the moyo
tactics of 12 and 14 will form a formidable sphere of influence.
79
Dia. 2: Lower lines
The defense with the niken biraki at White 1 is to finish the situation with one
move, but then the effort on the lower line has been doubled with the presence of
White ' and so White may be unwilling to play this move.
Dia. 3: Kosumi
Another way is to play the kosumi of White 1. This is a good move but now
Black's wariuchi must be at the point of Black 2.
Fig. 3: (14-18)
The uchikomi of White 14 is natural but it's basically a defensive move
against Black ". It is a principle of Go to lean on the stronger stones, thereby
making them stronger and this is exactly what 15 and 17 do. It's also a principle
of fighting to deprive one's opponent of roots for security as with White 18. Of
course Black cannot play tsugi as this will make the bad shape of jingasa.
80
Dia. 1: Relieved
The hiki of White 1 allows Black to play sagari at 2 and this will relieve the
urgency of the situation. White 1 is certainly a submissive play.
Dia. 2: Effective
Against White 1, Black can also effectively play 2, 4 and 6. Against 5, Black
will defend with 6 and the White shape will be considered inefficient and
ineffective.
Fig 4: (19-27)
Considering the shape of the stones, the trade which follows the ate-kaeshi of
Black 19 is a natural sequence. After checking the shicho relationship, Black 25
is a move that must be played and with the trade of 26 and 27 the situation is set-
tled for the time being.
81
Dia. 1: No meaning
Black 1 only forces White to make the move he wants to make and it has no
meaning. However, if the shicho relation is bad for Black he must make this
move.
Dia. 2: Shicho
The shicho relation occurs with the sequence to Black 5 as now he can play ei-
ther at à' or `b'. We will now show why this situation is not good for White.
White tries to resist with the sequence from 1 to the ni-dan bane of 9, but after
the ponnuki of Black 14 it will be bad for White because of the miai points at à'
and `b'.
82
Dia. 4: Black plays a wrong initial move
However if against the hane of White ', Black begins with the kiri of 1, and
the sequence up to the ate of Black 5 is natural. Next White will make a ponnuki
at 6 and after the hane of White 10, White has managed to secure both his posi-
tions.
Dia. 5: Substantial
Against White 1, Black could also resist with the hane of 2 and after the pon-
nuki of Black 16, Black has thickness but White has profit. With the tobi of 17,
White tries to diminish the Black thickness and this way for White is both sub-
stantial and practical. No one can really tell if this is good or bad and it depends
upon how things will develop in the future, but this is certainly a playable way.
Furthermore White has more than 30 points in the corner.
Fig. 5: (28)
Where should White play 28? This is now the vital question and may be the
turning point of this fuseki, but there are many possible variations. Many people
would play 28 so one can't really say it's bad, but there may be alternatives. The
tsume of White à' and the uchikomi at White `b' are worth examining. Dia. 1:
Wedge-in
The uchikomi of White 1 is another possible way and the intention of this
move is wait and see how Black will reply. If Black responds with 2, White will
develop in the upper edge with 3 considering the exchange of 1 and 2 as a
kikashi. Furthermore, it is better for White to play this move first for no matter
how well Black plays in the future this one White stone will interfere with Black-
's organization of this territory. White 1 involves many tactics but even if it's cap-
turned it will remain a thorn in Black's side and that is the idea of this move.
83
Dia. 2: Left edge
The move of White 1 is also possible even though is seems to be too near to the
Black thickness. But from here, there are many ways to start and attack in the future.
Dia. 3: Strategy
For example the strategy of playing 1 and 3 aims at the division the Black
stones, so the tsume of Dia. 2 is not bad. In any case, White 28 in Fig. 5 seems to
be a little monotonous.
Fig. 6: (29-36)
To play White ' without a preliminary move allows Black to play 29 and 31
which are very good points. The situation on the whole board is now simple so
it's to Black's advantage. It's now or never for White to play 34. Right now Black
will respond with 35 but in the future, there is no guarantee that Black would
make this response. How should Black respond to 36?
Dia. 1: Good point

Instead of White 32 in Fig.6, he can play 1 in this diagram and this is a very
good point. Besides erasing Black's thickness on the left side it has many other
implications. White should have played this move.
Dia. 2: Defective
Hence it would have been more effective for Black to have played the kata of
1 in this diagram instead of 33 in Fig. 6. Against 2 and 4, Black enlarges his
moyo with the osae of 5 and 7.
Dia. 3: Counterattack
Black "'s were played in the next figure and at this point White 1 is a move
that expects too much. The counter attack of Black 2 is readily seen and this is
why White 34 was played at just the right time, for Black can't but help respond
with the submissive move of 35 in Fig. 6.
84
Dia. 4: Monotonous
Against White ', the oshi of Black 1 and 3 are bad moves which have a flat
tone. White will be more than happy to respond with the effortless sequence of 2,
4 and 6 expanding his territory on the upper side.
Fig. 7 (37-44)
It's a good maneuver to begin operations with Black 37 and thanks to this
move Black can stop White's procession into the center with 39 and 41 without
any bad taste. Now, even though it's a bit narrow, Black 43 turns out to be a good
point. White 44 is a move to escape with a light shape thereby avoiding an attack.
The game now entered the middle stage.
85
CHAPTER 3: Ikken Takagakari
In this chapter, we will study a game played between Fujisawa Shuko, 9-dan
(Black) and Sakata (White). Using this game, we will study the josekis resulting
from the ikken takagakari against komoku.
Fig. 1: (1-6)
Black forms an ikken shimari in the upper right corner with 5. As we showed
in the introduction, the ikken takagakari of White 6 is considered to be the most
desirable type of kakari for White to make in this configuration. However, this is
not an iron clad rule and no one can say that to play a kogeima kakari, or any oth-
er kakari for that matter, is definitely bad. Modern Go is not so dogmatic as to
make such assertions. It is just that at this stage of the development of Go theory,
it is felt that the ikken takagakari of White 6 is the most desirable move for White
to make.
86
Reference diagram
Against White 1, we will consider the Black responses at "a, `b', and `c''
Dia. 1: Hasami
When Black plays the hasami of 1, White must not be indifferent to the ikken
shimari in the upper right corner and must select a joseki with this in mind.
Dia. 2: A good result for Black

Against the hasami of Black 1, White can play tsuke at 2. If the sequence up to
Black 15 is played, the stones of 15, 1 and 13 make a thick shape which is ideally
spaced with regard to the ikken shimari in the upper right corner. This result is
considered to be advantageous for Black. Hence, the choice of this joseki was
wrong and so it is necessary for White to choose another variation.
Dia. 3: Magari
Instead of White 12 in Dia. 2, he can play the magari of 1. However, there is a
shicho relation for White to consider.
Dia. 4: Shicho
After the sequence to White 5, White must consider the capture of his two
stones by Black 6. However, in this case, the shicho does not materialize because
of the presence of White '.
87
Dia. 5: Exchange
So we will continue our study of this joseki assuming the shicho is favorable
for White. White 1 and Black 2 are natural moves. However, with 6, Black has
decided to exchange. Of course this is not bad for White and the result is consid-
ered even.
Dia. 6: Miai
After Dia. 5, White plays 1 aiming at à', while Black plays 2 aiming at `b'.
The points 1 and 2 are points of miai.
Dia. 7: Fight
If Black dislikes the exchange in diagrams 5 and 6, he can play tsugi with 6
and a fight will result. White plays osae with 7 and Black plays tobi with 8, es-
caping to the center. Black could also play tobi at à' instead. White 9 is now ab-
solutely necessary. Black 10 and 12 make shape and now White plays kikashi
with 13 before sealing off the side with 1 5 and 17. After White defends with 19,
Black attacks with 20 and after White 21, both sides have good shape for
fighting.
Dia. 8: Variation
In this variation, Black plays 8 at à' in Dia. 7 and there really isn't much dif-
ference between these two diagrams. The moves up to White 17 are quite natural.
Dia. 9: A pincer attack
Black now plays a pincer attack with 1 and 3 which starts a fight. However, in
this variation White has the point à' which may be of value to him if he gets into
trouble. Because of this, it is a little different from Dia. 7.
Dia. 10: Kosumi
White can also play the kosumi of 2. This move could be used in case the shi-
cho is disadvantageous for White. However, White can't expect a very good result
from this move at this early stage in the fuseki.
88
Dia. 11: Bootsugi
After the tsuke of Black 1, Black plays bootsugi with 3. If White now plays
the nobi of 4, Black plays the sequence to 9 making a large profit. Moreover,
Black now threatens to make more territory by playing at à'. On the other hand,
if White plays at à', he will suffer an attack from Black since Black is strong on
both sides.
Dia. 12: Sacrifice
When White played the nobi of 4 in Dia. 11, it implied an attitude, of not car-
ing about the cut at Black 1 in this diagram. If Black does cut, White simply sac-
rifices four stones with the sequence to Black 9. The result is not good for Black
because he takes a few useless stones and gives White a large outward influence.
89
Dia. 13: Hane-nobi
Hence, there is no reason for White to play tsugi with 1. But if he does, Black
ca.n form a large moyo on the right side with the hane-nobi of 2 and 4.
Dia. 14: Niken takabasami
The niken takabasami of Black 1 is also possible. There are various replies to
this move, but the taisha of White 2 is the most usual joseki for White to play.
Dia. 15: A bad strategy for Black

The tsuke of Black 1 is the most common response to the taisha of White 2 in
Dia. 14. After which White is satisfied to allow the corner to become stabilized
by the sequence up to Black 13. White should not play 14 immediately, but save
this move for some future time. Now, since Black " is so close to White's
strength it is no longer so good in relation to the ikken shimari of the upper right
corner and Black must eventually make another move at à' or suffer an uchikomi
around this point by White. Besides, Black has ended in gote. So it appears that
this is not such a good strategy for Black after all.
Dia. 16: Variation
After White 1, the tobi of Black 2 is a variation. White 3, 5 and 7 are good
moves. However, again Black " has lost its significance and another move is
needed to reinforce this stone.
Dia. 17: Trap
When Black plays 2 in Dia. 16, there is the temptation for White to play the
degiri of 1 and 3. But this is a trap and after the kiri of Black 4, White will be in
trouble. The ate of White 5 is the only continuation and the result up to 10 has
given Black a large outer thickness and White has been forced into a bad shape.
90
Further there is the tesuji of Black à' to reduce White's territory and to seal
off the right side.
Dia. 18: Black's failure
Black must not play hiki with 1, for this would end in failure after White 2
and 4 because of the shicho in the next diagram.
Dia. 19: Shicho
Black 5 and 7 is a utile attack because the shicho beginning with 8 is good
for White. However, if the shicho is disadvantageous for White, he can play the
shibori tactics beginning with 8 at à', Black at 8 and then White at `b' and Black
will end with a very bad shape.

After the hasami of Black 1, White can also quietly play the tobis of 2 and 4.
After pressing Black with 6, White should wait for a chance to play an uchikomi
on the right side. So just as in diagrams 15 and 16, Black 1 has become useless
and has lost its original meaning.
Dia. 21: Keima kake
In contrast to the taisha of White 2 in Dia. 14, the keima kake of White 2 in
this diagram is not so good.
91
Dia. 22: Black's profit
Black immediately plays tsuke at 1 and after the sequence to Black 7, Black's
profit is far better than White's outside thickness. Furthermore, this profit is not
confined to the lower right corner but has a very good relation with the ikken shi-
mari in the upper right corner. Besides, White ' is a useless addition to the
White ponnuki and this stone should have been played elsewhere from the point
of view of efficiency. If White had played 4 at 5, the situation would develop as
in Dia. 23 on page 17.
Dia. 23: Black's failure
However, if Black responds to White 1 with 2, White will respond with the
nobis of 3 and 5 and this will result in Black's failure as Black " falls more and
more into the shadow of White's thickness allowing for a more effective uchiko-
mi which was mentioned in Dia. 20.
Dia. 24: Overplay
But, if White takes the offensive with the osae of 3, this will cause unneces-
sary complications as shown in the next diagram.
Dia. 25: Shicho tactics
The sequence to White 6 appears to be favorable for White. However, there is
a shicho relation to consider because Black can play the shicho atari of 7. White
must take at à', and even though he makes a thick outer wall, he will suffer a big
loss in the upper left corner. Thus, the overall result will be unfavorable for
White. Furthermore, the capture of the one Black stone at à' has no effect on the
life of the Black group in the lower right corner.
Dia. 26: Tsuke hiki
When White plays 2 against the tsuke of Black 1, Black can respond with the
92
hiki of 3. Now White must decide whether to play the katatsugi at à' or the kake-
tsugi at `b'.
Dia. 27: Katatsugi

First of all, we will consider the katatsugi of White 1. In response, Black se-
cures his stones in the lower right corner witb 2. Now White extends to 3 and
Black immediately responds with the tsume of 4 to make an ideal extension from
the ikken shimari in the upper right corner. If White now makes a shimari in the
upper left corner at à', Black will play `b' obtaining a good result with a double
wing formation. Hence, after White makes a shimari at à' his position in this
situation has deteriorated and Black can be proud of having utilized his ikken shi-
mari to make a good fuseki. The cause of White's failure was the katatsugi of 1 which
appears strong. Further, Black 4 also contains the threat of an uchikomi at `c'.
93
Dia. 28: Uchikomi
The uchikomi of Black 1 is a very strong move, however, Black must not play
this move immediately but wait for the right time. If White answers with 2 and 4,
then the basis for actual profit will be taken away in the sequence up to Black 7.
Dia. 29: Kosumi
If White plays the kosumi of 1, Black will respond with the tachi of 2 and the
sagari of 4 which will then enable him to connect on either side. Further, White
has defects at à' and `b' and so for him the play in this diagram is inferior to that
in Dia. 28.
Dia. 30: Point of focus

Black neglects to play the tsume at à' and instead hastily plays a kakari at 1.
In response, White plays 2, and this is a good move since it protects the weakness
at `c' and contains the threat of a kakari against the ikken shimari at `b'. Hence,
we see that a kakari like Black 1 which is usually a big move at almost any time
is not really the point of focus in this configuration.
Dia. 31: Kaketsugi
On the other hand, in this configuration the kaketsugi of White 1 is a good
move. After Black 2 and White 3, the tsume of à' also contains the threat of an
uchikomi at `b'. However, this move is now too narrow to make at this stage of
the fuseki.
Dia. 32: Variation
There is also a joseki where Black plays 2 and 4, but choosing this variation
depends on the situation. However if Black plays in this way, he must consider
the fact that he will lose the possible chance of playing an uchikomi at à'. In the
next diagram we will give an example where Black 2 and 4 are very good moves.
94
Dia. 33: A hypothetical situation
In this situation, Black 1 and 3 are appropriate since together with the Black
shimari in the lower left corner a large area comes into being. For Black to play at
à' here would be too low in relation to the Black shimari in the lower left corner
and hence this way should be rejected.
Dia. 34: Fight
It is also possible for Black to omit playing à' and instead play the hasami of
Black 1. The intention of this move is to cause a fight and one of the decisions
Black must make is whether to start the fight immediately or not.
Dia. 35: Leave for the future

White 2 is the most natural course and Black responds with 3 and 5. After the
hane-tsugi of Black 7 and 9, White makes shape with 10. If Black now plays 11,
the situation will develop immediately into a fight. White 12 is an important point
and after Black 17 the fighting will be difficult for both sides. However, Black
does not necessarily have to play 11 immediately but can leave it behind as a pos-
sible threat to be played when fighting conditions becomes more favorable for
him.
95
Dia. 36: An immediate fight
If Black plays I, then the fighting will begin immediately and as in Dia. 35,
Black 7 is again the key point.
Dia. 37: Another strategy
When White plays the sagari of 2, he has in mind the point à' which may be-
come useful during the fight. But even so the fight will still be difficult.
Dia. 38: White's thickness
If in response to White 2, Black plays 3, it will be contrary to the intentions
behind Black 1. White 4 is in good taste and the nobis of 6 and 8 are natural
moves giving White a thick and desirable shape. Now, how about Black 5?
Dia. 39: Black's bad play

If Black resists White 4 with Black 5, the exchange up to White 8 gives White
a large territory. Further, Black's ponnuki is very weak and it has no relation to
any of his other stones and so it must be concluded that Black has fared very bad-
ly in this diagram.
Dia. 40: Nadare
It would also be possible for White to play nadare with 2 and 4 in response to
Black 1, but we will study this joseki in the upper left corner and the reader
should study by himself the relations of these josekis with the ikken shimari in
the upper right corner.
Fig. 2: (6-34)
So after the takagakari of White 6, the tsukehiki joseki up to the extension of
White 12 is played and both sides are satisfied with the result. Now Black plays
an ikken-takagakari with 13 and in response to the tsuke of White 14, Black plays
96
nadare with 15 and 17 and the sequence up to 31 is one of the nadare josekis.
After Black 31, White plays two important points at 32 and 34. Black 33 is also a
good point to play at this stage of the game and is also necessary in response to
White 32.
Reference diagram for the nadare joseki

The configuration in the upper left corner is called "nadare or landslide. If
White next plays hane at à' it will become the small nadare joseki. However, if
White plays at `b' and Black responds with à' it will become the large nadare
joseki. Instead of à', Black can also respond to White `b' by playing ate at `d'.
Further, there is also the variation of White `c' instead of à' or `b'. We will now
study these variations.
97
Dia. 1: Too narrow
After White 12, Black 1 is a good point because of the possible uchikomi in
the future. However, because the ikken shimari is so strong, the extension of
Black 1 is too narrow to played immediately. Besides, the Black corner is still un-
settled and Black must concern himself with White's attack at à' first. However,
if Black has made a kogeima shimari with a move at `b', then Black 1 becomes a
most appropriate move at exactly the right time. Further, there is no longer the
weakness at à'. These are some of the nuances between the two shimaris. So the
proper move in the game we are studying seems to be a kakari in the upper left
corner.
Dia. 2: Kogeima kakari
Because White has only a stone at san-san in the lower left corner, the ko-
geima kakari of Black 1 is also a good move and we will study this in the next
chapter.
Dia. 3: Osae
Instead of playing nadare, Black can play the osae of 1 and this sequence up to
White 6 is playable for both. However, when Black played the ikken takagakari
of Black 13 in Fig. 2, he wanted to play nadare since he felt it would go well in
relation to the ikken shimari in the upper right corner.
Dia. 4: Kaketsugi
Black could also play the kaketsugi of 5 instead and after the tsume of White
8, the result is almost the same as Dia. 3.
Dia. 5: One of many possibilities

Black could neglect to play tsugi with 5 and instead play the kakari at 5 in this
diagram to see how White will respond. If White responds with 6, followed by
the katatsugi of 7, he will be forced to play 8 and then Black will play 9.
98
Of course things don't usually work out so neatly. At this point, White 10 be-
comes a very desirable point and White very much wants to play there.
Dia. 6: Too low
The nobi of White 1 is joseki, but in this situation White 1 and ' are too low
and they give a feeling of being over-congested. So, after the ate of 2, Black can
proceed to the central point of 4 and make good shape. Black could also play 2 at
`b', but then this would result in the large nadare joseki and this would probably
not be as desirable as the Black 2 and 4 in this diagram. However, in a moment
we will study the large nadare joseki. In the meantime, instead of Black 4, he
could also play at à' and then White would be faced with the problem of how to
play an uchikomi on the upper side.
Dia. 7: Kaketsugi
Black plays the kaketsugi of 1 making a good shape so as to prepare himself
for an uchikomi by White. If White plays an uchikomi at 2, Black will play the
tsume of 3.
Dia. 8: Gote
On the other hand, if White plays uchikomi at 1, Black will play tsume from
the other side at 2 and White will end with gote and this will be disadvantageous
for him. The choice of an uchikomi point is difficult and the cause of this diffic-
ulty is White '.
99
Dia. 9: Sudden fight
After Black ", if White wishes to attack Black, White 1 is the most he can do
and with the sequence to Black 6 it will suddenly develop into a fight. But at this
stage of the game, this fight will be very unfavorable to White so he should wait
for a better time in which to play these tactics.
Dia. 10: Bad for Black
Against White 1, Black must not play the tsugi at 2 in this diagram because
White will then play kikashi at 3 and then tobi at 5 and now Black will be com-
pelled to play watari at 6 and this result will be very bad for him.
Dia. 11: Large nadare joseki
Against the oshi-tsuke of Black 1, White plays hane at 2 and with the se-
quence up to Black 5 it becomes the large nadare joseki. Nowadays, this joseki is
not played very often but there was a time when it was very popular as a difficult
joseki.
Dia. 12: Avoiding the large nadare joseki
Of course against Black 1, it is possible for White to avoid the large nadare
joseki by playing the nobi of 2. However, this is not very good for White as he is
forced along the third line and this is an unbearably low position for him. So
there is really no other way but for White to respond with 2 in Dia. 11 and this re-
sults in the large nadare joseki.
Dia. 13: Magari towards the corner

The magari of White 5 was first played by Go Seigen, 9-dan, in 1959 and
since that time, the large nadare joseki has been considered to be bad for Black.
Dia. 14: Old style
Before the new move of Go Seigen in Dia. 10, the magari towards the outside
at à' or the tobitsuke at White 1 had previously been played as joseki. In both
cases the kiri of Black 2 is the most natural response and we will discuss the most
common sequences in the next few diagrams.
100
Dia. 15: Tobitsuke
First we will consider the tobitsuke of White 1. After Black plays kiri at 2,
White captures two stones with 3. There are many variations but the sequence to
Black 10 is the most common and the oldest. In this variation, Black can play
kikashi at either à' or `b' and White is in a bad way on account of his four float-
ing stones in the center.
Dia. 16: Magari towards the outside

This sequence begins with the soto magari of White 1 and ends with ponnuki
of White 9. In this joseki; Black has gained a profit while White has made a thick
wall, but the White thickness is far superior to Black's profit. This joseki was of-
ten played in the past.
Dia. 17: Kaketsugi
The intention of the kaketsugi of Black 2 is to avoid being shut in without any
aji. After the sequence to White 13, Black has aji at the points of à' and `b'. This
joseki was also played by the masters of the past. It has an unlimited number of
variations and these have been thoroughly studied.
Dia. 18: The correct way
The uchimagari of White 1, first played by Go Seigen, is now considered to be
the correct way for White.
Dia. 19: The large nadare joseki
Against the magari of White 5, Black should cut with 6. After the ate of White 7,
the magari of 8 is very important and must be played in the proper order. This joseki
ends with Black 22. White's profit is not small but he does not necessarily have an
advantage and one should consider the whole board before deciding to embark on
this sequence. Nowadays, this sequence is called the correct way, but there are many
places where a player can go wrong, so some explanations are in order.
101
Dia. 20: The order of moves is important
The most common mistake made in this joseki is when White plays the ate of
1. At this point, Black must play the magari of 2. If White plays at à', then Black
can play at `b'. This is very important and shouldn't be forgotten.
Dia. 21: Careless play
Against the ate of White 1, Black often carelessly plays the sagari of 2. White
will play 3 and Black will be at a loss as to how to play. Now, Black at à' is tesuji.
Dia. 22: Bad for Black
The tsuke of Black 1 is tesuji. However, against it, White plays tachi at 2 and
Black must play 3 (this move can't be omitted). Then White plays osae at 4, Black
plays kikashi at 5 and after that he must play 7 and 9, even though they are very
bad, in order to utilize the sacrifice stones.
Dia. 23: Thickness
After Dia. 22, White can play 1, 3 and 5 with good aji making a thickness on
the left side. Furthermore, since Black can't omit 6, White has sense and there is
no doubt that White has the advantage.
Dia. 24: Shicho

If shicho is favorable for White, he can play 1 and then the nobi of 3 and
Black will be completely lost since after the tsugi of Black 4, White plays at à',
capturing the two Black stones by shicho.
However, White must not cut at 1 since he will be shut in by the sequence up
to Black 10 and this will be a good result for Black. White's profit may be large,
but Black is satisfied with his thick wall.
Dia. 26: Variation
The next point we will consider is when White plays 1 and Black responds
with the nobi of 2, how should White continue. The correct sequence is for Black
to play at à' instead of 2, and then White plays `b'.
102
Dia. 27: Exchange
Against the nobi of Black 2, it's good for White to play 3 and after Black 4,
White should play the tachi of 5. There are many variations here, but if White
plays 3 and 5 correctly, no matter how he plays after that, it will end with a good
result for him. Usually it results in the exchange up to Black 12 and this is a bit
advantageous for White.
There are many variations of the large nadare joseki, but we have studied the
most important ones.

White might consider playing the hane of 1, but after the sequence up to Black
6, the relation between the two Black positions on the upper side is too good to
be allowed.
Dia. 29: Small nadare
In the discussions of this section, we see that after Black plays nadare with 13,
15 and 17 in Fig. 2, the nobi of White 1 in Dia. 6 and the hane of White 1 in Dia.
28 will turn out to be unfavorable for White. So we must study the hane of White
1 in this diagram and this move inevitably leads to the small nadare joseki. The
sequence up to White 5 is natural but after this move, there is a shicho relation to
be considered.
Dia. 30: Shicho
If the shicho is favorable for Black, he can play the nobi of 1 in this diagram.
Dia. 31: Irrevocable loss
White can't play 2 if the shicho is unfavorable for him for Black will cut at 3
and White's loss will be too large.
103
Dia. 32: A thick wall
Hence, if the shicho is bad for White, he must play the tobitsuke of 1. Next
Black cuts with 2, and then Black 4 and 6 will force White to play 5 and 7. Now
Black plays 8, making a good shape and a thick wall which combines well with
the ikken shimari in the upper right corner. So we see that if White is at a disadv-
antage with respect to the shicho relation here, he can't choose the small nadare
joseki.
Dia. 33: Bad for Slack
However, in the game we are studying, the shicho is favorable for White, so
Black can't play the nobi of 1. If he does, White will play osae at 2 and Black
must reluctantly play nobi at 3. Now White will play the tsugi of 4, capturing the
corner area and leaving Black with a bad shape and a bad result.
Dia. 34: Kaketsugi
Hence, in this game, the kaketsugi of Black 1 is absolutely necessary.
Dia. 35: The small nadare joseki
The sequence to the ponnuki of Black 9 is the natural sequence of the small
nadare joseki and these moves should be memorized.
Dia. 36: White's large area

In Fig. 2, after Black played ponnuki at 31, White took two ideal points at 32
and 34. Because of this, one may feel that it would be better to play Black 1 in
this diagram and omit the ponnuki. However, in this case, it is not suitable. If
Black does play 1, White will play nobi at 2 and if Black plays oshi at 3, White
will play kikashi at 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. Now White forms a large prospective area
on the left side with 14. So we see that even though Black has played 1 before
White could prevent this move, White has been more than adequately compensat-
ed by being able to construct a huge territory on the left and this is probably too
high a price to pay for obtaining this desirable point.
104
Dia. 37: Variation
When White plays the nobi of 2, it is recommended for Black to play 3. White
will perhaps respond with 4 and Black will take two stones with 5. In this way
Black can avoid the forceful plays of Dia. 33. But is this really any good?
Dia. 38: Not so good either
This is also not very good, for White tenaciously plays 6 and à' is too slow for
Black to play, so he must attack with 7 and fight, as this is the only reasonable
course left. But after White plays 8, Black is at a great disadvantage in this fight
since he is deficient in eyes in his upper group and so he must fight for life on
both sides.
Dia. 39: Good style for White
So, against White 1, Black is forced to play 2. Now, White plays 3 and this is
an important point in view of the overall situation. Besides this, there is the point
à' which White can play to completely encircle Black. But Black can't allow this
and he must find a way to avoid it. However, a suitable solution is hard to find.
Dia. 40:
For example, if Black plays 1 and then cuts with 3, White will play the ate of
4 and will then sacrifice three stones with the kikashis of 6 and 8 concluding with
the tsugi of 10. However such tactics for Black are good only if the game is in the
yose stage. But this game is still in the fuseki. So, in spite of his gain of a few
points of territory, this way is not so advantageous for Black for White's wall is
more profitable.
105
Fig. 3: Uchikomi (356)
With Black 35, the game enters the middle stage. When Black played ", the
uchikomi of Black 35 was intended and it is played at exactly the right time. The
sequence up to White 46 is the result of deep thought and we will study this se-
quence in great detail.
Dia. 1: Out of the question
Against Black 1, White 2 is completely out of the question as it allows Black
to make a connection with 3.
Dia. 2: Both sides play good suji
Against Black ", White 1 is a good play since it not only attacks Black ",
but threatens to play at à'. In response to White 1, Black 2 is also a good move.
Dia. 3: Preventing Black's connection
White can't prevent Black from connecting with 2 as it will lead to the se-
quence up to Black 5 and it is now White who is separated.
Dia. 4: Still separated
Even if White plays 2 and 4, Black 5 still separates the two White groups .
Dia. 5: Thin formation

If White plays 4 as in this diagram, Black will connect with 5 and the White
formation is too thin.
Dia. 6: Suji and katachi
Against Black 1, the suji of White 2 makes good katachi. The reason why it's
katachi will be shown in the following diagrams.
Dia. 7: Secure
If Black tries to make a connection with 3, White 4 is a good move because it
makes his group secure. So since White's group was originally thin, and White 4
makes him secure, White can consider this result satisfactory.
106
Dia. 8: Degiri
After White 2 in Dia. 6, if Black plays degiri with 1 and 3, White will play the
sequence up to 8. The result here is more than satisfactory for White since he has
secured his group and can still aim at à'.
Dia. 9: Thickness
If Black plays the sequence through 5, White will play the kaketsugi of 6 mak-
ing a thick wall. At this stage of the game White needn't worry about the cut at à'
and Black has gained little.
Dia. 10: Tsukekoshi
The tsukekoshi of Black 5 is a good tesuji in this case and this makes a superb
sequence for both.
107
If White plays 1, Black will surely connect with 2 and White ' will have be-
come a wasted move. When we compare this sequence with Dia. 7 the reason
why it is bad for White becomes obvious.
Dia. 12: Absolutely necessary
Against Black ", White 1 is considered to be absolutely necessary. Black 2 is
also natural and after this....
Dia. 13: Ideal shape
If White 3 is possible, White's formation will become ideal with the sequence
up to White 7. However, White has a defect at à' and this will be a source of
trouble.
Dia. 14: Two for one

Continuing from Dia. 13, Black will play degiri with 1 and 3 and White can
only respond with the clumsy move of 4 and then Black 7 and 9 are natural.
When Black plays 9, White is in a difficult position, as he must consider the safe-
ty of two of his groups which are now separated. However, White has a way to
prevent this degiri and although tentative, it sometimes works well in actual
games.
Dia. 15: Losing an attack
White can exchange 1 for Black 2 but the value of this exchange is dubious as
White will lose a chance to attack Black from the left side at à'.
Dia. 16: Black's failure to separate
However, when Black now attempts to play degiri with 1 and 3, White will
play ate at 4 and capture Black 3 with the aid of White '.
108
Dia. 17: Procedure
Hence, White is obliged to play 1. White 3 and 5 make a heavy shape but at
this point of the game Black can't save his one stone by playing at à'. However
in the future, securing the escape of this one stone will become a chief of con-
cern for Black.
Dia. 18: No escape
If Black does try to escape with the sequence to 5, White will play 6 and 8:
and Black will be left very insecure. However, if Black has already developed
thickness in the upper part, he may play in this way.
109
CHAPTER 4: Kogeima kakari : Ikken Basami
Fig. 1: (1-19)
The game we will study in this chapter was the last game of the Saikyo Sen
series which preceded the Meijin Sen. In this game Go Seigen played Black while
Sakata played White. As was the custom in this series there was no komi. The se-
quence up to White 12 is exactly the same as the game studied in Chapter 3.
However, instead of ikken takagakari, in this game Black plays kogeima kakari at
13. White plays the ikken basami of 14 and even though this is a severe hasami
Black plays tenuki and plays the sequence to Black 19. He does so because he has
a plan in mind and this plan will become clear as we continue our study.
Against the kogeima kakari White could also play niken takabasami with 1
and the sequence up to Black 8 is a most natural way of developing. However, it
is also a very slow way and since White is playing without any komi to compen-
sate for his having moved second, he must choose a more severe way and that is
why the ikken basami of White 14 was chosen in Fig. 1. So lets study the josekis
which result from this hasami.
Reference figure for the ikken basami joseki.

The ikken basami joseki was invented in ancient times and despite the passage
of time, it still remains one of the most frequently chosen. Black can answer in
many ways; for example at à', `b', `c' or `d'. In fact he may choose not to respond
at all and play tenuki.
110
Dia. 1: Ikken tobi
Our study will begin with the ikken tobi of Black 1, since this is the most com-
mon response. White 2 is natural and now Black can play at à', `b' or `c'.
Because of White ', the hasami of Black 3 is unreasonable for it provokes
the ikken tobi of White 4. Now Black has two separate positions under attack and
this is bad for him.
Dia. 3: A similar result
Black 1 and 3 puts pressure on White and again Black attacks with the hasami
of 5, However, since White ' is in the lower corner, White may play at à' or `b'
and this plan will be of no benefit to Black.
111
Dia. 4: Degiri
White should not respond to Black 1 with the degiri of 2 and 4 as then the val-
ue of White ' will be decreased by the resulting Black thickness with the se-
quence to Black 9.
Dia. 5: Upper side
Further, White's thickness and the Black ikken shimari in the upper right cor-
ner cancel each other out and hence this choice of joseki is not appropriate to the
game we are studying. This is a good example of why one must not play a joseki
simply because one has learned it as this does not automatically make one a
strong player. It is necessary to study the whole board and rack one's brain so as
to come up with a really imaginative sequence which will effectively utilize all
the stones on the board.
Dia. 6: Difficult
However, after Black 1, White 2 is quite possible and after 3 and 4, the tesuji
of Black 5 can be played. The continuation will be very difficult but in any event,
one must always play with a firm idea of future developments.
Dia. 7:
Backed by the ikken shimari in the upper right corner, one will often see
Black 3 played. Whether or not it turns out well for Black depends on the relative
strength of the two players.
Dia. 8: Fight
After Black 3 in Dia. 7, White plays osae at 1, and after the tsuke of 2, Black
will play the hanenobi of 4 and 6. In response to White 7, Black plays tobi at 8
112
which gives rise to a fight and again the outcome here depends on the relative
strengths of the players.
Dia. 9:
In response to the tsuke of Black 2, White plays hane at 3 and it will turn out
very unprofitably for White. If White plays 5, Black will make shape with 6. Now
White 7 is indispensable so now White is confronted by 8 and it appears quite
bad for White.
Dia. 10: Very bad

Suppose for a moment that Black has an ikken shimari in the lower left corner.
For Black to follow this sequence and push White on the 4th line would be very
bad. For after Black plays 7, White has made certain profit while Black has only
the prospect of gaining a lot in the future. Besides, because of this profit White
need not worry about the loss of his single stone.
Dia. 11: Kake
Black can also play the kake of 3, but before White plays degiri with 4 and 6,
he must be sure he has the advantage in shicho.
Dia. 12: Shicho
After Dia. 11, Black 1 and 3 are natural moves but with the hane of Black 13,
the question of shicho arises and whichever side has the disadvantage will be
crushed.
Dia. 13: Ponnuki
After Black 1, the ate of White 2 is extremely bad. It doesn't matter what his
future plans are, because if White allows Black to make a ponnuki in the center it
will be almost impossible for him to win the game.
113
Dia. 14: Joseki
If the shicho is advantageous for Black, White can't avoid creeping with 4 and
8. Further, in this game, Black will almost certainly threaten the White stones
with the attack of 13. However, this is joseki and White will play this way in cer-
tain situations.
Dia. 15: Cramped style
Hoping to avoid the hazards of a complicated joseki, Black expands with 1
and 3. The sequence up to White 6 is an ancient joseki, but it leaves Black cramp-
ed and hence can't be recommended.
Dia. 16: White's severe play
Nowadays, the hane-kaeshi of White 4 is almost always played. However, in
ancient times, White 4 was taboo, but modern Go has progressed and this move is
now rather common.
Dia. 17: Black's proper way

After White 6, Black must play ate at 7 in this direction so as to force White
to connect with his other stone. With the watari of White 10, White takes some
profit and now it is probably correct for Black to play 11.
Dia. 18: Black's mistake
It would be a mistake for Black to play the ate of 7 in this direction, Now
White will play ate at 8, Black plays ko with 9 and after the tsugi of 10, Black is
at a loss as to how to continue.
Dia. 19: Outer tsugi
The outer tsugi of Black 1 has been popular for a long time and this joseki has
many variations.
114
Dia. 20: Hiki
After Black 1, it is natural for White to play the hane of 2 and Black can play
the hiki of 3. Now White develops the upper edge with 4 and Black will avoid
trouble with 5, 7 and 9; but since White has developed on both sides and Black is
very cramped, this is not such a good result for Black.
Dia. 21: Variation
After the hiki of Black 3, if White wants to place more value on the left edge,
he can play the kaketsugi of 4. Now that Black is at a disadvantage on this side,
he must shift the scene of battle to the upper edge with 5. There are many ways of
continuing after 5 and both players may feel satisfied with the result.
Dia. 22: Nobi
1n response to the hane of White 2, Black can also play the nobi of 3. After
the exchange of 4 and 5, there are many variations and we will now study some
of them.
Dia. 23: Straightforward sequence

After Dia. 22, the most straightforward way is with the degiri of 1 and 3. It is
also the most direct and the least confusing. The result can't be considered bad for
Black since he has obtained profit in the corner besides having developed with
12. After this, White will use his move 13 to expand on the upper side.
Dia. 24: Ikken tobi
The intention of the ikken tobi of White 1 is to induce Black 2 and then to de-
fend the left side with 3. (If Black doesn't play 2, White's degiri tactics will be
very severe on him). After 4 and 5, the situation on the whole board must be con-
sidered when choosing which side Black will cut.
115
Dia. 25: Outside thickness
If Black intends to get outside thickness, he will cut on the inside with 1..
White will capture, applying the rule "take the cutting stone" and if the shicho is
favorable for Black, he will get outside thickness. This shicho is one of the things
Black must think about when deciding on which side to cut. After this, White no
longer needs to defend the corner since he is alive for if Black plays à', White
can answer with `b'.
Dia. 26: Black profit
When Black cuts on the outside with 1, he intends to make a profit in the cor-
ner and after 3 and 5 he has succeeded in his intention.
Dia. 27:
Sometimes, Black plays 1 and 3 and is proud of his thickness. This pride may
be justified, but of course it depends on the circumstances. Nevertheless, this
style of confrontation has many faults.
Dia. 28: Keima
Should White play keima at 1, Black responds with the tsuke of 2. This move
is rather unprofitable for Black but at least it covers the threat of White's degiri
gives him time to play 4 which is usually a good move. However, in this case, it
doesn't work so well because of White '. However, it's still a popular style of
play.
116
Dia. 29:
Instead of à', Black can choose to play 1. White responds with 2 and the
kirikomi of Black 3 is tesuji. When White plays ate at 4, Black plays 5 allowing
White to take with 6. Now Black plays the sagari of 7. The order of moves in this
joseki is very important, so study them.
Dia. 30: Trade
Continuing from Dia. 29, White must now reluctantly play 8 and Black will
play ate with 9. Now Black cuts with 11 and captures two stones. This trade how-
ever is reasonable for both.
Dia. 31: A living shape
Instead of White 4 in Dia. 29, White can play 1 here and it is a sort of joseki
for Black to respond with 2 and 4. After White plays tsugi at 5, Black will play
kikashi at 6 and 8. Now Black can attack with 10 because he no longer needs to
worry about the safety of his stones as he can make a living shape by playing at
à', even though it may be ko.
Dia. 32: Unknown

As was mentioned before, the tsuke at à' is unprofitable for Black, but the
question arises as to whether or not Black can play this joseki without this move.
It may be correct to omit this move, but the ultimate outcome is unknown even
amongst professional players.
Dia. 33: Keima
Black can also play the keima of 1 but this is a special method. White 2 is
natural and if Black plays the kake of 3, White plays the kosumitsuke of 4 com-
pelling Black to play 5 thereby forcing him to make a bad shape. Hence, this is
disadvantageous for Black.
Dia. 34: Thickness
If Black plays tsuke at 3, White can divide Black with 4 and 6. In this particu-
lar game, Black would probably extend to 7 allowing White to play 8. This result
will give White a rather good outside thickness and because of 8, White will be
quite satisfied. It is also possible for White to play 4 at à'.
117
Dia. 35: Tenuki
Since the ikken basami of White is very powerful and severe it is rare that
Black will play tenuki, but if he does, it is best for White to play 1 in most cases.
But as usual it always depends on the given situation and there are no absolute
rules about this.
Dia. 36: Joseki
Against White 1, Black can play the hanekomi of 2 but before he plays in this.
manner, Black must consider a shicho relation. Black can play tenuki only if he
can expect White to play 3 against 2 and this can only be expected if the shicho is
favorable for Black. Black will live with gote by the sequence to 8, but he now
has the future possibility of the kiri at à' if the shicho is favorable for him. How-
ever, even though Black finishes with gote, he must be patient and not try to take
sente for if he does, the consequences will be disastrous.
Dia. 37: Taking sente
If instead of 8 in Dia. 36, Black plays the ate of 1, he can live in the corner
and' take sente. However, no matter how good a point he may have in some other
place, he must not choose this way because of the losses described in the next
three diagrams.
Dia. 38: Cut and capture

After Dia. 37, White can cut and capture one stone at his leisure making him-
self strong.
Dia. 39: A strong wall
After Dia. 38, if White wants a very strong wall on the left side he can further
play 1, 3 and 5 with sente. But in this situation, White does not need a strong wall
and since White 1 is captured, he will not play this sequence.
Dia. 40: Geta
In addition, Black will lose the cutting point at 1 since White can capture with
the gets tactics of 2. Besides, if White doesn't need a strong wall as in Dia. 39, he
can play à' as yose and Black will have to defend with `b'.
118
Dia. 41: Shicho
In this tenuki joseki, if White responds with 3 against the hane komi of 2, after
the tsugi of White, the shicho relation appears with Black 6. So, if the shicho is
disadvantageous for White, he shouldn't play 3 and 5.
Dia. 42: Black's disadvantage in shicho
However, if the shicho is disadvantageous for Black, he must play the nobi of
2, but then Black will be confined with the sequence up to White 9 and this is bad
for Black as White's wall is very strong. It would also be possible for White to
play 5 at 8.
Dia. 43: Chase into the center
However, if the result in Dia. 42 is not what White wants, he can also chase
Black out into the center by playing the kosumitsuke of 1. This way is seldom
used except for special situations, but it must be remembered.
Dia. 44: Trade

Black can also play 1 and 3 as a trade, but
it is not usually good for Black to allow White to capture his one stone with 2 and
4. But again, it depends on the circumstances.
Next play
We have spent much time studying the ikken basami joseki: Now try to apply
what you have learned. Imagine yourself as the White player. Where would you
play White 20?
119
Fig. 2: (20-24)
The kosumitsuke of White 20 is the correct answer. There is a good reason
why White plays here and not at the point of 21 and to understand this we must
consider Black's intention in having played tenuki and we will consider this is the
next few diagrams. After White 24, the game will enter the middle game stage.
Dia. 1: What Black would have preferred
When Black plays tenuki, there is a fixed idea that playing White 1 is bad for
Black and very good for White and hence most amateur players would make this
move. But this is exactly what Black wants White to do.
Dia. 2: Lacking in imagination

Against White 1, Black can certainly live in the corner by playing 2 and 4, but
this sequence is lacking in imagination and of course Black won't play this way.
120
Dia. 3:
Instead, Black will play the hanekomi of 2. Considering that the shicho rela-
tion is advantageous for Black, White must play at 3 and after that Black will live
with the sequence up to 8. This result leaves a cutting point at à' and further-
more, the three Black stones in the lower left, now work to nullify the White
thickness and the corner area obtained by Black is not small. This is the reason
why White played 20 in Fig. 2.
121
PART II
Fuseki Type 2: San-san and Komoku
122
CHAPTER 5: A New Fuseki with Black at San-san
Fig. 1: (1-6)
The game we will now study is an example of our new fuseki and was the sec-
ond game of the 19th. Honinbo Sen played May 1 and 2, 1964 between Sakata
(Black) and Takagawa Kaku, 9-dan (White). There was a komi of 4 1/2 points.
Black begins by playing at san-san with 1 and up to White 6 there doesn't appear
to be anything of interest on the whole board. But this isn't the case and as we
proceed with our study we will become aware of the many problems involved in
this configuration.
Reference Figure 1: The contents of this fuseki

In playing Go a player must make the most efficient use of his stones.
However at first glance, it appears that Black 3 in relation to Black 1 is too low
and over-congested and for Black to play 3 at à' seems to be superior. But Black
3 has it's reason and this will now be studied.
123
Dia. 1: What White must consider
The sequence up to White 6 has become quite common in recent games and
after White 6 the tsukehiki joseki, which was discussed in Chapter 3 usually fol-
lows, allowing Black to end with sente. Now Black's most likely play is a kakari
at à' which will be met by the niken takabasami at `b'. White should not expect to
be able to make a shimari at à', for if he does, Black will play at the point 6 mak-
ing a double shimari. Further, Black will never choose a joseki where he will end
in gote allowing White to play at à'. Hence, White must arrange his stones in
such a way so as to be prepared for a kakari by Black.
Dias. 2 and 3: Direction of shimari and the placement of Black 3

So while White must arrange his stones in consideration of a Black kakari,
Black will be in a position to arrange his stones in any manner he chooses and
will be able to make a shimari one step ahead of White. Consequently, when
Black plays " as in Dia. 2, a shimari at Black 1 will work well only when he can
play at à'. On the other hand, if Black plays the move 3 in Fig.l and after White
4, Black plays 1 as in Dia. 3 making a kogeima shimari, when Black plays à' it
will make an ideal structure. So, in this sense, the komoku of Black " in Dia. 2
doesn't work as well as Black 3 in Fig.l.
124
Dia. 4: In case Black makes a shimari
So let's see what will happen if Black makes a shimari at 1. In response
White will definitely make a sliimari at 2. The reason why White chooses 2 in-
stead of the shimari at 3 in the lower left corner is that after Black plays the
kakari at 3, White 4 becomes both an extension and a hasami which is ideal.
However, the sequence here will allow Black to proceed with the moves up to 7.
He can, also play kosumi at à' with 5 following the joseki up to White `d' and
Black will end in sente. Anyway, Black will have no reason to complain about ei-
ther of these sequences.
Dia. 5: A logical procedure

Against Black 3, White can omit the hasami of Dia. 4 and play the wariuchi of
4 in this diagram. Black 5 is logical and usually results in the sequence up to 11.
Black's shape is ideal, but since White has sente his position is not unfavorable
either. To the question of Black's and/or White's shimari at à' and/or `b' theans-
wer is that these shimaris will not be clearly manifested in this particular situat-
ion.
125
Dia. 6: An ideal structure for Black on the right side
If Black allows White to make a double shimari with 2 and 4, Black can form
an ideal structure on the right side with 1 and 3. However, White shouldn't make
the shimari in the lower left corner with à' instead of 4 as then he would be liable
to suffer an invasion by Black on the lower side, and his extension to 8 would no
longer be ideal. After the wariuchi at 5, White plays 6, allowing Black to play the
niken biraki at 7 and then he makes an ideal extension with 8. This is a common
sense procedure. Now Black plays 9 expecting White 10 and then plays 11 visu-
alizing an ideal structure on the right side. However, the trouble with this is that
Black has allowed White to form a double shimari and further Black must now
endure White's invasion at 12 and the outcome of this game will hinge on the re-
sult of the battle about to ensue. If White plays 10 at the point of 11, Black will
answer at `b'. Now White is allowed to play the next move and the game will pro-
ceed in another direction.
Dia. 7: Avoiding White's double shimari

Instead of making a shimari in the lower right corner, Black can play a kakari
at 1. This move is more than a matter of taste and it is felt that this move has a
greater effect at this point. However, it is not a question of good or bad. Now, if
White makes a shimari at 2, Black will also make a shimari by playing at 3. In
this situation, Black is in an advantageous position at least from a psychological
point of view. However, Black can never hope for a sequence such as this as
White would never play a shimari with 2.
126
Dia. 8: The implications of White's kakari at 2
At this stage of the game, White 2 is the vital point. Now Black wifl make the
last kakari at 3 and the exchange of 4 and 5 will be natural. White now plays
ogeima at 6 and this implies an extension and a hasami at 8 and this is ideal. So
Black will play so as to avoid this sequence. Now suppose the exchange of 2 and
3 is omitted and White plays 2 immediately at 4. The sequence up to 8 would fol-
low and then Black would play the vital point of 2 and the result would be unsat-
isfactory in that the move 8 would only end up as an extension and not a hasami.
Fig. 2: (7-15)
So, considering the previous discussion, it seems as if the ikken takagakari at
Black 7 is the more desirable kakari, however to play kogeima kakari is not nec-
essarily bad and is often played by professional players. As a matter of fact this
move will be considered in the next chapter. After the tsukehiki of White 8 and
10, Black plays the tight katatsugi of 11 and follows it with the hasami of 13 and
the niken biraki at 15 forming an ideal basis on the left side. White plays 12 in-
stead of à' as he has in mind the kake at `b' so as to construct a large sphere of in-
fluence on the lower side.
127
Reference Fig. 2: Why Black shouldn't play the nadare joseki in the case
Instead of the tsukehiki joseki of Fig. 2, the nadare of 1 and 3 may be conside-
red as one way to play. However, it's questionable as to whether or not this is the
best way to play. Black can't hope for the large nadare since White would never
play at à' as then Black would then play the kake at `b' pressing White into a low
posture. Hence White will play at `c' leading to the small nadare joseki.
Dia. 1: White's good result on the lower side
The struggle in the lower left corner will lead to the sequence shown here.
This is a very popular joseki handed down from ancient times. Considering the
whole situation at this stage, White's influence, coupled with White ' turns out
to be extremely good. Moreover, he has sente and may use it at 15 restricting
Black's potential sphere of influence on the left side. So the result is by no means
good for Black. Again we see, that one must choose a joseki considering both the
disposition of the stones already played and whether it results in sente or gote.
Dia. 2: Leaving aji behind

Suppose Black omits 14 in Dia. 1 and plays 1 as here. White will then play 2
and the sequence which follows will completely foil Black's intention to build
area on the left side. Consequently, it is quite unfavorable for Black to play the
small nadare joseki in this situation.
Dia. 3: Another possible variation
Instead of Black 6 in Dia. 1, Black may choose the nobi of 1 here and White is
forced to take the corner with 2. Next Black may proceed from 3 to 11. Now the
game enters the middle stage and the result is satisfactory for Black.
Dia. 4: In reality....
However, in this situation, White can resist with 2. Now Black must cut at 3
for if he plays this move at 6, White will connect at 3, capturing the corner and
leaving Black with a bad shape. Now after Black 3, White 4 and 6 begin the shi-
cho manuevers which are successful since the Black stone at san-san is not a shi-
cho breaker. In playing this joseki, one must always keep this shicho in mind.
128
Fig. 3: (13-2
Black 13 and 15 is what he hoped for. Now White 16 and the following is the
most natural sequence. White must now consider the safety of his group in the
upper left corner while Black must find an effective way of attacking it and the
outcome of the game will hinge on this.
Reference Figure 3: Selection of a josekiWhite's resistance
The hasami of Black 1 will indubitably be followed by White à', and Black
`b' and tbis is exactly what Black wants. Hence, White must consider whether or
not there is some other way of playing.
129
Dia. 1: Left side too loose
The tsuke of White 2 can be considered and if Black follows the common pro-
cedure of 3, 5 and 7 White will again attack at 8, preventing the degiri tactics at
`c' after the exchange of à' and `b'. Black will now be uneasy about the wedge at
`d' and this move will work well in relation to White '.
Dia. 2: Passive
Although the sequence from 2 to 6 secures the corner territory, it's too passive.
After Black 7, Black can aim at the point of à' and then it will be difficult for
White to make a wedge move on the left side.
Dia. 3: Black can play both sides
However, White must consider the nobi of Black 3. When the sequence reach-
es Black 7, White must play 8 to prevent being shut into the corner. Now Black
will play 9 forcing White to play 10 and then Black will occupy the vital point of
11. So because of Black 3, White's tsuke at 2 must be rejected. If White 8 is shift-
ed to à', Black `b', White `c' and Black `d' will follow. Now White plays 10 and
again Black answers at 11.
Dia. 4: Still bad for White

Suppose White replaces 6 in Dia. 3 with White 1 here. Black will then play
the vital point of 2 which forces White to play 3 and the kaketsugi at 5 and again
Black takes the ideal point of 6.
Reference Figure 4:
Hence, after the hasami of Black 1, White 2 is inevitable and this will be fol-
lowed by Black 3 making an ideal formation on the left side. However, after
White plays 4, he will control the upper left portion of the board. Let's consider
the possible sequences after White 4 and moves other than White 4.
130
Dia. 1: Black plays on both sides
The kosumitsuke of White 1 is a very safe move, however Black's extension at
4 now gives him good development on both sides and so White 1 must be reject-
ed as too passive an attitude. Even if White plays 3 instead of 1, the result will be
the same as Black will simply respond at à'.
Dia. 2: Unawareness of the situation
White's maneuvers from 1 to 5 provide a typical example of a player being un-
aware of the surrounding situation because the influence built up here will not be
effective due to the presence of the two Black stones ".
Dia. 3: Efficient maneuvers by Black

On the other hand, if White plays the hasami at 1 as in this diagram, Black
will have ample room to maneuver and will play the sequence from 2 to 10 which
allows him to live with ease. Furthermore, White must defend with gote at 11 and
now Black plays 12 limiting White's prospective influence.
Dia. 4: Same result
Against Black 6 in Dia. 3, White can also play 2 as here and this will result in
the sequence shown in this diagram but the result is essentially the same as Dia.
3, that is, it ends in White's gote. Further the Black threat at à' will make White
feel uneasy.
131
Dia. 5: Playable for both
The niken basami of White 1 is made to see if Black will play at 2 or à'.. If
Black plays at 2, White will respond with 3 and if Black further plays at 4, White
will play the niken biraki at 5. After that, if Black plays at à', White will have no
trouble meeting this attack.
Dia. 6: Letting Black block
If White plays 3 in response to Black 2, he will be assured of the corner territ-
ory, however, Black's blockading move at 4 will have to be answered by 5 and
Black 6 will be very severe on him.
Dia. 7: The ideal kakari of White 6
The suberi of Black 1 will be met by White 2 and after Black makes a living
shape with 5, White's kakari at 6 will form an ideal structure for White. If Black
responds at à' to White 6, White may well play at `b', realizing a large prospec-
tive territory in the center. In other words, Black's disadvantage may be' traced to
his suberi of 1.
Dia. 8:
On the other hand, White must not play 2 and force Black to fight for life, as
this will not be good since White can be attacked on both sides. So when White
plays at à', Black will play at `b' and vice versa.
132
Dia. 9: The sequence Black would like
The Black maneuvers from 1 to 7 are played with an eye to the upper part .of
the board and the sequence is favorable for Black as his form on the left side is
already completed. Even so, the upper part is now more important than the left
side and after the hane of White 2, which is what Black wanted, Black is satisfied
to simply play the kikashi at 5 and then proceed to the upper part.
Dia. 10: White's loose play
The nobi of White 2 seems steady but it's a loose play and Black will be quite
Happy to play the suberi of 3.
Dia. 11: The tesuji of White 2
The tsuke-kaeshi of White 2 is a tesuji against the tsuke of Black 1. Black's
first inclination will be to play the hanekomi of 3 so as to divide White but this is
questionable because of White's counterattack at 4. After the double atari at
White 6, both play ponnuki with 7 and 8....
Dia. 12: Effective for White
After the kikashi of Black 9, he avoids being confined by White à' by playing
11 and 13. But after the hiraki of White 14, White is developed on both sides. It
may seem that White is defective in eyes when Black plays `b', however White's
shape is flexible.
Reference figure 5:
After the tesuji of White 2, the correct order of play is the kikashi of 3 and
then the nobi of 5. Now if White connects at 6, Black will be content in leaving
White with an ineffective shape and will secure himself with 7 and 9. Even
though White is not so secure in the upper left corner, he still plays the ideal
point of 10 ;and waits to see how Black will attack in the upper left. These tactics
are called "amarigatachi (loose). This was the sequence played in the actual
game and we will now study this to see if any other variations are possible.
133
Dia. 1: Out of step
Black 1 is certainly a vital point, but to play this move immediately will leave
Black at a loss as to how to play next after the tsugi of White 2. The move of
Black à' now provokes the response of White `b'. The three Black stones with
Black 1 are insecure so Black can't expect much by playing the pincer attack at
`c'. Furthermore any attack on the left edge will be ineffective as long as there is a
hole at `d'.
Dia. 2: The good shape of the kaketsugi
If Black plays 1 here instead of at 6, after Black 5, White can play 6 and this
will make White secure on the left side since his shape will now be good and now
he can play at 8 with satisfaction.
Dia. 3: Difference of one move

Against the atekomi of Black 1, White 2 seems to be a formidable move
against Black ". However, when we compare this diagram with Dia. 12 in the
previous section, we see that the situation in the upper part has changed because
Black has been allowed to play the move 5. White should not have allowed this
because now after Black plays at à', White will have to fight for eyes. Hence,
this result is no good for White.
134
Dia. 4:
Against the nobi of Black 1, White may feel inclined to play 2 so as to confine
the movement of Black p, but Black has two counters at à' and `b'.
Dia. 5: A strategy which might develop in the future
The nidan bane of 2 and 4 against the osae at 1 is tesuji and these moves still
have a relation with Black ". White can't expect much more than the tsugi at 7
and the pincer attack at 8 will be an extremely good point for Black.
Dia. 6: A useless counter attack
If instead of White 7 in Dia. 5, White plays 1 as in this diagram, Black will
play ate at 2 and then rush to 4 and White must make up the defect with 7. Now
the situation is unfavorable for White because of the thickness generated by the
sequence up to 8.
Dia. 7: Loose for Black

To play sagari at 4 is a loose move. The hane at à' should have been played
instead, for this means that Black has given up the right to play first on the upper
edge. Now after the hiraki of White 5, the attack of Black 6 only allows White to
escape and develop into the center. Instead of 5, White can also play at 6 and this
will also be good.
Dia. 8: For the benefit of beginners
The ate of White 1, played so as to avoid the ni-dan bane of the preceding dia-
grams, is out of the question. The resulting Black thickness is three times better
than before and if White plays à' after Black 6, there is still the Black move at `b'
for White to worry about.
135
Dia. 9: Appearing favorable for White
It is not advantageous to play the sagari at Black 2 immediately following the
osae at 1. The tsugi of White 3 is a calm play which forces Black to play 4. Now
White plays the point of 5 which both players want very much and this time it is
the four stones of Black which are drifting without any roots. So Black must ex-
change à' for `b', but this is in the wrong direction.
Dia. 10: Too favorable for Black
The osae of White 3 is just the move that Black wants. The sequence from 4
to 8 confines White and this style of play is called amari-gatachi.
Fig. 3: (26-36)
White at 27 instead of 26 will allow Black to play the tsume at à' and this
would be bad for White. The vital question is now whether or not Black can suc-
cessfully attack White after 27. But considering that Black has no effective attack
with Black 33 after letting White play 32 on the upper edge, it is undeniable that
White's tactics have proven successful. Hence, there is a question about the loose-
ness of Black 27.
136
CHAPTER 6 Kogeima Kakari: Ikken takabasami
Fig. 1: (1-12)
In this chapter we will study the joseki resulting from ikken takabasami
against kogeima kakari. The game we will use for this study was the second game
of the third Meijin Sen. Sakata played the Black stones against Fujisawa Shuko,
9-dan, and there was a 5 1/2 point komi. The sequence up to White 6 is the same
as the game in Chapter 5 and this was thoroughly studied there. In this game,
Black played kogeima kakari with 7 instead of ikken takagakari against White 4.
White shifts the scene of battle to the upper left sector with the niken takabasami
of 8 and Black responds with the kosumi of 9 and the suberi of 11 which are quite
common. Usually White 12 would be played on the middle left side, but White
probably chose the severe ikken takabasami at 12 because of mood or temperament.
Dia. 1: Just the point
Had White played ogeima at White ', the sangen basami of White 1 would
have been just the right point and this is a common way to play.
Dia. 2: Not the point
In the arrangement under study, White can't play at à' because then he can't
prevent an invasion into his loose territory. White 1 is not a hasami because it's
too far from the Black stone in the lower left corner and it is played only for the
purpose of defense and this is why it is not the point. However, occasionally, a
professional player may make such a vague move and it may be considered as a
kind of a gambit.
137
Reference figure: Ikken takabasami
The ikken takabasami of White 1 is a very severe attack and this is a relatively
recently developed joseki. Black's responses may be at à', `b', `c' or `d'. In ancient
times, if Black had played at `b', it would have been considered bad for White be-
cause he is separated. However, this opinion is no longer held. We will now
proceed to study the josekis resulting from this hasami.
Dia. 1: First response; san-san tsuke
With the sequence to 6 after the tsuke of Black 1, White can build a strong
wall and then extend to 8. Because of this configuration and the relative position
of Black " and White ', the point at à' in the lower right corner, is a very im-
portant point and if Black makes this move, his configuration on the lower side
will become very large and effective. Although a joseki is a local exchange of
moves, a player must always choose a joseki from the overall poinx of view. In
this game White is in a favorable position on the lower part of the board, however
in the upper left corner his two stones are liable to come under severe attack. So
proper judgement must be left to good sense.
Dia. 2: Rough shape

The intention of the hanekomi of Black 1 is to create a cutting point at à'
leaving White with a rough and defective shape.
Dia. 3: Detached
However, if White plays ate from underneath at 2, the sequence up to White
10 is a kind of formula. Now Black 1 and 3 have become detached and White has
been able to play on both sides. Hence the result is not good for Black.
Dia. 4: Common
Against Black 1, White can respond with the hane of 2 and the sequence to
White 6 is quite common.
138
However, instead of 6 in Dia. 4, White can play the 6 in this diagram and then
Black 7 and 9 is a kind of formula. After Black 13, Sakata suggests the sequence
to White 16. Against Black at à', White at `b' is natural. The continuation will be
difficult for both, but the selection of this sequence is up to White.
Dia. 6: Hanekaeshi
When White plays 4 against Black 1 and 3, Black 5 is naturally expected. If
Black plays at 6 instead of 5, it will make a stupid shape which is called
"jingasa. The sequence up to Black 9 completes this joseki for the time being.
Dia. 7: Redundant
After Dia. 6, White can play nozoki at à' and `b'. However, White might de-
cline to play the nozoki of à' because this move would be redundant in connect-
ion with White '. For this reason, the White maneuvers in Dia. 6 are not good.
Dia. 8: The reasons for the redundancy
Suppose White attacks with 1 and 3, Black will resist with 2 and 4.
Dia. 9: Too heavy
After Dia. 8, White will play 1 and Black will respond with 2. Now the two
White stones with ' are too heavy.
139
However, had White originally played niken takabasami with ', then he
could safely play the hanekaeshi joseki as the nozokis of 1 and 3 would be in
good form.
Dia. 11:
Since White has played hanekaeshi, the response of Black 2 to the nozoki of
White 1 is unavoidable. However, in responding to the nozoki at White 3, Black
is advised to play 4 and this will result in the sequence to Black 6. But this se-
quence is not favorable either and so Black must be careful of the hane kaeshi
and devise a way to avoid it.
Dia. 12: Second response: ikken tobi

The ikken tobi of Black 1 is straight forward. White may respond at à' instead
of at 2 but usually won't because White is too near the Black stones. The shape
realized here is what we call separated and because of this shape, ancient players
were adverse to playing the ikken takabasami of White '. However, modern Go
theory is prepared to handle the ikken tobi of Black 1 and once again we see that
modern Go has a broader scope than ancient Go. After White 2, the tsuke at `b' or
the hasami at `c' are playable.
Dia. 13: Tsuke
If Black plays tsuke at 3, White will naturally play hane at 4. When White
plays tsugi at 6, he has two purposes. In response to White 6, Black will make
shape with 7. Now White plays kikashi at 8 and then defends his lower area with
10. White's result is good as he is developed on both sides.
Dia. 14: Kaketsugi
White 1 is not good because after 2, the ate at à' and the hasami at `b' become
points of miai.
140
Dia. 15: Sagari
Another way to protect the cutting point is with the sagari of White 1. But
again, as in Dia. 14, the nozoki at à' and the hasami of `b' become points of miai.
Dia. 16: Kosumitsuke
White 1 is played so as to take the corner and Black must now cut with 2. Af-
ter Black 6, the result will be decided by the relative strengths of the two players.
Dia. 17: Leave for later
Against the cut of Black 2, White will sometimes play tenuki. This is because
he can't decide at this time which is the best move; to play as in Dia. 16, or play
at à'.
141
Dia. 18: Giving Black a bad shape
When White plays nozoki at 1 and connects at 3, his intention is to give Black
a bad shape. But now Black makes a pincer attack with 4 and this is very severe
on White. This may be playable although it depends on the situation.
Dia. 19: Good shape on the lower side
After Dia. 18, the sequence up to Black 10 is very easily understood. Black 10
makes very good shape on the lower side since it is now both an extension and a
hasami.
Dia. 20: A high pincer attack
Black can also play a high pincer attack with 1. The sequence of White 2, 4
and 6 has the intention of preventing Black from making a sabaki shape with his
stones in this area. However Black can now play the hasami at à'.
Dia. 21: Going out into the center

With 1 and 3, White can run out into the center. Black 6 is suji and now White
must reluctantly play 7. After the nobi of Black 10, White plays sagari at 11 and
this result is better for White than Dia. 20 because he is out into the center of the
board and Black's stones on the left are heavy. However White's corner position
is not as good as before and when Black plays at à' it will be very severe as
White must play hiki at `b'.
142
Dia. 22: Tachi
If Black plays tachi at 2, White can play ni-dan bane with 3 and 5 which is
sometimes tesuji. However, in this case, this is not so good since Black has an ef-
fective way to attack.
Dia. 23: Bad taste
After White plays ni-dan bane, it is not good for Black to try to capture one
stone with 3 and 5. Now White can get out into the center with the sequence to 10
and Black's stones on the left are heavy while he is also left with bad aji.
Dia. 24: Good timing
After White plays ni-dan bane, the correct way is for Black to immediately
play 1 and this is good timing. If White plays 2, Black will play 3 and 5 now
Black can capture with 7 and 9. In this situation Black can easily live by playing
at à' so he need not be so concerned about the cut at `b'. Besides, White's shape
is bad everywhere so the result is very bad for him.
Dia. 25: Hasami
After the exchange of 1 and 2, Black 3 is the most common move and if White
plays ikken tobi with 4, the tsuke of Black 5 is necessary. This is joseki and the
result is even.
Dia. 26: Thickness

In the very near future, after the sequence in Dia. 25, White wifl play the se-
quence up to 5. Black must expect this sequence and take it into consideration
when playing his moves.
143
Dia. 27: Imaginative play
In response to the hasami of Black 3, White may play a counter hasami at 4
considering his position on the upper left, this is a very strong move. White 4 is a
typical example of how a player should not stick to joseki and such flexible
thinking wifl make one's game more imaginative.
Dia. 28: Tsume
If after Black 3, White should play 4, then Black can proceed with 5 and 7. In
this case, it is Black's tactics which are flexible.
Dia. 29: Common-sense
White should refrain from playing 2 after Black's hasami at 1 except for spe-
cial situations. The reason for this is that White ' becomes weakened.
144
Dia. 30: A undesirable point for both
When confronted by White 1, Black should not play 2 either. In this case, in
the sequence up to White 5, White has gained a large profit. Both players should
choose their moves in such a way as to force the other to occupy this point.
Dia. 31: Obstinate
After the exchange of 2 and 3, White 4, although courageous, is too obstinate.
Dia. 32: Feasible
Because of White 4 in Dia. 31, the sequence to Black 5 is feasible. Now the
points of à' and `b' are miai.
Dia. 33: Belligerent

Black 2 in answer to White 1 has a touch of belligerence. How should White
play after this ?
Dia. 34: Decision
White 1 and 3 are natural and this is one way of playing. After the sequence to
Black 4, White must decide whether to play à' or `b' and he must consider this
choice carefully.
Dia. 35: Hane
After White plays hane at 1, the kiri of Black 2 and the tsugi of White 3 are
natural. Black 4 is just the right point and the sequence up to the ponnuki of
Black 10 will probably result. However, the result realized here is regarded to be
bad for White because his configuration contains several vulnerable points.
Dia. 36: Resistance
If White is adverse to the Black ponnuki in Dia. 35, he can play ate with 9 but
then Black will take the corner with 12, 14 and 16. In addition, Black has sente
and hence is in an advantageous position.
145
Dia. 37: Semeai
When White plays 5 it means that he is willing to engage in a semeai, expect-
ing the sequence to 8. Black 10 now becomes the vital point.
Dia. 38: Ko
Although White 1 is a kind of suji, Black can play at 2 and deprive White of a
liberty. After the exchange of 3 and 4, White 5 is also tesuji. Now, with the exchange
of 6 and 7 it becomes ko; however this ko is too difficult for White to win.
Dia. 39: White loses
Against Black 1, the osae of White 2 leads to a loss with the sequence up to
Black 7.
Dia. 40: Easy

To begin with White 1 is out of the question as he will die unconditionally.
Dia. 41: Resistance at the vital point
Against White 1, it's dangerous for Black to play the sagari of 2 because of
White's tsuke at the vital point of 3.
Dia. 42: Loss
After Dia. 41, the kiri of White 2 is a good move but difficult to see. The fol-
lowing sequence is very complex but it results in Black's loss. Please study this
carefully.
Dia. 43: Tolerable
White 1 aims at a slow development. After playing kikashi with 2 and 4,
Black settles the corner keeping sente. After the ikken tobi of Black 14, the out-
come of this battle has yet to be seen.
146
Dia. 44: Same as Dia. 43
After the hane of White 3; the sequence continues as in Dia. 43. Black is not
happy to play the hane of 4 but it's necessary and the result isn't really so bad.
The sequence up to 12 is natural for keeping sente. Black 14 is also necessary as
it would be unbearable to allow White to play hane at à'.
Dia. 45: Difference in order
If Black omits 4 in Dia. 44, then after Black has captured one stone with 1 and
3, White 4 becomes indespensible because of the cut left at à' and this is the re-
sult of a difference in the order of Black's moves. Now in the sequence following
Black 5, the situation in the center becomes stalemated.
Dia. 46: Work effectively

While there is a cut at à', Black might consider a counter cut at 3. The aim of
this move is to make his stones work effectively in the sequences which follow.
The nuki of 4 is natural and after Black plays the ate of 5, what will be the result?
Dia. 47: Semeai
The sequence following the tsugi of White 6 is natural. White 10 is the vital
point after which White plays osae at 12.
Dia. 48: Absent minded
However White may absentmindedly play 1 instead of 10 in Dia. 47, and
though the tsugi of Black 2 is a difficult move to spot, it's very good as now
White loses in the semeai.
147
Dia. 49: Ko
Countinuing from Dia. 47, the sequence up to White 4 results in ko, but Black
doesn't have many ko threats and 7 and 9 seem to be unsatisfactory.
Dia. 50: Third response-keima
The keima of Black 1 is a move frequently seen in modern games. White may
respond at à', `b', `c' or `d' and the choice will depend entirely on the circums-
tances.
Dia. 51: Leave as it is
If White responds with 2, Black will play at à' or `b' but if Black has already
played 1 he may omit these moves and leave the situation as it is.
Dia. 52: Kake
Black 1 is also a keima but it's no good because White will play degiri with 2
and 4 resulting in the sequence shown here. Next, White can play sagari at à'.
Dia. 53: Degiri
However, it's not recommended for White to play degiri against the keima of
Black 1 in Dia. 50. If he does, the sequence in this diagram wifl result and Black-
's. corner territory will be too large.
148
Dia. 54: San-san tsuke
After Dia. 51, Black plays san-san tsuke at 1. This move is made so as to ob-
tain a base in the corner. The sequence up to White 6 which follows is regarded
as natural.
Dia. 55: Hane-kaeshi
The hane-kaeshi of White 1 is not good in this situation because White ' is
not on a good point. Besides, the one White stone next to Black 6 has been ren-
dered useless.
Dia. 56: Katachi
After Dia. 54, if White plays oshi at 1, Black can respond at 2 and this will re-
sult in good katachi for Black.
Dia. 57: Bad shape

If in response to White 1, Black plays nobi at 2; this move will not be effec-
tive as White will play 3 and when Black plays at à' to defend himself he will
finish with bad shape. Beginners often make these kind of errors.
Dia. 58: Focal point
White can also play the sequence up to White 6 against the tsuke of Black 1.
Black 9 is an elegant order of play. After Black secures his group by playing at
11, White wifl make shape with 12. Now the two Black stones on the outside will
become the focal point of the game.
Dia. 59: Miai
After Dia. 58, if White plays hanetsugi with 1 and 3, Black cuts and captures
with 4 and 6 and these moves are miai.
149
Dia. 60: Same
If White plays tsugi with 1, then Black will play hanetsugi with 2 and 4. The
choice of these points will have a bearing on the future battles.
Dia. 61: Efficient
The reason why Black 9 is so important in Dia. 58 is because if Black simply
plays osae at " White will play the tobi of 1. Now if Black plays at à' White can
play at `b'. Now Black must live with 2 and 4, and since White 1 is such an effi-
cient point, White wifl have the advantage in the center fighting.
Dia. 62: Impossible
Against White 1, it's impossible for Black to play 2. If he does play here,
White will play hanetsugi at 3 and 5 and the five Black stones will be captured. If
Black continues to attack with the kiri of 6, White can cross cut with 7 and he can
live gracefully and this will result in Black's complete loss.
Dia. 63: Niken biraki

White can also play niken biraki at l, but now against the tsuke of 2 he can't
play degiri as before. Therefore, he must play 3 and 5 and the result will be
judged by the difference between White 1 as in this diagram and White 1 at à'.
Dia. 64: Oshi
Against White 1, if Black plays oshi with 2, White will take the corner with 3
and this is what White expected when he played 1. Next Black will play hane at
4. In both Dias. 63 and 64, Black has the choice of which sequence he wants to
play.
Dia. 65: Tobi
It is also possible to play oshi with 2 against the keima of White 1. If White
plays the tobi of 3, Black will play hasami-tsuke at 4 and the sequence in this area
150
will come to a temporary end. What will be the result if White plays at à' against
Black 2? This is not easy to answer and the reader should study this problem on
his own.
Dia. 66: An idle move
If White plays the nobi of 2 it will be good for Black to play 3 and because of
this White 2 is an idle move.
Dia. 67: Outer oshi
There's another way for White to play and that is with the oshi at 1. Against
this move, Black is advised to respond with 2, 4 and 6 and these plays are sabaki.
Black finally expands at 8 and the result can never be bad for him.
Dia. 68: Nobi
Against the oshi of White 1, Black can play nobi at 2 and 4. After Black 4,
White 5 is absolutely necessary. The difference between this diagram and Dia. 67
is that Black has sente and in case Black chooses this sequence he should have a
good point in mind at which to use this sente.
Dia. 69: A strong play

Against the oshi of White 3, Black can omit playing the nobi at à' and instead
play 4. This is very aggressive and White must consider the result before playing
in this way.
Dia. 70: Degiri
Next, White will play kosumi at 1 and then degiri with 3 and 5 and this is a
formula. White 7 at san-san is a vital point and now he can easily make a living
shape. What will be the outcome?
151
Dia. 71: Semeai
After Dia. 70, Black plays 2, 4 and 6 in order to give himself more liberties
and then starts a semeai with 8. After Black 12, the fight becomes serious for
both. But....
Dia. 72: Seki
If White plays hane-tsugi with 1 and 3, the result will become seki after Black
4. If White plays 5, Black will play 6. Now, no matter how White plays, there is
no other way than seki. So White has made a wall on the left side while Black has
made a wall on the right, and the result in this corner is even.
Dia. 73: Ko
If Black wants ko, he can simply play 4 and if White plays 5, Black will play,
6 and the result will be ko. This ko is bad for Black, however the choice of ko is
up to Black.
152
Dia. 74: The right time
In this game, it would be appropriate for Black to give up two stones in the
corner and trade with 3 and 5. After White 6, Black can play tsume at 7 so as to
attack the two White stones in the upper left.
Dia. 75: Fourth response-tsukegiri
The tsuke of Black 1 can also be considered. Against this move White must
play osae at 2 as there is no other point to effectively play and now the kiri of
Black 3 is absolutely necessary. However, this sequence has a shicho relation.
Dia. 76: Shicho
White 1 and 3 are tesuji and now if Black plays watari with 4, White wifl cap-
ture Black's one stone with shicho and the result will not be good for Black as he
can find no good point to play.
Dia. 77: Formula

After White 3, it is a formula to capture White 1 with Black 4. Against White
5, Black will play ponnuki with 6 and White 7 is natural. After the nobi of 8,
Black has in mind the attacking point of à' and if White uses his move 9 on the
lower part of the board, Black will play here.
Dia. 78: Miai
If White extends to 1, Black will exchange 2 for 3 and now Black will play on
the lower part of the board and these points are miai. The point doesn't appear
here in this diagram but it will be sangen basami.
Dia. 79: Fifth response-tenuki
Black can also play tenuki, but the tsuke of White 1 is very severe and so
Black must be very cautious when considering playing in this way.
153
Dia. 80: Chase into the center
If White had stones in the center of the board, then it would be possible for
White to chase Black with 1 and 3. In any event, tenuki is very dangerous, but we
can't say never play tenuki because of the profound nature of Go.
Fig. 2: (13-17)
The tsukegiri of Black 13 and 15 expects the formula in Dia. 77. However,
White foils Black's intention and plays hiki at 16. Now an unexpected variation
arises as Black plays tsuke at 17 which in this case is tesuji.
Dia. 1: Confinement
The reason why Black " is tesuji is that if White plays 1, Black will play 2
and force White to play 3. Now Black can confine White with 4 and 6. White can
live by playing hane-tsugi at à', but a small life is not good for him.
154
Dia. 2: No escape
If White tries to escape with 1, Black can force White with 2 and then he can
confine White with 4. One might think that White could ignore Black 2 and play
his 3 at the point 4, however if White allows Black to capture his two stones, he
wifl be at a complete disadvantage.
Dia. 3: Suji
There is another way Black can play against White 2. Black plays ate at 3 and
then confines White with 5 and 7. Some authorities say this is true tesuji but it
can't be decided for certain.
Dia. 4: Ponnuki
Disliking the sequence in Dia. 3, White can play magari at 4 and then Black
will ponnuki at 5 and it's obvious that this result is bad for White since Black's
thickness is huge. On the other hand, White's group of stones is not yet safe and
Black can further play uchikomi at à'. This sequence is really beneath discussion.
Dia. 5: Comparison
Now we must compare diagrams 1 and 3. In the case of Dia. 1, White can ig-
nore Black 2 and play nobi at 3. The osae of Black 4 is natural and there is still
room for White to live by playing hane at à'.
Dia. 6: Complete capture

In the case of Dia. 3, after Black 6, White wifl play nobi at 7 and then Black
can completely capture White with 8 and this is the difference between the two
sequences. Although White has lost two stones, his shape in the center is efficient
after 7 and so the advantages or disadvantages of the two sequences depend on
the circumstances of the game.
155
Dia. 7: Formula
Hence, since White can't resist against Black 1, it seems as if he is compelled
to play 2 and allow Black to play 3 and 5. Up to now, this sequence has been
thought to be a formula and that the result was advantageous for Black. But ideas
and opinions in Go are constantly changing and the formula which wifl now be
given in Fig. 3 successfully destroys this notion.
Dia. 8: Conclusion
It would be better for Black to play kake at 1. White 2 is natural and after that,
the sequence will result in a trade up to Black 5. Next, if Black has a chance to
play sagari at à' he wifl be at a great advantage.
156
Dia. 9: Resistance
It's dangerous for White to resist with 2 immediately after Black 1 for Black
wifl play ate at 3. This one White stone is very important and White must never
lose it so he wifl try to escape with 4. But Black presses on with 5....
Dia. 10: A low position
If White escapes with 1 and 3, Black will play shibori with 4 and 6 and will
then play osae with 8, 10 and 12 forcing White to crawl to 11 with a low position,
and this is very bad for White.
Fig. 3: (18-22)
Up to now, a way more severe than 18 and 22 has never been seen. Of cours-
eSakata is familiar with these variations, but these remarks are directed to ama-
teurs. As we have seen, it's no good for White to play the "formula" we just stud-
ied so we must consider another way and if White 18 and 22 are good, they may
be played. But it seems as if afl formulas are being upset nowadays.
Reference Figure
In this situation, it has long been thought that the tsuke of Black 1 is a good
move leading to a favorable result for Black. However the appropriate counter-
measure to this move is the sequence up to White 6. In this battle, the point à' be-
comes the focus with both players aiming at this point. The idea of Black playing
ate at `b' should not even be considered.
Dia. 1: Niken basami
Against the niken basami of White 1, Black 2 is not very often played.
Dia. 2: Resistance
If White plays hane at 3, White 4 will follow and then after the tsugi at 5
Black will play at either 6 or à'.
157
Dia. 3: A set idea
To White's resistance at 1, Black has only to cut at 2 and if White plays, 3
then the tsuke of Black 4 is considered favorable for White and this sequence re-
duces to the game we are studying.
Dia. 4: Vital point proves unfavorable
Instead of White 22 in Fig. 4, White might play nobi at 1, since this point is
considered to be vital by both sides. However, the sequence up to Black 4 is by
no means favorable for White as the area secured by Black is too large.
Dia. 5: Tsugi
White's simple tsugi at 1 is also conceivable. Black will of course resist with
2. Now White plays 3 and 5 and then Black will play 6 and 8 which will be a bit
irritating to White. However, White must be patient and play at 9 and later on
look for a chance to play at à'.
Dia. 6: A later problem
White 1 is a big yose point, but needless to say this is a problem for later.
Faced with this move, Black's only response is at 2 and then White's hane at 3
will be sente. Black must play 4 because....
158
Dia. 7: Ko
Against Black 1, White 2 is a good move and if Black plays 3, White may play
tsugi at 4. Now after the ate of Black 5, White plays 6 and after Black 7 White 8
results in ko.
Dia. 8: Tesuji
The ate of White 1 is tesuji and if Black plays 2, White plays 3 capturing Black
by means of utegaeshi. Therefore, Black has no choice but to play the ko of Dia. 7.
Dia. 9: Shibori
After White 1, if Black captures one stone with 2, White 3 makes an ideal shi-
bori. After Black's connection at 4, White 5 will endanger Black's entire group of
stones and even if Black plays 6, White may play 7 without any fea.r. However,
Black can now aim at à', availing himself of White's damezumari and so White
must be careful.
Dia. 10: Loss of aji
After White 1, White should not respond to Black 2 with the osae of 3 since
when Black plays 4, the aji of the last three diagrams is lost. To make things
worse, after the ate of à', the kiri at `b' is left and so White is left with bad aji in
this area.
Dia. 11: Nobi
The simple nobi of White 1 is certainly possible, but White will be captured
with the sequence up to 12. After White plays at à', he may feel proud of his
large prospective area in the center, but Black's area in the lower corner is not so
small.
Fig. 4: (23-25)
A psychological battle seems to be taking place here. Black plays 23 and 25 so
as to stress the possible kiri at à'. Now instead of the point of 23, the point à'
seems to become the focal point as it would be unthinkable to play ate from
above, allowing White to play tsugi at à'.
159
Dia. 1: The worst variation
If Black plays ate at 1 and 3, White will play nobi at 4 and this will be bad for
Black because White will gain a large area in the corner. Furthermore, the two
White stones can escape by playing at à' and so this is the worst variation.
Dia. 2: Can't escape
After Black 25 in Fig. 4, it is, of course, impossible for White to escape with 1
because of the kikashi of Black 2 and now White must play tsugi at 3 and Black
captures 3 stones with 4.
Dia. 3: Future plan
Against the kikashi of Black 1 and the settling of the corner by 3 and 5, White
should capture at 6. Now after Black 7 and 9, White plays kikashi with 10 and
then tobi at 12 and this is the most that White can expect. But this sequence is un-
satisfactory for Black as White can save two stones by playing at à'.
160
Dia. 4: Outside thickness
Instead of White 4 in Dia. 3, White could play nobi at 4 in this diagram giving
Black territory in the corner. Now, when White plays osae at 6 he will get outside
thickness. There is a sente difference between Dias. 3 and 4. In Dia. 3, White has
sente after Black 11 whereas in this diagram Black has sente. However, Black's
profit is not so large and so this sequence is not so good for Black.
White can't play the nobi of 2 immediately after the ate of Black I. If he does
so, Black will play shibori with 3, 5 and 7.
Dia. 6: Capturing
Against Black 1, it is possible for White to capture with 2. Now if Black plays
3, White will play kikashi with 4 and then defend the left side with 6. This
method is dubious. However in the next figure, White has avoided this sequence.
Fig. 5: (26-30)
White defends his defect at 26 and waits to see how Black will play. White 26
is a playable tesuji. But Black plays contrary to White's will with 27 and 29 and
so White plays 30. Hence this conflict of will leads directly to the middle stage of
the game.
Dia. 1: White ' becomes a wasted move
Black can't expect the sequence to Black 5 as then White ' would become a
wasted move and this result would be good for Black. Instead of capturing two
stones with 2 and 4, against Black 1, White would play as in the next diagram.
161
Dia. 2: Thickness
Against Black 1, White would play 2 and Black must capture one stone with
3. But now, after the ate of White 4, White becomes thick in the center and this
thickness is better than Black's corner territory.
Dia. 3: Discretion
It probably would have been better for Black to have played at the point 1 in-
stead of 27 in Fig. 5. After the kikashi of White 2, the nobi of White 4 appears to
be very large and it is White's intention to play this move. Black played the se-
quence in Fig. 6 so as to counteract this intention. However, as the sequence
eventually turned out, the variation in Fig. 5 was not so good for Black. After the
sequence in this diagram, Black can play the uchikomi of à'. However, when
actually playing a game, moves like White 4 seem to be very large and the ten-
dency when actually playing is to exaggerate the scale of its importance. But it is
difficult to think in any other way.
Dia. 4: Tewari
This tewari diagram corresponds to Dia. 3. Attention must be paid to the fact
that Black has one less stone than White, so Black can now play a stone wherever
he wants. Also White's condition in Dia. 3, because of the situation in the corner,
is settled. But Black is also settled and in this case it is more advantageous for
Black to be settled than it is for White. Further, the sente of Black can't be ig-
nored and the uchikomi at à' is powerful move. To understand this tewari dia-
gram more fully, let's add on the missing stones and try to find out which are un-
necessary.
162
Dia. 5: Exchange
The exchange of 1 and 3 with 2 and 4 is bad for White since it is done near the
center and it is really unbearable for White to play in this way.
Dia. 6: Black's exchange
Now Black in his turn exchanges Black 1, 3 and 5 with White 2, 4 and 6 and
this is also bad for Black. So both players have had a bad exchange and the result
has been evaluated in the tewari diagram.
Fig. 6: (31-36)
The battle rapidly continues with the sequence up to Black 35. Of course Black
could play at à' instead of 35, but White 36 is absolutely necessary. The situation
is very complex and one slight misstep will be fatal. Even though we are still
playing joseki, this battle has taken on the appearance of a middle game fight.
163
Dia. 1: A four stone capture
If instead of 36 in Fig. 6, White plays magari with 1 as in this diagram, Black
will capture four White stones by the cut at 2 and the kosumi of 4 and now Black-
's profit will be enormous. When White plays at à' instead of 1, Black has no
time to play 2 and 4 because White can play ate at `b'.
Dia. 2: The other cut
Against the cut of Black 1, White 2 is again the only possible play. After
Black plays nobi at 3, White plays ate at 4 but now there is the tesuji of Black's
counter cut at 5.
Against White 1, Black will play nobi at 2. After the sequence to Black 22 the
result is good for Black as White's position is too low. But Black can't expect this
sequence.
164
Dia. 4: Difficult
White can also play by capturing with 2 against Black 1 and the tsugis of 4
and 8 are natural. After Black 9, White must defend with 10 and another battle
will result after the uchikomi of 11. It would also be possible for White to play at
à' instead of 12 but this is a very difficult decision and the result is impossible to
predict accurately.
Dia. 5: Sacrifice
It's also possible for White to make a sacrifice with 3 and 5 but it is very diffi-
cult to decide whether or not it is necessary to defend by playing the ate at 7. In
any case, White's plan is directed to the center aiming to play kake at à' or tobi at
`b'. There are many variations and it's impossible to discuss them all so we will
stop here and go on with the game.
Fig. 7: (37-43)
For White to play sagari at 39 instead of capturing with 38 doesn't pay, as
White will be forced by Black at 43. Since Black had no chance to cut at 42. he
played ate with 41 and if he doesn't play this move, he will be at a loss.
Dia. 1: Complicated
Disliking the shibori in Fig. 7, White plays sagari at 1 but then he will be
forced by Black 2 and since it's unbearable to simply play nuki with à', White
will capture three stones of Black with 3 and 5. Now Black grabs his chance to
cut with 6 and after the sequence to Black 12, Black captures four White stones
and the result is not so good for White. Besides gaining a profit, Black has
eliminated the bad taste in the center and even though it's cornplicated it's bad for
White.
165
Fig. 8: (44-51)
The reason why White settled the form in the corner with the sequence up to
Black 51 becomes obvious later on. One reason is that if the battle later on be-
comes difficult, White may lose these kikashis. In any case, White still loses four
ko threats.
Dia. 1: Ko
For the benefit of the amateur, if against the hane of White 1, if Black
absentmindedly plays at 2, it will result in an unfavorable ko for Black after
White takes the vital point of 3.
Dia. 2:
White 1 in this diagram would be unsuccessful since he would have no chance
after Black 2 and White can now easily be captured.
Fig. 9: Middle game (52-57)
If White played 54 at the point of 56, Black could play ate at 54 and this
would be unbearable for White. Black 55 is katachi and after White 56, Black 57
will result in a severe middle game battle.
166
CHAPTER 7: A Large Scale Fuseki Fig. 1: (1-4)
The last game we wifl study in this volume is from the second Ju-dan Sen and
was played between Sakata (White) and Fujisawa Hosai, 9-dan (Black). This
fuseki was very strange because of the two san-sans at 1 and 4. At the time this
game was played (1963), fuseki involving san-san was very much in vogue.
Fig. 2: (5-7)
Instead of a shimari at 5, a kakari in the upper left corner is also playable but
to defend oneself first with 5 is a steady attitude on the part of Black. White 6 is
an almost natural shimari and the defense at Black 7 is a good point because of
the developing direction of the Black shimari in the lower right corner. Together
with the san-san in the upper corner Black has a very well organized structure.
167
Dia. 1: Wrong direction
With the shimari of Black "'s, the extension of Black 1 isn't a good point.
The shape of this shimari develops in the direction of à' and the structure in this
diagram is a flat one and....
Dia. 2: Full dimensional development
The extension in Dia. 1 can't expect the full dimensional development of this
diagram with the moves of 1 and 3. The examination of these diagrams is done at the
starting point of the fuseki and they show why Black has chosen the komoku of ".
Dia. 3: Small scale Go
It is conceivable for White to play the wariuchi of 1 which is a good point for
Black to also play. However, White must be prepared for the kakari of Black 2.
The sequence after White 3 is a common joseki. The tsume of 8 is probably from
the right direction and the sequence up to 11 completes one phase of the fuseki.
These moves are quite common and nothing unusual has occurred. However,
there is one thing to be noticed and that is that both White and Black are scattered
throughout the board and this is called "ko aji" or "small scale Go".
Dia. 4: Wariuchi
If White wants to play wariuchi, the correct point to play is at à' and not
White 1 as in this diagram. If White plays 1 as here, Black 2 becomes a very good
move because Black " on san-san is a very solid stone. Not only is Black 2 a
good attack it is also a good extension from Black " and the reader should think
about this.
Dia. 5: Black weaknesses
However, if Black has a stone on hoshi instead of Black " in Dia. 4, White 1
is a very good point. The reason is that even if Black plays 2, there are a lot of
weak points in the upper right corner and White wifl have no difficulty in making
168
these stones work inefficiently. The differences between diagrams 4 and 5 should
be compared.
Fig. 3: (8-10)
White 8 is the right direction to play with respect to the upper left corner. The
reason he plays 8 before 10 is that he expects Black to play 9 after 8. White is
very happy now to have a double wing formation but Black must not interfere
with this by playing at 10 with move 9.
Dia. 1: Black's weakness
After White ', if Black plays 1 so as to interfere with White's double wing
formation, this will be the right time for White to play 2 at the shoulder of the
stone at san-san and in this type of structure this is always the weak point. The se-
quence from 3 to 6 is joseki but now Black's overafl position is too low. Besides
which, Black 1 which was played with a definite purpose, now becomes meaning-
less and this is why Black should not play 1.
169
Dia. 2: Also not good
Black 2 in the other direction isn't any good either. The joseki up to White 5
has gone in the other direction but Black's position is still depressed and Black
" is still as meaningless as in Dia. 1. In short, even if White plays at ' first on
the left side, he knows that it won't help Black to play Black ". Black 9 in Fig. 3
reveals this kind of thinking. After this, if White doesn't occupy the point 10,
Black will then rush to take this point.
Fig. 4: (11-19)
Black 11 is the turning point of this fuseki stage. There are many alternatives
at this point. The sequence up to Black 17 is played with resolve on the part of
Black, in that he has given White profit up to White 18 and after 19 he awaits
White's attack.
Dia. 1: The shape of the battle field

The reason Black 11 is called the turning point in the discussion of Fig. 4 is
that one of the alternatives is Black 1 in this diagram. Black's shape with 1 looks
a bit overconcentrated but it is still a strong shape. Although this can't be consid-
ered as Black's area as of yet, it wifl be difficult for White to find a good invasion
point. This way of playing reveals an attitude of "getting what can be gotten and
then waiting to see how the game will develop. Suppose that White now plays 2
Black will then answer with the katatsuki of 3 which is now White's weakness so
White will not be willing to play 2.
Dia. 2: A magnificent sphere of influence
In order to make an extension on the lower side, White must first play 2, but
then Black will lose no time in playing 3. Now the magnificent framework of
Black territory on the right side will be a great problem for White. The sequence
up to 3 certainly makes a fine fuseki for Black, however it can't necessarily be
said to be superior to that of figure 4. What is preferable remains a matter of indi-
vidual taste.
170
Dia. 3: Undecided
Black may also start with the 1 in this diagram and then in exchange for White
2, plays 3. In any case, Black's maneuvers are based on the idea of building up a
gigantic sphere of influence. The reason Black avoids playing close to White in
this diagram is to prevent him from consolidating his territory. On the other hand,
Black 1 and 3 are also loose, so it is difficult to decide whether to play as in Fig.
4 or as in this diagram.
Dia. 4: Invasion
So, having progressed to this point it's about time White thinks about an invas-
ion. Considering the depth of the Black configuration White must choose his
move very carefufly so as to prevent Black from making a huge profit. White 1,
which is often seen, isn't too good here. Other plays which are conceivable are à', `b'
and `c'. At this point, this study involves the middle game, so it will be omitted here.
171
Definitions of Japanese Go Terms
aji after-taste; a stone (or stones) has aji, if, though already lost it continues to
be a source of annoyance.
amari-gatachi loose but resilient shape.
ate check. i.e. to threaten an enemy's stones with capture. e.g. Dia.15 p. 16
atsumi thickness.
bane see hane.
basami see hasami
biraki see hiraki
bootsugi a three stone wall
chuban the middle stage of the game.
dame a common point between any Black and White positions which has no
territorial value, thus making no difference who fills it.
dame-zumari losing liberties by filling up dames and hence making one's
own stones more vulnerable to capture.
dango a formless and solid shape (literally: a `dumpling' shape)
de to push between two enemy stones
de-giri to push between two enemy stones and then cut e.g. Dia. 22 p. 17
fuseki the opening stage of the game
gakari see kakari
geta a tactic used for capture, made by jumping ahead of the stone(s)
giri see kiri
gote to play second or to make the last move in a local encounter, the opposite
of sente.
bamete a play which may be unsound but involves a trick
bane a diagonal move played next to the enemy's stone e.g. Dia.17 p. 16
hane-kaeshi a counter hane e.g. Dia. 3 p. 12
hane-komi a hane between two enemy stones e.g. Dia.26 p, 18
hane-dashi an outer hane e.g. Dia.20 p. 49
basami a pincer attack e.g. :
ikken basami one point pincer attack Fig. 1 p.110
ikken takabasami a one point high pincer attack Fig. 1 p.137
niken basami two point pincer attack Dia. 1 p. 157
niken takabasami two point high pincer attack Ref. Fig. p. 13
sangen basami a three point pincer attack Dia. 1 p. 7
hikuri-kaeshi a sequence which reverses itself
hazama two stones on a diagonal separated by one point e.g. Dia. 18 p. 17
hazama-tobi a one point diagonal jump e.g. Dia. 12 p. 16
hiki to draw back e.g. Dia. 1 p. 81
172
hiraki an extension e.g. Dia. 8 p. 10
Honinbo Sen the second most important annual Go title match in Japan
hoshi any of the nine points on the board marked by a dot
ikken a one point interval
jingasa a foolish shape consisting four stones in a solid pyramid
joseki an opening formula usually restricted to the corner
Judan Sen the "10th. dan" series, one of the top three yearly title matches in
Japan.
kado angular
kakari attack on a single corner stone e.g. :
ikken takagakari a one point high attack Dia. 3 p. 8
kogeirna kakari a small knight's attack Dia. 1 p. 7
ogeima kakari a large knight's attack Dia. 2 p. 8
kake an attacking move played diagonally above the enemy's stones. e.g.
Dia.22 p. 17
kaketsugi a diagonal connection e.g. Dia. 4 p. 12
kata a shoulder move
katatsugi a shoulder connection e.g. Dia.34 p. 20
katatsuki a shoulder attack e.g. Dia. 20 p. 49
keima knight shape e.g. Dia. 1 p. 22:
keshi a move played to diminish the enemy's area e.g. Dia. 6 p. 9
kikashi a forcing move which rnust be answered
kiri cut e.g. Dia. 5 p. 12.
kiri nobi to cut and extend e.g. Dia. 5 p. 27
ko a repetitive situation, where Black and White have one stone in ate al-
ternately, and in which following a capture by one player the opponent is
not permitted to recapture until he has made a move elsewhere on the
board
ko-aji small scale Go
kogeima the srnall knight shape e.g. Dia. 1 p. 7
komi a point handicap which Black gives to White to compensate him for
having: moved second
komoku a three-four point on the board
kosumi a diagonal extension e.g. Dia. 7 p. l0'
kosumi-tsuke a diagonal-touching move e.g. Dia. 4 p. 8
magari a hooking move e.g. Dia. 4 p. 23
Meijin Sen an annual championship, the most important in the Go world
miai points points which if one is played by one player the other is taken by
his. opponent and vice-versa
modori to fall back e.g. Dia.67 p. 77
173
mokuhadzushi a three-five point, at a diagonal from hoshi
moyo large prospective territory
mukai komoku opposing komoku e.g. Ref. Fig. p. 7
nadare literally-landslide. The name of a joseki discussed in Chapter 3.
nidan-bane a double hane e.g. Dia. 22 p. 143
niken a two point interval
nobi to extend one stone along a line e.g. Dia. 6 p. 14
nozoki a peeping move e.g. Dia. 4 p. 12
nuki a capture
pintsugi to connect two stones along a line e.g. Dia. 34 p. 51
ponnuki a four stone eye-shaped formation e.g. Dia.2s p. 50
ogeima a large knight's move e.g. Dia. 10 p. 24
osae a blocking move e.g. Dia. 8 p. 15
oshi t0 press e.g. Dia. 1 p. 26
sabaki a sequence of moves leaving one with a light resilient shape
sagari descending move, the player plays straight down towards the edge of
the board e.g. Dia. 5 p. 12
sangen a three point interval
san-san the three-three point directly under hoshi
seki a life and death battle which can't be won by a either side and so remains
on the board stalemated.
semeai a race to capture
sente to have the first move or to leave an encounter having the next move
first
shibori a tactic by which a player forces his opponent to capture some sac-
rifice stone and thereby gains some advantage. e.g. Dia. 17 p. 17
shicho a capturing chase shaped like a ladder which ends with the capture of
the pursued stones
shicho-atari a shicho break
shimari a corner enclosure consisting two stones e.g. :
ikken shimari one point enclosure Ref. Fig. p. 7
kogeima shimari small knight's enclosure Ref. Fig. p. 7
shita hane a hane underneath e.g. Fig. 5 p. 57
soto outer or outward
stuart dowsey see p. 174
suberi a sliding move, that slips under the opponent's stones e.g. Dia. 10 p. 24
suji see tesuji
tachi to stand up e.g. Dia. 4 p. 8
taisha a joseki in Chapter 3, characterized by an ogeima cover
taka high
174
tenuki to play in another part of the board ignoring one's opponent's last move
tesuji a clever move
tewari diagram an analysis diagram in which excess stones are removed and
the basic structure analyzed.
tobi a jump or jumping move e.g. :
ikken tobi a one point jump Dia. 1 p.111
niken tobi a two point jump Dia. 8 p. 13
tobi-komi a jump into the enemy's formation e.g. Dia. 13 p. 16
tsugi to connect e.g. Dia. 21 p. 17
tsuke to attach e.g. Dia. 8 p. 13
tsuke-koshi to attach at the waist of a knight formation e.g. Dia. 10 p.107
tsuke kaeshi a counter-tsuke
tsuki atari to hit against an enemy's stone e.g. Dia. 13 p. 24
tsume to extend and block or prevent the opponent from extending e.g. Dia. 3
p. 62
uchi inside
uchikomi an invasion e.g. Dia. 1 p. 14
uchi magari an inward magari e.g. Dia. 18 p.101
utegaishi a snap-back tactic e.g. Dia. 8 p. l59
wariuchi a wedging move e.g. Dia. 8 p. 10
watari to connect underneath, literally `to bridge' e.g. Dia.11 p. 16
yose the end or closing stage of the game
175
176

Modern Joseki and Fuseki - Volume 1 - Parallel Fuseki - by Sakata Eio PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Modern Joseki and Fuseki - Volume 1 - Parallel Fuseki - by Sakata Eio PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Modern Joseki and Fuseki - Volume 1 - Parallel Fuseki - by Sakata Eio PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What is the book about?

What is the book about?

What are komoku josekis?

What are komoku josekis?

Sakata Eio, Noninbo-Judan

translated and edited by

THE ISHI PRESS

PART I - Fuseki Type l: Black Shimari in the Upper Right Corner.................... 6

PART II - Fuseki Type 2: San-san and Komoku.................................................123

Definitions of Japanese Go Terms................................................................. 173

Dia. 1: Kogeima kakari

Dia. 3: Ikken takagakari

Dia. 6: Double-wing formation with a kogeima shimari

Reference Figure for Chapter 1.

Dia. 5: Black's resistance

Dia. 8: Niken tobi

Dia. 9: White stabilizes

Dia. 27. Profit versus outside thickness

Dia. 41: Ninth response; tenuki

Dia. 17: An example from an actual game

Dia. 8: A disadvantage for White

Dia. 18: Tesuji

Dia. 32: Sacrifice

Dia. 2: The usual way

Dia. 5: A fight in which neither side can gain an advantage

Dias. 9, 10, 11 and 12: Complete loss for White

Dia. 15: White 26 in Dia. 1

Dia. 19: Sabaki

Fig. 1: Opening stage (1-7)

Dia. 4: Preventing a shimari

Dia. 14: Oshi

Dia. 21: A high position

Dia. 28: Disadvantage

Dia. 34: Pin-tsugi

Next Play: How should White play?

Dia. 1: A good way

Dia. 1: Vital point

Fig. 1: Opening stage (1-10)

Reference figure : Ogeima kakari

Dia. 7: One way of playing

Dia. 16: Force

Dia. 21: Separation

Dia. 29: Cut

Dia. 33: Tsuke

Dia. 39: Vital point

Dia. 48: Capture

Dia. 52: White's cut

Dia. 58: Captured

Dia. 62: Nobi away from the corner

Dia. 77: Black's thickness

Dia. 1: Good point

Dia. 2: A good result for Black

Dia. 15: A bad strategy for Black

Dia. 20: Another way

Dia. 27: Katatsugi

Dia. 30: Point of focus

Dia. 35: Leave for the future

Dia. 39: Black's bad play