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Invasions On The Side
   

[Diagram]
Diag.: Side Invasion

An invasion is a stone which is placed inside your opponents sphere of influence, and which will normally provoke some sort of response from your opponent. This page just briefly touches on invasions performed in the opening. These are normally less severe than invasions performed later on. In the opening, both players are still sketching out their territory, and invasions are 'easier' than otherwise.

In this example, white does not want black to compelete his moyo by playing on the hoshi point on the top. Therefore, white wants to play so as to create a base on the top. Now, there are several common sense Go-proverbs which indicate where he should play: 'In a symmetrical position, play on the point of symmetry' maybe being the most applicable here. The third line underneath the hoshi point is a point of symmetry, and by playing here she is as far away from either thickness as she can be. She should play on the third line, since you want to settle your group here as quickly as possible. If you are sceptical about the proverbs, then consider the following logic: by playing at '1', white leaves himself two possible directions in which to build a base. If black attacks from 'a', white can extend to 'b', if black attacks from 'b', white extends to 'a'.

In general, when carrying out an invasion in the opening, you should leave yourself two ways open to create life - this way you are sure that you will have a stable group. Having a weak group from the beginning which your opponent can attack at will puts you at a great disadvantage for the rest of the game. Later in the game, you can keep the 'run into the middle and connect with other group' as one of the two options, but in the opening, you are normally better off playing a bit safer.

As a final note when considering an invasion, you should also consider the result if your group lives small, but gets shut in while your opponent strengthens himself on the outside. Not all invasions, even the 'successful' ones, are optimal play. Reductions from the outside can be as effective, but are always less dangerous.



This is a copy of the living page "Invasions On The Side" at Sensei's Library.
(C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.