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Learning Joseki Loses Two Stones Strength
  Difficulty: Beginner   Keywords: Proverb

Learning Joseki Loses Two Stones Strength - Studying Joseki gains four stones strength.

This proverb is intended to visualise how learning Joseki by 'rote' is useless or even worse. The aim is not to be able to replay a sequence, but to understand what each move does and how this particular sequence affects the whole board.

Hence, studying Joseki does help you improve, because it increases your understanding of the game.

--MortenPahle (10kyu)

BillSpight:

When I was learning go I got a 2-dan to give me 7 stones with a free corner by placing a ponnuki shape in the center.

[Diagram]
Diag.: Fred Seki

Since I didn't know joseki, W 5 was a surprise. I was supposed to play at 9, but I chose 6. That was a surprise to him. ;-) I don't remember the gory details, but he lost the corner and resigned. :-)

I didn't study joseki until I was shodan.



Fujisawa Hideyuki shows an example of where blindly following joseki is not good.

[Diagram]
Diag.: Joseki but kikasare

W 1 - W 7 is joseki. However, W 7 is kikasare. It is too passive. White should make use of her strength on the left and play the boshi at a, as in the following diagram.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Whole board thinking

W 1 is an example of leaning.



This is a copy of the living page "Learning Joseki Loses Two Stones Strength" at Sensei's Library.
(C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.