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No To Large Moyo
   
 Conceived by HolIgor

Go is a very frustrating game. You always fear something. I used to spend a lot of time in fear of an invasion. Will I be able to kill? Will I be able to defend my "territory" if the opponent decides to invade?

Reading Kageyama's Fundamentals of Go really helped. As you remember Kageyama advices to refuse to consider any loose formation as your territory till it really becomes a territory. This advice relieved pressure a little bit. If it is not your territory you don't fear to lose it, but you can acquire it.

Then once in a club we analyzed an amateur game. A good European 4d lead the discussion.

[Diagram]
Diag.: Invasion between 3 space separated stones on the 4th line

When you are quite weak your first reaction is panic. I am being robbed of my territory!


[Diagram]
Diag.: A connection (basic variation)

Of course, you know that there is this connection, which saves your territory. You know also that you've just given your opponent a ponnuki and ended in gote. But it saves your territory! Now you can proudly tell that it is yours!

4d did not like it. Of course, he saw a whole board before him (in some cases this variation is the best thing).


[Diagram]
Diag.: Now there will be a fight.

That was an introduction. Now, about the controversial statement. This is a way I invented to calm down my fears of invasion.

If the opponent successfully invades then you will lose some territory. But an attack of the stones that invaded will help you to turn some loose formation into your territory too.

I conclude that

  • I have to build a framework as large as possible in order that the remaining territory was larger
  • I have to prepare places where I would like my opponent to invade
  • Since some of my stones will be cut off I have to pay attention to the lives of these group long before the invasion.

So, huge moyos give large territories.

Comments?

Examples from a pro game against the statement_


[Diagram]
Diag.: Y Changho vs. Y Sedol (LG Cup)

After white marked move Y Sedol played 1 forming a large moyo. Note, that it is not a huge moyo. If the opponent invades lower right corner, black has to kill to win the game. White played 2, which I think was a natural move for black.

Futher in the game white invaded into lower right corner and lived after a long ko fight forcing resignation.

Joan Pons i Semelis 3d : This kind of position arises quite often in the mini-chinese fuseki, and is not always true that the invasion on the lower right corner stakes the game in a Life & Deadth problem. I'll dig to find some examples of this. Also Takemiya Masaki 9p was (is ?) very good at letting the opponent life inside his moyos and win nevertheless. But he made "huge" moyos.

Discussion and example of this on Ten Kyu Side Invasion (albeit not at pro level :-)



This is a copy of the living page "No To Large Moyo" at Sensei's Library.
(C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.