BQM65

'corners first'  

I can see the logic of approaching at 3 immediately: it is, I suppose, in some sense a sort of miai strategy with respect to a and b (Black's getting a shot at two corners in any case, and he doesn't much mind which two - but it appears to me here that if he gets a, he's failing to approach on the open side, which seems a bit unusual. For what it's worth, Yamashita Keigo responded with a pincer at x.)

Is this early approach really a sort of probe? My speculation is something along the lines of O Rissei wanting to transpose into a line of the mini-chinese or nirensei, but is it simply a matter of trying to avoid:

anti-mini-chinese  

as if White has responded at B in the first diagram, leading to:

anti-anti-mini-chinese?  

tenuki and taking 7 would appear to be justified, leading to quite a nice position for Black (with the low stone at 4, pincering 3 is presuably going to be easily dealable via the 3-3 invasion.)

So, I guess what I'm asking, and apologies for this being somewhat nebulous, is what on earth is actually going on here?

Andrew Walkingshaw (4 kyu, UK)

John Lee (W) vs. Feng Yun 9p (B) , 2004 NA Oza  

Calvin The position in the first diagram appeared in the final for the 2004 North American Oza in New York, between Feng Yun 9p and John Lee. In Feng Yun's commentary on the game, she said that the early approach of is an asking move, looking for white's response. The opening of the game went as in this diagram, and Feng Yun did plan to play the mini-chinese if white responded with the keima as in this game.

Which corner?  

Bill: I don't know what's going on, but I would be happy to play W 4, here.

Which corner? Tewari.  

As White, I would not be unhappy with this line of play.

Yamashita Keigo - O Rissei, Game 3, 2003 Kisei  

Amusingly, exactly what you Bill said you didn't like is what the pros transposed into: this position is exactly equivalent to a nirensei where Black has chosen not to approach on the open side, with White playing the expected pincer/extension combo. However, with 7, as it turns out, O Rissei got a sensible result along the bottom, to my eyes.

No-one ever said this game was simple, I guess! (For what it's worth, after the pincer I'd have taken 6 with my third move as Black, followed (if White took 5) by invading at 3-3. Is this a sensible way of dealing with that hypothetical position?

... this hypothetical position  

- Andrew Walkingshaw

Without a white stone in the vicinity of a, White 8 is usually considered the wrong side to block. If now Black b, White c, Black d to wedge, White's wall can't work efficiently.

Charles Matthews

One continuation  

Bill: I vote for this one. :-)

Continuations  

Statistics:

93 matches (93/0), B: 41.9%, W: 58.1%

Ba: 57 (57), B45.6% - W54.4%
Bb: 17 (17), B35.3% - W64.7%
Bc: 10 (10), B50.0% - W50.0%
Bd: 4 (4), B0.0% - W100.0%
Be: 3 (3), B33.3% - W66.7%
Bf: 1 (1), B0.0% - W100.0%
Bg: 1 (1), B100.0% - W0.0%

Yamashita does not figure in this line. O Rissei appears four times but ends up 0-4:

1997-08-11a: O Rissei - Kobayashi Koichi (B), 4a
1998-11-26d: Yamada Kimio - O Rissei (W), 4a
1999-03-11: Cho Sonjin - O Rissei (W), 4a
1999-12-23j: Otake Hideo - O Rissei (W), 4c

It makes you wonder why he likes it! :-)