a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 17 . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . 16 15 . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . 4 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- Black 3: --------- A favourite fuseki of Kudo. He uses it in about half his games as Black so that he doesn't have to spend too much time in the opening. White 6: --------- It would be far more common to play a splitting attack (wariuchi) around r10 below the star point on the right side. A double shimari type game is relatively rare. Kudo said there were three big points. Goal one is to find them. Goal two is to find which one he chose. Goal three is to predict why. I think the reason he gave for his choice will startle you and show the gap in pro thinking and amateur thinking. It has to do with White 6. a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 17 . . . O . . . . . . . 9 138 . . . . . 17 16 . . . . . . . . . . 1110. 14. @ . . . 16 15 . . . O . . . . . . . 12. . . . . . . 15 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . 10 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . 4 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . . 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- Black 7: --------- He said there were other big points but this was the biggest/most important. The other two he gave were k16 which he said simply was "a good point", and f3, which he said was "a big point, but..." His explanation of why he chose q10 was "to punish White for not having come in with the wariuchi (splitting attack)" on the right. White 8: --------- Natural, said the pro. But he could equally have played on the centre of the lower side (he didn't say exactly where unfortunately - suggestions?). Black 9: --------- A favourite of Kudo. He could have played q14 and then White would play k16 (star point) - not q18 because he couldn't rely on Black answering at r17. White 10: --------- His idea was to move out into the centre and thus erase Black's moyo on the right, amongst other things (unspecified - but what?). White did not play r17, r16, q17, p16, o18, n15 simply because that would be following Black's orders. Black 11: --------- There was a choice: l17. But Takemiya Masaki said that if Black pulled back to l17, White would play n16, Black k15 and White r14. JF: A shade less control for Black perhaps? White 12: --------- White had a valid alternative too: n16. The likely continuation then was Black k17, White q14, Black p14, White p13, Black p15, White r17 - a dodging manoeuvre by White. Then would follow Black q17, White r16, Black q15, White r15, Black q13, White r14, Black o13, White p12, Black n14, White q12. The conclusion was that this exchange is even (White can count on getting in q18). Territory is about the same but Black is thicker {JF: Of course he has an extra stone in the area}. {JF: Comparing what I read in pro commentaries to what I hear amateurs say, the word "thick" is many, many more times commoner in pro talk. I'd suggest that would repay a good discussion} White 14: --------- Now, apart from any comments on the above, what is Black's move 15?. A chance to use those joseki dictionaries? a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 17 . . . O . . . . . . . @ @ O . . . . . 17 16 . . . . . . . . 16. @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . . O . . . . . 1917O . . . . . . . 15 14 . . . . . . . . . . 18. . . . . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15. . . 13 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . 10 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . 4 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . . 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- Black 15: --------- Before explaining Kudo's moves, for the benefit of the weaker players let me try to explain what is going on in macro terms. Black is building a moyo. In almost all moyo games the moyo builder would love to tempt the other side to invade it soon. He will then attack the invade and *** let him live small *** (no need to kill) and in the process build a strong wall that lets him secure the rest of the moyo as territory, like an oyster creating a pearl around a tiny piece of grit. Rash invasions into moyos like this tend to turn two thirds or even three quarters of the moyo into territory. However, you never see this in pro games. Instead, the other side will try to build up strength at a distance so that he can invade later and live not so small. That is what White is trying to do here with his centre group. Black of course is trying to keep White off balance by attacking him relentlessly. If he can do this well, he will not only retain sente but will build up strength in front of his moyo, and this is a secondary way of turning the moyo into territory. It becomes a bit tortuous, but Black will never rely on turning his moyo into territory and he will be prepared at any time to let White invade and live if, in the process, he can attack the invader to get strength to attack elsewhere. You will see all these points in this game. The top side is no man's land - what the Japanese call horse pasture, land too poor to grow rice on. If you try constructing various scenarios there, you will see that neither side can get much territory there in relation to the number of stones they have to invest (at least this early in the game). Now to the pro bit. Kudo played 15. q13. He mentioned q14 as a possibility, the move that springs to mind first. But he quoted against it the sequence that Jan van der Steen spotted: White peeps at p15, forcing Black q15 and can then turn to j16 in good order with his weakness covered. He gets the lead in the attack (next is Black l14, White l13, Black k15). Kudo then considered r14, with the idea of avoiding giving White a forcing move to cover his cutting point. He said it was also possible to play p14, a move that several rggers spotted (he didn't give variations - I think you are supposed to realise that it is not the tactical nuances that matter as much as concentrating on the right side). But he decided to try something different with q13. His thinking was this: if White peeps at p15, fine - Black will answer at q15. White can still turn to the top side to attack (in order to get a strong centre group, remember) but Black will have made a gain on the right side because then the stone on q13 is in a better position than a stone on q14 would have been. This sort of analysis is called tewari and is a big feature of professional opening play. When asked by a _very_ strong amateur about playing on the top at h17 (I think rggers mentioned only k17 and j17 so it is worth considering why the extra stretch), Kudo dismissed it out of hand as "no good" because it lets White play q15, r15, q14, r14, r16. White 16: --------- White declined to peep at p15 and played the high pincer. Black 19: --------- Black, regretfully but predictably played the deliberate bad shape of 19. k15 The reason Black could not play 19 at k14 was White cuts at k15, Black k17, White p15, Black q15 and White j17. Now I invite you to guess the next three moves (20, 21 and 22). They are not specially hard in themselves, but the idea is to get the right flow. A hint is given below so you can skip if desired. Hint ---- For the lower kyu players, White 20 is especially important to think about. Good advice that emanates from a Korean pro (I don't know who) via an American 4-dan is "be aggressive strategically, be modest tactically." Remember White's aims. a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 17 . . . O . . . . . 2627@ @ O . . 25. . 17 16 . . . . . . . . O . @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . . O . . . . 21@ @ O . . 242223. . 15 14 . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . . . 28. . 20. . . @ . . . 13 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . 10 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . 4 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . . 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- White 20: --------- White has achieved his aim of getting out into the centre. I don't think anyone got the full answer (White 20 to 22), although some got the first move, and some people spotted ideas that come up later in the game. I detected strong players getting an edge for the first time. Black 21: --------- Because it would be unbearable to allow White to get a "fanning the flames" kind of attack with j13 {this refers to the Japanese word aoru which is used in go to refer to the kind of chase where you are fanning flames or, if you like, beating the grass to drive the grouse up into the air for easy pickings. It's a useful image to help you get the right shape for a running attack, although you don't often see it in pro games} White 24: --------- The alternative r16 was of great interest as this was a new pattern (because of Black 15). They suggested Black would play atari at p15, White q14, Black r14, White p14, Black q17. But then it gets messy: White r17, Black r18, White s18, Black q18, White s16. The black stones are not easy to capture as he has a potential ladder breaker at q12, then if White p16, Black s15. But as the ladder favours White just now, Black would have to try something else first. Black 25: --------- Intermediate question: Was the new move Black 15 to be judged a success or not? White 26: --------- Cheeky. White 28: --------- g16 was rejected because of Black h15, White h16, Black g15. {JF I'd say because it makes White thin above and below and loses touch with the real focal point - the centre and right-side} Now Black 29 was seen as a good move. What was it? Remember always to think of White's best replies but what you have to keep in mind here is shape and what flows from that: thick/thin and heavy/light shapes. Background noise ---------------- In a book of 200 fuseki problems (this game is still in the fuseki by the way) put out by the Nihon Ki-in, there was an afterword in which they said they had analysed which proverbs were most relevant to the answers. The most important by a long, long way was "urgent points before big points." Also very important was "a two-space extension makes a nice house." Coming up behind this were "a one-space jump is never bad" and "attack is the best form of defence." They mentioned also: "Kosumi in the opening is a good move," "Keep away from thickness {yours as well as the opponent's}", "One side high, the other side low,", "the star point leaves invasion at 3-3" and "it's a long lane that has no loaf on the bread". {After reading the suggestions by the readers of rec.games.go} So far nearly everyone seems to have missed the mark. One thing that will help is to look at the three black stones on L17, M17 and N17 and recall your go proverbs. This becomes significant later in the game, too. By way of an ultra-subtle hint, here's a story about Cho Chikun. It came in a book on Go Seigen where the author, a noted newspaper go reporter, was trying to explain Go's vision of 21st century fuseki. It is based on the "six unities" (North, South, East, West, above, below) or the "three axes" (vertical, horizontal and whatever the other one's called). The writer was trying to get his mind round what this 3-dimensional vision of go was when he was lucky to get a shaft of illumination from Cho. Cho was locked in a tense game with Takemiya where Cho had a group fighting for oxygen inside one of Takemiya's floating space stations. The talk in the press room was that if the group lived Cho won; if it died he lost. Our author duly noted this and when, in the end, Cho won he asked him how he had felt about the life and death battle during the game. Cho looked surprised and said he hadn't been thinking about it at all. What he thought about was the resulting situation roundabout if the group lived and the situation if it died. He was happy to accept either eventuality if it gave him the right result. The author saw this as one facet of the extra dimension. I might add that Takemiya makes similar points about his moyo game (i.e he doesn't think about moyos, but about something beyond them). What I am getting at in relation to the Big Game is that many people seem to focus too much on local tactics or short term gains. What I think Black and White are trying to do here in getting good shape has relatively little to do with the local situation and a lot more to do with setting themselves up strongly to be in a position to fight better _much_ later in the game. You should therefore be trying to work out where future developments are likely to occur. a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . . 34. . . . . . . . . . . . 18 17 . . . O . 3332. . O @ @ @ O . . @ . . 17 16 . . . . . . 2930O . @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . . O . . . 31@ @ @ O . . O O @ . . 15 14 . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . . . O . . O . . . @ . . . 13 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . 10 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . 4 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . . 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- Black 29: --------- Black h16 instead was described as bad because it made Black heavy: White h17, Black g17, White g18, Black g16, White f18. White 30: --------- White g18 was rejected because it lets Black settle himself with profit too easily: Black h17, White h18, Black j17, White j18, Black k18. White 34: --------- Now I invite you to find Black's move 35 but I will tell you the choice is between: (1) Black f16, White f18, Black g13 (2) Black g15, White f18, Black g13 Which is better and why? Terms (from Japanese dictionaries) ----- Honte: The proper move. A move that at first sight looks slack but which is the most appropriate to the situation. Background noise ---------------- As, relatively speaking, a non-player and more of an observer, I notice a huge difference in the way pros and amas talk about the game. The words differ (pros say thick, thin, amas say kill, kill), and amas try to explain their thoughts more through showing tactical sequences than pros do. But of course pros see all the tactics we do, and more. Ishida Yoshio is fond of saying that pros see "a thousand moves at a glance". While that's an exaggeration, Fujisawa Hideyuki more temperately claimed that he would see 20 to 30 moves at a glance and, counting the variations that would instantly spin off, 200-300 moves in total. I can recall being gobsmacked watching a commentary by Feng Yun on a game she had never seen. Someone asked about a nice-looking (i.e. crass) move and she looked startled and _instantly_ said that was no good because of the ladder. What ladder, we all chorused. She then flung a few stones on the wall-board, wiggled her finger halfway across the board, round a couple of corners, up a dale and down a dell... I think that's when I gave up pretending to be a go player. At any rate, it convinced me that Fujisawa was not exaggerating. Yet all this remains normally hidden when pros talk. Go Seigen said he spent next to no time working out tactics. He spent almost all his time counting, and favoured the move that gave the simplest win. He said Kitani Minoru, famous for using all his time, also saw all the possible moves instantly but spent the rest of the time comparing one with another, to find the best rather than the safest. Maeda Nobuaki said he thought a long time only when he was confused, but nearly always ended up playing the move he saw first. When pros talk to each other they say shorthand things like, "That's no good because of the hane" when there's no possible hane for miles around, yet understand each other perfectly. When the go reporter asks where it is, they are shown a variation with hane on move 12. The book where I saw the comment above about Ishida appended a cartoon with a bushy tree growing out of a go board. There was no caption but I think it alluded to a story about a famous Zen monk, Takuan Soho. Giving advice to a swordsman, he said that when his mind was working and he looked at a tree, his gaze fixed on a leaf and that became all he saw. But when his mind stopped being active and he achieved "no mind" he saw every single leaf. This goal of "no mind" (mushin) is often cited by pros as something they strive to achieve too. Although the phrase may conjure up incense sticks and vegetarian sandles, it is a state that most of you will have experienced. You probably have similar abilities to the go pros in your own profession, but one thing most of us have in common is that when you drive a car, you can probably drive safely even while still talking, eating, listening the radio, etc. The automatic responses you have learnt take care of the gear changing, mirror glances, steering touches, road watching (the 1000 moves of tactics), leaving your attention free for more important things (strategy - the moyo here!). You will probably have also achieved that even more blissful state where you have driven 100 miles up the motorway and suddenly realise you have absolutely no recollection of getting there - yet you obviously did. Think of "no mind" as that sort of automaticity. The oft cited advice of pros to play over 1000 games to reach shodan is the same advice as martial artists get to practice their forms (kata) until they become automatic, or mind- free. a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . 36O . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 17 . . . O . @ O . . O @ @ @ O . . @ . . 17 16 . . . . . . @ O O . @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . . O 40. 35@ @ @ @ O . . O O @ . . 15 14 . . . 3941. . . . . O . . . . . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . 37. O . . O . . . @ . . . 13 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 11 . . . . . 42. 38. . . . . . . . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . 10 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . 4 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . . 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- Black 35: --------- The pro commentary was that Black 35 was the "proper move" (honte) and they said amateurs would play instead f16 (true in my case). This was explained by the proverb that Jan spotted: "Sacrifice stones used for forcing moves" (Kikashita ishi wa sute yo) - perhaps rather more accurately put as "sacrifice stones that have served their purpose". This refers to the black stone at f17. They then went on to say that "sacrifice" here really means "treat lightly", which is "the same thing in go theory". The other proverb I'd been dropping broad hints about, for use later in this game, was also spotted by at least a couple of people so I'll mention it now: "The comb formation is alive" which refers to the three black stones at L17, m17 and n17 being able to live (though in gote) with the shape o18+o19 and k18+k19. White 38: --------- The commentary added that g13 was an urgent point (=vital point) for both sides ("urgent points before big points") and that White 38 was attacking. A final comment on "shape" (katachi) since it seems to cause a lot of bafflement to lower kyu players in r.g.g. A definition from a Japanese book first (it distinguishes two uses): 1. The vital point for defence. When you are reinforcing stones, if you play on the most appropriate point you say, "This point is (good) shape." 2. The pattern of stones. We say it is either "a good shape" or "a bad shape." But there is a lot more that can be said about it. One of the most perceptive comments I saw was by the Mihori Tadashi who was recently spotlighted in David Carlton's pages. Alluding presumably to the famous Dao De Jing where Lao Zi points out that what makes a house valuable is the space created by the doors and windows, what makes a bowl valuable is the space inside it, etc., Mihori said that good shape in go could be defined by how much can be left out - doing a job with the fewest stones and leaving the maximum safe gaps between them. Black 39: --------- A severe move forcing White to respond. White 40: --------- White 40 at e15 was commented on in some tactical detail, simply to explain that it is a mistake for White to try to attack too strongly here, for example with 40. c14. The sequence shown was (after White c14): Black c13 hane; White e14 atari Black d13 connects; White e13 pushes along Black e15 cuts; White e16 atari Black f15 connects; White e12 extends Black c15 cuts; White d16 connects Black b14 takes; White f11 seals Black in But now Black, having, made big gains on the left side, is happy to live in gote with Black o18, White p18, Black o19, White p17 on one side, and then Black k18, White j18, Black k19 on the other. White 40 at e14 (hane on top) was also condemned. What follows is: Black e15 crosscuts; White e13 extends Black d16 atari; White c15 extends from atari Black c16 pushes thru; White e16 cuts Black e17 countercuts; White f15 takes Black f16 atari White 42: --------- This move was described as a mistake. The questions to answer are: 1. Why? (The commentary uses a single word - no tactics needed) 2. Where should he have played? Background noise ---------------- As you would expect, there are pros who have little superstitions during games, and there are those who betray whether they are ahead or behind with little mannerisms. But there is another class that I came across that surprised me. Cho Chikun is supposed to take matches out of a match box and repeatedly snap them. Rin Kaiho beats his fan rather noisily (shades of Blackadder and Baldrick), to the annoyance of many opponents (Fujisawa Hideyuki once complained and Rin was obliged to use a small, noisless fan). Hashimoto Shoji had the same habit, and Kitani used to beat so many fans to death he had to bring several to a game. Hane Yasumasa was famous for twisting tissue papers into little strings and by the end of a game would have a pile of as many as 100 beside him. Kato is reputed to take his watch off and repeatedly twirl it through his fingers. What I found remarkable though was the phrase used in the explanation given for these particular habits: they were designed to create "a rhythm for thinking." How does one think rhythmically? Is it better that way? a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 17 . . . O . @ O . . O @ @ @ O . . @ . . 17 16 . . . . . . @ O O . @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . 44O O . @ @ @ @ @ O . . O O @ . . 15 14 . . 43@ @ . . . . . O . . . . . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . @ 49O 50. O . . . @ . . . 13 12 . . . . . . . 4847. . . . . . . . . . 12 11 . . . 45. O . O . . . . . . . . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . 10 9 . . . 46. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . 4 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . . 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- White 44: --------- If White d11 instead, Black b17 is too big. Black 45: --------- A rough assessment was made of who is ahead. Part 1 of the question: Who and why? (No catch) White 46: --------- No choice, said O. But the fact he had to play here anyway is one reason why White 42 at d10 would clearly have been more sensible, he said. White 50: --------- This cut by Black achieves nothing at the moment, the commentary said, but Black felt it would prove useful later - of course he had to secure his connection anyway at 49, so it was a good chance to play it, they said. The second and main part of this question now is: Where is the next move for Black (of course it's on the lower side) and the next move for White? No catch, but if stronger players think it too easy, here's an extra dimension. You may recall I mentioned a story about Feng Yun citing a ladder when a bunch of us amateurs couldn't even see there was a ladder. Well there's a ladder lurking here too, and it has a bearing on the lower side. Where is it? Part 3 (the game's getting complex): I'm sure everyone has had half a mind on the Black moyo. The pros pointed out one particular point as suitable for an invasion (though there were other possibles, they said), and while White didn't actually get it, it determined how Black played in the next couple of moves. Background noise ---------------- In a formal game in Japan, one of the seats is regarded as the seat of honour. In a title game it is occupied by the holder, otherwise the higher ranked player sits there. In games between equally graded Nihon Ki-in and Kansai Ki-in players they even check on dates of promotions for seniority, just like the Army. If it is necessary to decide who takes Black, whoever sits in the seat of honour (in amateur games this is simply the seat occupied by the older player) is meant to take the white stones and do "nigiri" - take a handful (which is what nigiri means) of stones and place them on the board with his hand on top. Black is then supposed to take either one stone to signify odd or two stones to signify even and place them on the board. He can also say "hansen" for "odd Black" and "chousen" for "even Black". The player with the white stones then separates them into twos, to see if there is one or none left over. The allocation of Black and White is then decided by whatever guess was made by the player with the black stones. Of course, even in a country as wedded to formality as Japan there are plenty of exceptions. Kitani was fond of taking _two_ handfuls of stones (Japanese nouns have no singular or plural so it is still nigiri!). There are also plenty of stories of fighting over avoiding the seat of honour. In Game 1 of the 1st Kisei, Hashimoto Utaro made sure he got in to the room first and occupied the humble seat. When Fujisawa Hideyuki came in he put his arms around Hashimoto and tried to manhandle him over to the seat of honour. Hashimoto refused to budge, so in the end Fujisawa sat there. He then did nigiri but the result was that Hashimoto got White, so they had to swap seats anyway. Associating White with the stronger player is a Japanese thing. In China Black used to be regarded as a better colour symbolically - the character xuan, covering all the colours of the heavens and so ranging from blue to black, was linked with a superior mind. White was the colour of the clothes of someone who had no rank or salary. In Japan white is generally seen as a more auspicious colour, though there are some significant exceptions (in sports and games the best known is judo black belts being higher than white). As to the position of the first move, I find quite a few westerners get quite worked up about this if it's not in the top right corner. It is of course the etiquette in Japan, but it's their culture not ours, and it's not something they seem too bothered about anyway. There are several examples of players playing elsewhere in the past, though nowadays with so many games being separately recorded and then published, there is strong pressure to normalise the board position for that reason alone. There are several left-handed pros, but I think all still use their right hand to make moves. One special case is Sonoda Yuichi who cannot use his right hand because of infantile paralysis. Can someone please add details for similar aspects in China, Taiwan and Korea? And has anyone observed the rituals in international games? a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 17 . . . O . @ O . . O @ @ @ O . . @ . . 17 16 . . . . . . @ O O . @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . O O O . @ @ @ @ @ O . . O O @ . . 15 14 . . @ @ @ . . . . . O . . 5356. . . . 14 13 . . . . . . @ @ O O . O . . 54@ . . . 13 12 . . . . . . . O @ . . . . 585557. . . 12 11 . . . @ . O . O . . . . . 59. . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . 10 9 . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 . . . O . . . . . 51. 60. . . . @ . . 4 3 . . . . . . . 52. . . . . . @ . . . . 3 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- Black 51: --------- The commentary said this was the only big point left and by getting it Black now had the lead. Black has a promising position on the right, it said, but it also had holes. It said there were various points for White to start something, but the one they highlighted was R11. This was connected with the ladder mentioned. As Mike Scudder spotted after the second hint, this comes about with W R14, B Q14, W S15, B R16, W R13, B R12, W Q12, B P12, crossing row #4 at G-K (hence the importance of plays on the lower side). White 52: --------- Although 41 was the cited as the last big point, the commentary says this move is also a big point. I think we have to infer that Black k4 in effect created another tier of slightly smaller big points. Black 53: --------- The commentary said the idea was to settle part of the right side so as to remove aji there. This move is not so much a forcing move as an inducing move, because it expects not O15 but... White 58: --------- White would like to defend at O13 but that would be gote and he would fall too far behind in development. White 60: --------- The question now is to find Black 61. It is not specially hard (certainly no long sequences), and seeing the move my reaction was "Of course". But truth to tell I don't think I would have played it myself, and I think that few amateurs, unprompted, could match the convincing clarity and above all the _simplicity_ of thought the pro showed in explaining his choice. See now, with that prompt, whether you can match in some way his single short sentence. It's not a proverb this time (at least not a standard one). Background noise ---------------- Everybody loves Shusaku. Here's the latest news on him (not in Invincible). 24 new games were discovered in Nagano City in 1993 by Nakata Keizo when, ironically, he was researching the travels there of Honinbo Shuho. He heard that Shuho stayed in the house of a distinguished land-owning family whose 13th generation head was then Sumita Akio. He had a copy of an Edo period book, Toryu Gokyo Taizen by Akiyama Senboku, which he thought was the only valuable go item he had, and he showed it to Nakata. Only later did he fetch out of an apple box in his storeroom 4 handwritten books one of which was a record of a league played by pros in 1866. The Sumita collection turned out to have over 200 games, around 30 being new games of the Honinbo family (Jowa, Shuwa, Shusaku and Shuho). The Shusaku games were in a small booklet about 10 cm square which contained 64 games. Black's moves were written in black ink and White's in red ink. 16 were unknown, and some of the rest had different dates from previous editions. Another six were discovered in the Shiraki collection of Yonekubo Sadao of Sajiki in Ahiojiri City. He held what had been passed down by a late Edo player from the same area, Shiraki Sukeemon (1806-1885) who had written the book Kika Keifu recording go history of over 100 players from Honinbo Retsugen on to late Edo. The collection included a huge haul of Shiraki~Rs own games and letters, and games by others, ranking lists and a unique copy of Honinbo Sansa's diploma - plus lot of new info on the Honinbo family, especialy Shuwa, through the letters. One of the Shusaku games in his collection now becomes the latest known Shusaku game (an unfinished game of 38 moves against Narabayashi, dated 23rd of 5th month 1862 - Shusaku died on 10th of 8th that year.) One of the letters is from Shuwa to Shusaku's father relating his death: "Shusaku was abstaining from meat during mourning (for his mother) this Spring. He ate a lot of shiitake mushrooms and perhaps because of that became very dizzy, suffered badly from boils on his head and had trouble with his eyes. In the sixth month, although he gradually made a complete recovery, he was weaker than usual and measles was raging. Both the pupils and the womenfolk took great care of him with medicines and so on, and he slowly got better, much to our relief. But on the 3rd day of the 8th month he relapsed a little, then on the fourth he had violent evacuations. Although we tried various other treatments, he was unable to recover and passed away of his illness between noon and one o'clock on the tenth day. Above all he was naturally of superior wit and intelligence, and his skill was recognised by all. Everyone, from his seniors to his pupils, said he could have become the Godokoro, but now he has left us in mid-course and that is now only a dream in our hearts." It was the go researcher Araki Naomi, who was a professor of medicine, who inferred in the 1950s that Shusaku died of cholera (and that this was the third such epidemic in Edo, probably brought by westerners) but at the time Shuwa thought it was measles. The famous go book Zain Danso, written by a contemporary, also said that measles was highly prevalent and countless people suffered from it. Zain Danso also says many in the Honinbo family were afflicted and forced to their sickbeds. Despite being asked by Shuwa to desist, Shusaku spent a lot of time tending them and caught the same disease. On the 2nd of the 8th month (the day before Shusaku fell ill), Shuwa wrote to Shusaku's father asking if he had had measles as a child, and in another letter of the 8th of the 7th month he had said measles was raging in the latter part of the 5th month. So they all thought Shusaku had died of that. The earlier weakness of Shusaku probably explains why he did not finish the game against Narabayashi, and we can safely infer that he played no others. If you wish to see all the new games by Shusaku, you can buy the new complete collection (about 200 pounds), but quite a lot are in a small book on Shusaku by Fukui (Shurei Shusaku, Nihon Ki-in, with pro commentary) or a book by Nakata (Basho wa go o utta ka - "Did Basho play go?", Shinano Mainichi Newspapers) which is a wide-ranging collection of essays on old go. The above is largely based on the latter, which can be highly recommended. a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . O O . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 17 . . . O . @ O . . O @ @ @ O . . @ . . 17 16 . . . . . . @ O O . @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . O O O . @ @ @ @ @ O . . O O @ . . 15 14 . . @ @ @ . . . . . O . . @ O . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . @ @ O O . O . 64O @ . . . 13 12 . . . . . . . O @ . . . 63O @ @ . . . 12 11 . . . @ . O . O . . . . . @ . . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ . . . 10 9 . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 . . 9698. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7 . . 959297. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 . . 879394. . . . . . 62. . . . . . . 6 5 . . . 8268. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 . 8581O 67667074. @ 0 O . . . . @ . . 4 3 . 837271696573O 809099. . . @ . . . . 3 2 1 868488. 777675786191. . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . 79. 89. . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- Black 61: --------- Black played 61. K2, as many people guessed, tho I don't think anyone gave quite the reason in the commentary, namely that it creates miai of connection at N3 and invasion at F3. Do you agree with me that once you've seen that simple explanation other moves seem somehow superfluous. I think it is a common fault of amateurs to try too hard, and I would put J5, the other big favourite, in that category. I would also slate J5 if you said it was a "shape move" in this position (I think some people did). Thinking that way is static. The pro alternative (creating miai) is dynamic. This is a hobby horse of mine which I've ridden often enough already in public so I'll say no more. White 62: --------- White replied 62. M6. The commentary said simply that if he didn't pull this group out it would come under attack. Leaving aside my gut reaction to attack it anyway, what the commentary does not say is just as important. There is no reference to attacking Black, no reference to squelching moyos (actually you won't see a move there for another 40+ moves). I think you'll agree pros are more patient than we are. "More haste less speed" would be a useful addition to the go proverb repository. Black 63: --------- Black interposed 63. N12 for 64. O13. I think only one person spotted this (Roy Schmidt?). Black 65: --------- Black then played 65. F3. This attacks the white stones on the M line, says the commentary, in that if it induces White H5 Black then gets to play K6 and White will have to keep himself busy on two fronts. (I probably would have skipped Black 65 and attacked one-dimensionally at K6, committing the cardinal sin of driving the opponent into my own moyo). I am going to whizz on a bit now, for two reasons. One is that we are coming to some heavy tactical sequences which do not lend themselves readily to questions (too few different type moves to consider) or to presentation in this ascii format. The other reason is that I don't want this thread to overstay its welcome. So the next big chunk of moves (with commentary) is given below, and the diagram shows the position after these are played. White 66: --------- natural Black 67: --------- The only move Black considered. He allowed that g3, g4, h2, h4 (not e3 as Black h4 is too thick), e3, d3, e4, e5, k2 was a powerful alternative. Black 71: --------- natural sequence White 72: --------- Forced. c5 would be a shape-only move with no affect on White. What would follow is c3, g2, k6. Black 73: --------- Not c2, c4, b2, g2 (gote for B) And not c4, d5, b3, c2, b2, c5, b4, g3, d2, m2. Black 77: --------- Realises he has made a mistake. Was expecting to play j3, g1, j2, f2, c4, d5, c2, b3, e2. But he suddenly saw that in this sequence White can replace d5 with d2: d5*, e2, d4, b3, e6, f5, d7, g7, b4, a4, a5, a3, b6, m2. In that light, 67. g3 was probably better. White 86: --------- c4, b2, k3 is not enough for White because Black will play o6 and get the whole right side as territory (What? You thought he had it already?!). White 88: --------- j1, d2, d7 is similarly not enough (Black plays o6. The hole at e10 cripples White.). Black 89: --------- if a2, White j1 and Black is then forced to take off the white stones in the corner, losing a lot of territory in the process. (This sort of play by White is called semedori and is a useful concept to isolate and learn). Black 93: --------- with this and his next Black appears to be filling in his own liberties, but he is actually defending against c5 which leads to a one-step approach move ko in the corner (sequence: b5, b7, b6, c7, a2, a3, a4, a1, b1, c1). Black 99: --------- White still has tricks in the corner: c5, b5, b8, b6, a2. The "but" will be understood after this instalment's question. Black 101: --------- Your task is now to find two pro-looking moves: 102 and 103. The 103 played was not actually the best move, but it _was_ a pro-type move. Because of the length of the above, Background Noise this time will reduced to a whimper in the form of a question/puzzle. How many animals can you think of as being intimately associated with go (on or off the board). Monkey jump and clam shells give you two. I have jotted down a list of about 30 so far, most on the board. My answers next time. Hint 1. A secondary clue: no-one I think has hit the nail(s) on the head, but Barry Phease was moving in the right direction. Too much emphasis is being put on the lower left corner. 2. Here is my own list of go animals: I didn't think of including players' names that happened to have an animal in them, and there are none here. It's fair enough to include rabbity six and horse's neck, but it may be worth pointing out that these are not Japanese or Chinese terms, which is what I have restricted myself to here. J. = Japanese, C. = Chinese. Where the terms exist in both languages I have given precedence to Japanese. 1. Monkey jump (J. saru suberi, or o:zaru if referring specifically to the large one) 2. Dragonfly - the shape m17, q16, r12 (J. o:tonbo, or the smaller version kotonbo) 3. Snake - as in the special live position "two-headed snake"(J. ryo:to: no hebi no iki) 4. Dragon - as in a similar position (J. so:ryu: no iki - double-dragon life) 5. Turtle as in turtleshell shape (J. Kame no ko:) or deba kame (booktoothed turtle - said of a game full of peeps) 6. Crane's nest (J. tsuru no sugomori) 7. Horse as in knight's move (literally laurel horse; J. keima and variants such as kogeima, o:geima, yokogeima) 8. Crow - as in Three Crows (J. sanbagarasu - the top three stars of a generation, or the shape c15, d16, e17) 9. Heron - as in U-ro (Crows and herons = go stones = whimsical name for go) 10. Wild goose as in Flight of Three Geese, a special variant of the Three Crows shape (J. sanganko:) 11. Cockroach - famous figure in the British Go Journal (J. gokiburi) 12. Racoon dog as in the tesuji Drumming on the Belly of ... (J. tanuki no haratsuzumi) 13. Goblin as in the tesuji Tweaking the Goblin's Long Nose (J. tengu no hanazuke) 14. Boar as in the Large Boar's Snout - the J Group (C. da4 zhu1 zui3) and a smaller version (xiao3 zhu1 zui3) 15. Swallow as in Two Flying Swallows, approach moves c6 and f3 against an enemy stone at d4 (C. shuang1 fei1 yan4) 16. Tiger as in Tiger's Mouth - the shape d4, c5, d6 (C. hu3 kou3, generally in Chinese abbreviated to tiger - hu3, or variants such as C. shuang1 hu3) 17. Oriole as in Oriole Siezes a Rabbit - a tesuji but needs a big diagram (C. huang2 ying1 pu1 tu4) 18. Rabbit, as above 19. Butterfly as in Oriole Siezes a Butterfly - a variant of above (C. huang2 ying1 pu1 die2) 20. Ex-pig as in A Cheap Pork Cutlet (J. yasumono no tonkatsu), referring to the case when a player has all thickness (batter) and no territory (meat) - "all icing and no cake". 21. Cat as in Cat's Paws Go Board, referring to a kind of legs (J. nekoashi no ban) 22. Duck - Japanese slang for a sucker, as in gambling go (J. kamo) 23. Crab as in Crab's Eyes - the opening c15, r15 (J. kani no me) 24. Clam (J. hamaguri) 25. Mole as in Mole Opening, e2 against d4 (J. mogura) 26. Octopus as in An Octopus in a Kettle, referring to a group bottled up so that its limbs stick out (J. yakan no tako) 27. Eel, through a pun on the phrase unagi no kabayaki, broiled eels; you suggest to the opponent that you both go and eat broiled eels but use onage = resign instead (onage no kabayaki) as an unsubtle hint 28. Cockerel as in Gold Cockerel Stands on One Leg - needs a diagram but involves extending down from a single stone in atari on the third line in order to kill a group (C. jin1 ji1 du2 li4 - from martial arts) 29. Rat as in Rat Steals the Fat - needs a diagram (C. lao3 shu3 tou1 you2) 30. Fox as in Wood Fox. Foxes in Japan are believe to bewitch many things. The fox that bewitches go and shogi boards is bokuyako. 31. Piglet as in referring to a small group that is fattened (made heavy) before being slaughtered (J. buta no ko) Phrases using humans such as oiran go and Mori no Ishimatsu are omitted. Tengu is included but not other unearthly beings (eg Kannonbiraki). Maybe someone very creative fancies devising a web page of this menagerie. Then we can go on to the flora..... a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . O O . . . . . . 20. 2425. . 18 17 . . . O . @ O . . O @ @ @ O . . @ . . 17 16 . . . . . . @ O O . @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . O O O . @ @ @ @ @ O . . O O @ . . 15 14 . . @ @ @ . . . . . O . . @ O . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . @ @ O O . O . O O @ . . . 13 12 . . . . 2321. O @ . . . @ O @ @ . . . 12 11 . . . @ 22O . O . 26. 19. @ . . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . 28. . . . @ 9 . . 10 9 . . . O . . . . . . 2729. . . . 8 . . 9 8 . . O O . . . . . . . . 11. . . . . . 8 7 . . @ O @ 2 . . . . . 13. . 10. . . . 7 6 . . @ @ O . . . . . 16O . 18. . 6 . . 6 5 . . . O O . . . . . . . . . 125 4 . . 5 4 . @ @ O @ O O O . @ O O . . 1714@ 7 . 4 3 . @ O @ @ @ @ O O O @ . . 3 @ 15. . . 3 2 @ O O O . @ . @ O @ @ . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . @ . @ . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- White 102: --------- The pro-looking moves, which I don't think anyone got, were, first, White 102. f7. The commentary says White cannot win if he plays c5 instead because after b5, b8, f5, f6, g5, g6, h5, h6, j5, j6, k6, k7 Black still has a cutting point at L7. Black 103: --------- Black's "pro" move was 103. o3 to secure the lower side territory (what, you thought it was secure already?). But the commentary said it was better (bigger) to play o6, the move I imagine we amateurs would play. This will be the last question instalment. The rest of the moves will be given in the answer. First, some more moves and pro commentary: White 104: --------- Tries tricks. He cannot win if he lets Black surround this whole area. Black 105: --------- Playing s4 would just mean being forced - inconceivable play for a pro. Black 109: --------- If q6 instead, one possible result is r14, q14, s15, r16, s11, s12, r11, s14, q7, p7, q8. It is unclear who gets the better of this. For White a minus is having to use up his aji at r14. For Black a minus is being forced at r10. White 110: --------- White appears to have succeeded, but Black plans to attack this group so as to chase it into the white moyo on the left, thereby reducing it. Black 111: --------- Sedate attack. The more vigorous attack was n7, p5, m7, o8. White 116: --------- The game is close because White has reduced the right side. Black has a large lower side but the lower left corner is a one-move approach ko (already explained). White 118: --------- p6 was bigger White 120: --------- Encourages Black to live. Black 121: --------- And Black still has this sequence if he wants it, to make one eye even at the top: k18, j18, L19, j19, n18, n19, m19, L18, o19, threatening to connect or to connect at k19 (but White can make it a ko by playing L18 before n19). White 126: --------- Combines defence with walling off territory. What it defends against is n15, n14, n16, o15, k11. Black 127: --------- Not L7 because that ends in gote: k7, k8, j8, j7, k6, j9, h8, k10. Black 129: --------- White now missed a Golden Opportunity (plug, plug). A bit tactical this time, but nothing too exotic. He actually played 130. s9. What should he have done? Background noise ---------------- Another example of pros being plonkers (just to encourage the rest of us): In a tv game, Nakamura Hidehito, then 7d, was playing Miyazawa Goro, then 6d. When the game was over and they counted up, it appeared that Nakamura had won by 2.5. Miyazawa was surprised as he had thought he was ahead, and in his disappointment leant back. Whereupon he noticed three prisoners in his lid and so immediately lodged an objection. Although the Nihon Ki-in rules clearly state that no objections can be entertained once the result has been agreed, Miyazawa was given the game on the grounds that he had not formally acknowledged his loss (he had not said "makemashita"). The correct etiquette with a Japanese board is to place your bowl at the centre of the side nearest you, and the lid at your lower right corner in full view of the opponent. Miyazawa obviously hadn't done this, so he should have lost for that reason alone in my view. But this teaches us some important lessons for go: (1) Never admit you lost (a bit tough for many amateurs this, because in their Weltanschau the other guy never wins - they lose all on their own); (2) Learn the leaning back tesuji. If you lean back far enough you can fall over and topple the board with you. This tesuji can of course be assimilated more quickly by imbibing suitable quantities of falling-over liquid. Hint ---- You are meant to play the yose ko in the lower left. I have already given a sequence to show how it starts, but the idea now is to see how it develops beyond that (which includes thinking about ko threats). Background noise ---------------- I have posted the summary results from the Japanese pro database before. Here is a little more detail. 1. Games with no komi in the Oteai, Saiko-i and Saikyo tournaments There were 30,876 games. Black won 17,519 (58.1%) and White 12,626 (41.9%). 731 were ties or no results. 2. Games with 4.5 or 5.5 komi in the period 1960-75. Regrettably they do not distinguish games according to komi, but the following were with 4.5 at least most of the time: Honinbo, Nihon Kiin Ch'ship, All Japan 1st Place, Nihon Kiin 1st Place, Hayago Meijin, Young Players. The following were mostly 5.5: Meijin, 10-dan, Oza, Prime Minister's Cup, NHK, Hayago, New Stars, New Faces, Japan Series, Pro Best 10, Chubu Top Place. Tokyo Shinbun Cup was 5.0 and play again if jigo. There were a few other tournaments I haven't checked. Allowing for the fact that certain tournaments have far more games than others, I'd estimate the split as roughly 40:60 for 4.5 against 5.5 or, if anything, slightly less. There were 19,571 games in this category. Black won 10,402 or 54.5% and White won 8,691 (45.5%), with 478 tied/no result. 3. Games with 5.5 komi since 1975 (when 4.5 was abolished) There were 51,711 games. Black won 26,882 (53.0%) and White won 23,798 (47.0%). 1,031 were ties/no result (these are excluded from all percentages here). To repeat for ease of comparison: Black White No komi: 58.1 41.9 4.5/5.5: 54.5 45.5 5.5 : 53.0 47.0 The size of the komi therefore appears to have a clear effect: at first glance 1 point komi is not too far off 1 percentage point. However, there is a curious phenomenon to account for. In the period 1986-95 (i.e. roughly half the period of 5.5 komi alone) White improved his ratio slightly (Black won 16,146 games = 52.7%, White 14,510 ), which implies it was worse in the first half of this period. This is attributed by the Nihon Kiin to the beneficial effect (for White) of nirensei by White, popular in that period, and the relative failure of the sanrensei for Black (I have already posted these figures). Another oddity is that Black does even better in 7-game title matches. In these he has a winning ratio of 54.2%. Possibly the very best players can exploit Black's inherent advantage a little bit more? Tentative proof of this is a comparison of the winning ratios for the top players, viz. As Black As White Kobayashi K. 69.8% 63.4% Cho 68.5% 65.0% Rin 66.1% 58.0% Kato 70.0% 61.4% Otake 66.0% 58.6% Takemiya 64.9% 59.8% Kobayashi S. 73.3% 66.2% Top 15 pros 68.1% 61.6% Two players in this list (O Rissei and Ryu Shikun) actually have a higher winning ratio with White, but in both cases they are well above 70% with either colour. There are several more oddities lower down the lists. E.g. Enda Hideki has a 64.6% winning ratio with White but only 51.5% with Black - the biggest discrepancy this way round. There are lots of players who have big winning ratios with Black and small ones with White. One big gap is Kanashima Tadashi 9d (Black 67.3%, White 49.0%). All these figures are based only on komi games for players who have played at least 200 games. a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . O O . 4645. . . O . O @ . . 18 17 . . . O . @ O . 48O @ @ @ O . . @ . . 17 16 . . . . . . @ O O 47@ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . O O O . @ @ @ @ @ O . . O O @ . . 15 14 . 41@ @ @ . . . . . O . . @ O . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . @ @ O O . O . O O @ . 33. 13 12 . . 4443@ @ . O @ . . . @ O @ @ . . . 12 11 . . 42@ O O . O . O . @ . @ . . . 32. 11 10 . . . . 49. . . . . O . . . . @ @ . . 10 9 . . . O . 50. . . 39@ @ . . . . O 30. 9 8 . . O O . . . . 4038. . @ . . . . . . 8 7 . 31@ O @ O . . . . . @ . . O . . . . 7 6 36. @ @ O . . . . . O O . O . . O . . 6 5 . 3534O O . . . . . . . . . O @ O . . 5 4 . @ @ O @ O O O . @ O O . . @ . @ @ . 4 3 . @ O @ @ @ @ O O O @ . . @ @ @ . . . 3 2 @ O O O 37@ . @ O @ @ . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . @ . @ . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- White 130: --------- This was a mistake, said White. He should have played the two-stage ko 'a', but the problem he had was assessing the ko threats. Even with hindsight he gave no clear view except that given the balance of the game he should have gambled. Black 137: --------- B7 would leave the same ko aji as before. White 140: --------- A smaller territory than he expected. White 144: --------- d10 fails to make any significant territory after Black j10. White 150: --------- Not 'a' a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . O O . . . . . . O . O @ . . 18 17 . . . O . @ O . . O @ @ @ O . . @ . . 17 16 . . . . . . @ O O . @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . O O O . @ @ @ @ @ O . . O O @ . . 15 14 . . @ @ @ . . . . . O . . @ O . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . @ @ O O . O . O O @ . . . 13 12 . . . . @ @ . O @ . . . @ O @ @ . . . 12 11 . . . @ O O . O . O . @ . @ . . . . . 11 10 . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . @ @ . . 10 9 . . . O . . . . . . @ @ . . . . O . . 9 8 . 13O O . . . . . . . . @ . . . . . . 8 7 6 4 @ O @ O . . . . . @ . . O . . . . 7 6 5 3 @ @ O . . . . . O O . O . . O . . 6 5 142 1 O O . . . . . . . . . O @ O . . 5 4 8 @ @ O @ O O O . @ O O . . @ . @ @ . 4 3 7 @ O @ @ @ @ O O O @ . . @ @ @ . . . 3 2 @ O O O 12@ . @ O @ @ . . . . . . . . 2 1 9 1011. . . @ . @ . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t W 1 -- W 15 ----------- 15 at 9 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 18 . . . . . O O . O @ . . . O . O @ . . 18 17 . . . O . @ O . O O @ @ @ O . . @ . . 17 16 . . . . . . @ O O @ @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . O O O . @ @ @ @ @ O . . O O @ . . 15 14 . @ @ @ @ . . . . . O . . @ O . . . . 14 13 . . . . . . @ @ O O . O . O O @ . @ . 13 12 . . O @ @ @ . O @ . . . @ O @ @ . . . 12 11 . . O @ O O 4 O . O . @ . @ . . . O . 11 10 . . . . @ 1 5 6 . . O . . . . @ @ . . 10 9 . . . O 3 2 . . . @ @ @ . . . . O O . 9 8 . . O O . . . . O O . . @ . . . . . . 8 7 . @ @ O @ O . . . . . @ . . O . . . . 7 6 O . @ @ O . . . . . O O . O . . O . . 6 5 . @ O O O . . . . . . . . . O @ O . . 5 4 . @ @ O @ O O O . @ O O . . @ . @ @ . 4 3 . @ O @ @ @ @ O O O @ . . @ @ @ . . . 3 2 @ O O O @ @ . @ O @ @ . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . @ . @ . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t W 1 -- B 6 ---------- a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727071. 19 18 . . . . . O O . O @ . . . O . O @ . . 18 17 . . . O . @ O . O O @ @ @ O 7473@ . . 17 16 . 56. . . . @ O O @ @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . O O O . @ @ @ @ @ O . . O O @ 67. 15 14 . @ @ @ @ . . . . . O . . @ O . 6669. 14 13 . . . . . . @ @ O O . O . O O @ 68@ . 13 12 . . O @ @ @ . O @ . . . @ O @ @ 7562. 12 11 . 84O @ O O 52O 92O . @ . @ . . . O . 11 10 . 585753@ 516191. . O . . . . @ @ 6364 10 9 968195O . O 599465@ @ @ . . . . O O . 9 8 8254O O . 608885O O . . @ . . . . . . 8 7 55@ @ O @ O 87868993. @ . . O 78. 80. 7 6 O 83@ @ O . 90. . . O O . O . 77O . . 6 5 . @ O O O . . . . . . . . . O @ O 7679 5 4 . @ @ O @ O O O . @ O O . . @ . @ @ . 4 3 . @ O @ @ @ @ O O O @ 98. @ @ @ . . . 3 2 @ O O O @ @ . @ O @ @ 99. . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . @ . @ . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- 197 at 185, 200 at 194 White 156: --------- He would like to play g9 but Black b15 is sente. Black 165: --------- Looks like he's connecting on a dame point, but not so - see the later moves. Black 167: --------- Slightly more profitable then s14. White 176: --------- How big is Black's terrritory at the bottom? Black 179: --------- 43 points. He has this sente play. Black 187: --------- White didn't see this move - one reason he overrated his centre territory. White 188: --------- Not 'a'.' White 192: --------- j10 is meaningless since even if Black is cut in two his groups to left and right can live independently. Note that L19 gives him an eye. a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O @ . 19 18 . . . . . O O . O @ . . . O . O @ . . 18 17 . . . O . @ O . O O @ @ @ O O @ @ . . 17 16 . O . . . . @ O O @ @ O . O . @ . . . 16 15 . . O O O . @ @ @ @ @ O . . O O @ @ . 15 14 . @ @ @ @ . . . . . O . . @ O . O @ . 14 13 . . . . . . @ @ O O . O . O O @ O @ . 13 12 . . O @ @ @ . O @ . . . @ O @ @ @ O . 12 11 . O O @ O O O O . O . @ . @ . . . O . 11 10 . O @ @ @ @ @ . . . O . . . . @ @ @ O 10 9 8 @ . O 6 O @ . @ @ @ @ . . . . O O . 9 8 O O O O 7 O 3 @ O O . . @ . . . . . . 8 7 @ @ @ O @ O @ O 1 . . @ . . O O . O . 7 6 O @ @ @ O 4 2 . . . O O . O . @ O . . 6 5 . @ O O O 5 . . . . . . . . O @ O O @ 5 4 . @ @ O @ O O O . @ O O . . @ . @ @ . 4 3 . @ O @ @ @ @ O O O @ . . @ @ @ . . . 3 2 @ O O O @ @ . @ O @ @ . . . . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . @ . @ . . . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t W 1 -- B 8 ---------- a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O @ 32 19 18 . . . . 36O O . O @ 37. 38O . O @ 30. 18 17 . . . O 35@ O . O O @ @ @ O O @ @ 31. 17 16 40O . . . 33@ O O @ @ O 55O . @ . . . 16 15 . 39O O O . @ @ @ @ @ O . . O O @ @ . 15 14 . @ @ @ @ . . . . . O . . @ O 16O @ . 14 13 . . 43. . . @ @ O O . O 34O O @ O @ 27 13 12 . . O @ @ @ . O @ 8 7 . @ O @ @ @ O . 12 11 . O O @ O O O O O O 21@ 19@ 24. . O 28 11 10 . O @ @ @ @ @ @ 2923O . . 1825@ @ @ O 10 9 O @ @ O 1 O @ O @ @ @ @ . 20. . O O . 9 8 O O O O 2 O O 3 O O . . @ 44. . . . . 8 7 @ @ @ O @ O . O @ @ 13@ 5051O O . O . 7 6 O @ @ @ O . O . 45. O O 49O . @ O . 14 6 5 . @ O O O . . . 4142. . 4748O @ O O @ 5 4 53@ @ O @ O O O . @ O O . 46@ . @ @ 15 4 3 52@ O @ @ @ @ O O O @ O 10@ @ @ . . . 3 2 @ O O O @ @ . @ O @ @ @ 11. . . . . . 2 1 . . . . . . @ . @ 4 5 . . . . . . . . 1 a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t Figure 1 -------- 206 at (h,9), 209 at 203, 212 at (h,9), 217 at 203, 222 at (h,9), 226 at 203, 254 at 250 White 216: --------- s18 is 5 points in gote, but White wants to keep it for ko threats. Black 217: --------- Should have been q9. Black 229: --------- To forestall White L8, Black 129, White M8. White 234: --------- Big, otherwise Black n15. Black 251: --------- Note that t17 is not a valid ko threat for White - Black can ignore it and live. Black 255: --------- White resigned for lack of ko threats. He has only three: a1, f15 and n10. Black has at least c17, c16, c18, L13, r7. Time taken: Black 4h 58, White 4h 59. Game published as Igo supplement, January 1994.