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Mokuhazushi
    Keywords: Opening, Go term

[Diagram]
Diag.: Mokuhazushi

Mokuhazushi is a beginning play in the corner at either of the 3-5 points 'a' or 'b'.



In practice we arrive at mokuhazushi in one of two ways:

[Diagram]
Diag.: Mokuhazushi by black

Black chooses the 5-3 play as the first move in the corner. White answers at 2 (depending on circumstances 'a' and 'b' are other common alternatives for W).


[Diagram]
Diag.: Mokuhazushi by white

Black starts with a komoku (3-4) play at 1. White plays a knights move approach Kogeima Gakari? at 2. If black answers this play we move into the realm of komoku joseki. If however, black plays elsewhere (tenuki) then we arrive at the same situation as the first diagram but with the colors reversed. In effect, white has played a mokuhazushi at 2 and black has approached at 1.



Ishida has this to say about mokuhazushi:

The 5-3 point is an old-established move which was very popular in the Edo period (1600-1867), so a great deal of research has been done on it. Its chief characteristic is that it places its main emphasis on influence - territorially, it is inferior to the 3-4 point. Like the 3-4 point, it does not finish with the corner in one move, so one's objective is to secure the corner with an extra move if the opponent does not make an approach move. Consequently, an approach move is valuable and should be played without too much delay. The 5-3 point is a lively move which can lead to some complicated and troublesome joseki. Ishida's Joseki Dictionary, Vol. II

[Diagram]
Diag.: Ceding the corner

The mokuhazushi is an interesting approach for everyone to practice with in their own games. By its nature it cedes the corner to the opponent. In exchange it looks for benefits on the outside either along the top, down the left side, or both. Since the best way to accomplish this will depend on the rest of the board, many different joseki have been developed over the years.

For example, Ishida gives 'a' through 'i' as alternative responses to the White approach at 2:

  • a-d emphasize the top side directly in conjunction with 1
  • e-g emphasize the left side and anticipate being cut off from 1 (typo fixed - thx TakeNGive and unkx80)
  • h-i are played to induce white responses that allow black to play at the top.

--DaveSigaty



BillSpight: In ancient games of a couple of hundred years ago, you would also see this:

[Diagram]
Diag.: Double Mokuhazushi

The usual response was on the 3-3 (a), but sometimes b. W 2 may be the best play in certain circumstances. See OngoingGame2.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Comparison

The 3-3 is the obvious response to the double mokuhazushi. However, if Black starts with the 3-3 and White makes the one-space kakari, B 3 looks a little slow. To me that suggests that mokuhazushi is an acceptable response to mokuhazushi. Nonetheless, it has fallen out of favor. ;-)

dnerra: On the other hand, White would usually not approach a 3-3 stone with a one-space kakari. In the diagram, B3 might be a little slow, but W2 is too close to the very solid black position. So W2 probably needs another move, probably a two-space extension at a. My impression is that B has secured a little more territory than white with his two moves (Everyone welcome to disagree here! :-) ). So the conclusion would be that W2 is a special strategy dictated by surrounding positions. For example, W2/Wa might be an ideal expansion from a shimari in lower left. Or (in a later stage of the game) W could have very a strong position in lower left, so that she is planing Wb instead of Wa as a reply to B3.



DaveSigaty: I have had this played against me several times. Regardless of what the pros think, I believe that it is a viable approach at the amateur level that prevents Black from trying anything tricky.



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