Even Game Joseki - Part 8

British Go Journal No . 14. June 1971. Page 6b.

Takamoku – Part 2

Jon Diamond, 4d

1 D3 continued from BGJ issue 12.

Some of the diagrams are referred to later in the text. There are links from the text to the diagram and back to the refering text using the symbol.

In this issue we shall finish the takamoku joseki by considering one of the major alternatives to 2 D3, that of 3 E3, and briefly looking at the main pincer attack 3 F4; taking 3 E3 first (2 in Diagram 50).

Black replies with the attachment at the 5-3 point.

Diagram 50

Diagram 51

As can be seen from the two joseki of Dias 50 and 51, black 2 can be played with one of two purposes in mind. In Dia 50 the intention is to restrict white to the corner and gain outward influence towards the centre and right sides. In Dia 51 the idea of 2 to 12 is to capture quite a large corner in exchange for giving white a live group on the lower side.

After 2 White's play at 3 is forced, for should he play elsewhere in the corner area black can fence him in completely into the corner. Black 4 is the usual answer to this, but a play at 5 to follow the line in Dia 52 is also possible although after this diagram black has walled white in completely and therefore almost certainly accomplished one of his initial aims which was the gaining of outside influence.

Diagram 52

Dia 52 is a good example of skilful timing by White. He plays 4 to stop black playing there and so reducing white' corner; black's only answer is 5. Similarly 6 forces a black reply with 7 and now white can extend and enlarge his corner with 8 followed by black 9. After this white cannot cut to the right of 9 for black can countercut to destroy the corner in exchange for the loss of 9, so he meekly threatens this cut with 10 and black plays 11 to stop this possibility and extend his influence to the left side.

Going back to Dia 51^*; in answer to 4 the best move is 5. Should he play at 8, then black can play at 6 and in comparison with Dia 50 white's corner does not have two eyes so he must play another move to save it. Should he play at 6 black can play at 10 and force white into a low position along the lower side and thus into immediate defeat.
^* [BGJ had Dia 50 & 51.]

Diagram 53

Diagram 54

Diagram 55

After 5 black has the two alternatives of Dias 50 and 51, but can only play the sequence of Dia 50 provided that the ladder capturing 5 is good for him. Later on white can play at A and force black to capture B, so usually at an early stage black will capture 5 with 1 in Dia 53 and white will answer with 2. If he does not then he must be prepared to submit to black playing at 1 and 3 in Dia 54 and answer them with 2 and 4 to secure a small life in the corner. Should he not play 4 then the sequence of Dia 55 will bring the white group to a ko for life or death.

Diagram 56

In Dia 51 moves 8, 9 and 10 are forced and then White plays 11 which Black replies to with 12. If Black plays no move in answer then white can press black onto the third line eventually by playing 12. However 1 as in Dia 56 is not good as the black wall is too far from the side to surround territory properly. White does not have to play at 11 immediately, but he must be prepared for black to play one point to the right of it if he does not to make white submit to being pressed along the edge.

Diagram 57

Diagram X57 6 at

Dia X57 was missing from BGJ. It has been recreated in discussion with various dan players.

After Dia 51 white can still reduce the corner at a later stage by 1 and 3 of Dia 57, as black cannot play 2 of Dia X57. The sequence to follow will normally give white a live group inside black's territory.

Black replies with the knight's move at the 6-4 point.

Diagram 58

Diagram 59

We shall now look at Black's reply at 2 in Dia 58. This has roughly the same idea as Dia 50, that is, taking the outside influence and giving up the corner. The sequence 1 to 6 is joseki; 6' could also be played one point further above, or 1 point to the left of 4 in which case the joseki of Dia 59 will ensue. If white cuts at A, then black replies with B to give up his single stone and keep his outer wall intact.

Diagram 60

Diagram 61

4' in Dia 58 can also be played as in Dia 60 which is also joseki. 6 is a sacrifice stone played so that both 10 and 12 can be played with sente; if it is played directly at 10, Dia 61 results and this is not so good a result for black as the original diagram.

Diagram 62

Unfortunately black can also cut with 4 as in Dia 62 and this leads to many complicated variations, ...

Diagram 63

Diagram 64

... so to avoid this possibility white can play 3 of Dia 63. 4 is then played to restrict white and 5 to attempt to prevent this. After the exchange of 6 for 7, 8 can be played as in this diagram or as in Dia 64. 9 is then forced to save the corner, black captures 5 with the ladder of 10 and white secures a reasonably sized group in the corner. If the ladder is bad for black then he must play the joseki of Dia 64 or as in Dia 65. However Dia 65 is better for white than Dias 63 or 64 as he can extend along the lower side after the conclusion of the diagram.

Diagram 65