Seven and Six Stone Fuseki

Seven Stone Handicap  

Popular plays seem to be at a or b.

Approaching with a Low Knights Move on the Open Side  

The approach at would seem to invite the 4-4 point low approach one-space low pincer. Following with the 3-3 invaision variant of this joseki would not appear to be a good move, as black gets thickness facing his marked stone. Jumping out to a would seem a better alternative.

Pashley As B here, I often play the Takemiya Kosumi at d. I find it works well in high handicap games.

Paul Clarke: The double kakari at b and the contact move at c are also interesting.

Approaching with a Low Knights Move on the Open Side  

If the pincer isn't played, white might try this sequence, but black can cause trouble by playing at , in which case white will probably make a double approach at a or .

In the shown sequence black comes away with sente, and would seem to be a good way to play next.

Paul Clarke: White can also try playing at . I think Black should respond by just playing at in the diagram, but often Black will play something defensive at the top and give White sente to take the point of as well.

Lambic An interesting strategy for Black is to force white to turn his construction into real territory as shown below.

Black forces white to make territory  

1 and 3 strengthen the center slightly and can be useful if white decides to invade one of the sides. 5 is sente and aims at 'b'. 7 and 9 take the corner and aim at 'a' which is practically sente for black. If white plays 'a' now, black can play at 'b'. The conclusion is that white has some 20 points of territory but did nothing to help him fight on the rest on the board, in contrast to black. Moreover this strategy doesn't involve fighting and keeps all of black's groups safe, which is certainly prudent in 6/7 stone handicap.

Solid  

Bill: There are many ways to play a 6 or 7 stone game. One rule of thumb is for Black to play 30% aggressively. Another is to reduce possibilities for White.

and may look passive, but they reduce possibilities for White on the sides. may look smaller than a, but it gives White fewer options on the top side.

It is important to play solidly rather than passively. A play at b would be a passive reply to (and bad). cuts off and looks toward an invasion of White's bottom framework.

Black can begin solidly in a high handicap game, which will force White to play thinly. Then Black can attack or invade White's thin positions.

One space high pincer  

Bill: And then there are people like me, who like to play aggressively from the start. ;-)

I like the one space high pincer. For one thing, it is severe. Also, White has fewer ways to play against it than other pincers. If White invades the corner, Black can easily make a solid wall. If White plays a double kakari, Ba is good.

Pushing through with is good play, but for White simply to settle the bottom right now would be slow. If now , combines attack and defense. White already has problems.

Approaching on a closed side

Approaching on the closed side  

If black protects at , then white can make another approach at , and can potentially make a double approach at a, or aim at capping at b. If black plays c before , then white can extend to d and play as in a nine stone game.

NB: Because the bottom side is open is played a line lower to protect against an approach at e (this is a matter of preference).