Yose Corner

British Go Journal No. 60. September 1983. Page 24.

Matthew Macfadyen

Trick moves, or 'Hamete', are usually thought of as a feature of the opening phase of the game, and the term is loosely applied to a whole range of positions varying between interesting variations which happen not ot work and simple overplays which fail against the best defence. This issue we introduce a yose hamete. Among its most delightful features are that it loses nothing against the best defence, and that the victim often fails to realise that he has been swindled.

Dia 1

Dia 2

The position starts as in Dia 1, we are only considering the points to be gained or lost on the side. White can try to stretch his position either above or below his three stones, but the result is the same either way. Dia 2 shows the honest sequence.

Dia 3

The trap sequence is shown in Dia 3. After 4 White plays elsewhere, and we are back at the original position, A and B are miai and each side should get one of them.

Dia 4

Black 1 in Dia 4 feels like a 2 point gote play - this is the usual value for capturing one stone on the edge - and if White had already played at C it would be the value in this case. However black 1 in Dia 4 is actually worth only one third of this amount. The problem is that White ignores him, and Black then has no useful follow up.

Dia 5

Dia 5 shows the best Black can do - obviously it is useless for him to connect at 3 instead of 1 - White would then connect at 1 getting the result of Dia 2 while using one stone less than Black. After Black 3, White can recapture at and the smallness of 1 in Dia 4 is exposed - it was equivalent to capturing a 1 point ko.

In actual games, most amateurs play Dia 4 without even realising what went wrong. White just smiles, ignores him, and takes a real two point move elsewhere.