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KitaniGoFirstGame
Oba
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Mirror Go
    Keywords: Strategy

Introduction

In a game of mirror go, one player will always play his move at a point that "mirrors" the point that his opponent's previous move. Usually, the "mirror" is a 180-degree rotation about the tengen.

The theory behind mirror go is that a move that mirrors the opponent's move can't be worse off. Also, the player who mirrors the moves can abort the mirroring process when his opponent makes a bad move, giving him an advantage.

In present games, white is more likely to perform the mirroring as black is burdened by a komi. As such, some competitions forbid mirror go to exceed a certain number of moves.

Below are two games that demonstrates mirror go.

[Diagram]
Diag.: Black mirrors white

[Diagram]
Diag.: White mirrors black


Countering Mirror Go

Below shows two examples of countering mirror go. Of course, the result is absurd, but if the player who mirrors abort halfway, the other player would have succeeded in stopping the mirror.

[Diagram]
Diag.: Countering mirror go (1)

[Diagram]
Diag.: Countering mirror go (1)

[Diagram]
Diag.: Countering mirror go (1)


[Diagram]
Diag.: Countering mirror go (2)

[Diagram]
Diag.: Countering mirror go (2)

[Diagram]
Diag.: Countering mirror go (2)

[Diagram]
Diag.: Countering mirror go (2)

[Diagram]
Diag.: Countering mirror go (2)


--unkx80


Various players have tried mirror go at different times. Here is Go Seigen's attempt against Kitani Minoru in 1929. DaveSigaty



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