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3-3 Point Invasion Joseki
Path: InvasionItinerary   · Prev: 33PointInvasion   · Next: BlockOnTheWiderSide
  Difficulty: Dan level   Keywords: Joseki

For a first view of this Joseki, see 3-3 Point Invasion. Players for whom this discussion goes too deep, are advised to read that discussion instead.

Overview

[Diagram]
Diag.: The 3-3 point invasion

After White 1, Black will block at 2 or 3. The general rule here is to block on the wider side. After this, Black a is the traditional joseki, Black b is a more modern variation, trying to get sente. Black c is rarely played. Tenuki is bad: see next diagram.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Tenuki is bad

Under no circumstances should Black play tenuki at this point. No point elsewhere can be large enough to compensate for allowing White 1.



The Basic Joseki: Hane then Stretch

[Diagram]
Diag.: The basic joseki

Playing hane at 1 and stretch at 3 are a calm way of playing. Black accepts ending in gote, and takes a magnificent wall in return. Although White has sente, this result is in general regarded locally bad for White, because of Black's thickness. Because of this, White should not invade at the 3-3 point too early, but only when a kakari from the side is already less interesting. Black should not play 5 at a, see 3-3 Point Invasion for White's answer.



The Double Hane Variations

[Diagram]
Diag.: Double ''hane'' (White 10 at 3)

Instead of Black 3 in the last diagram, Black can also play the more severe move of Black 3 here. In most cases the intention is to get sente, in which Black succeeds in this diagram. White 10 is forced; White cannot allow a black capture at that spot. Black in turn should not omit 7 and 9, or White can come out too easily.

Grech: What if White plays 8 at 9? This also ameliorates the threat of capture from 7, and puts White ahead of Black on the third line.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Double hane - Not as efficient for White

lavalyn: If White plays 8 at 9 in the above, Black can take the corner as in the variation below, but also gets a four-stone wall instead of three. White 8 becomes close to a wasted move relative to the variation below.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Taking the corner

Black can take the corner by playing Black 7 here, but giving White this ponnuki is not good in most cases.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Continuation

White will most likely continue with these moves. In most cases, when White invades at the 3-3 point, Black has stones on both sides, at or around the places shown here. Black's left side stone has lost much of its value after this sequence.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Double ''hane''

Black would probably like to play the double hane of 1 in this diagram, but the marked white stones have too much aji for Black to do so. White can retake the corner - or worse.


[Diagram]
Diag.: White's counter

If Black plays the double hane at 3, Black has to be prepared for this White 4. White intends to give up the corner in exchange for a position on the top.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Joseki

After White 6 in the previous diagram, Black 1 is the joseki move, reaffirming the unity of the black stones. After Black 5, White can secure a base with a move like a or play tenuki.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Slightly vulgar

Black 1 is vulgar[1], and White gets a relatively large corner. Still, if the upper side is important this might be playable. Black 3 at 7 is sometimes possible, depending on the position on the top side.



Hane and Inside Hane

[Diagram]
Diag.: Inside hane

The inside hane at 1 is the third possibility in this position (next to 7 and 3). White has sente, but Black has been able to shut off both sides. On the other hand, White has the aji of White 6 to look forward to.



Hane and Cut

[Diagram]
Diag.: An interesting option

Black 1 is another possibility which is quite interesting. What is the purpose of this move and how should White react? See the 3-3 Point Invasion Joseki New Move discussion.

NB This is not a joke! This move was shown to me and several other Belgian players by Guo Juan, 5p. I remember having seen it in a pro game, but I can't remember which one.

--Alain



Defying Conventional Wisdom

[Diagram]
Diag.: A new move

Black 1 is a relatively modern move, which became quite popular in the 1990s. Its aim is to get sente. A black stone at a is more or less required, but in this joseki it is almost always present anyway. White invariably answers at 2. Black 3 next is the proper move; Black b is a bit of an overplay. After this, White can choose between c and d.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Overplay

As stated above, Black 3 is an overplay. Although the white group is confined to the corner after Black 9, the aji of White a is unpleasant for Black.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Game example

Black 1 was played by Chang Hao against Ma Xiaochun in the 1999 Qisheng match. As in the other variations of this joseki, Black's intention was to get a wall in sente.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Joseki

White 4 is the most common continuation after Black 3. The continuation to 9 is joseki, after which White will either secure the position with White 10 or play tenuki. There exist examples of Black playing Black 7 at 9, leaving aji at the top in exchange for more influence in the center.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Not sente

If White does not play at 10 in the previous diagram, Black 1 is not sente: White cannot be killed. But capturing a stone in sente with 3 and 5 does of course give Black a very strong position, while the white corner is reduced to about 5 points.


[Diagram]
Diag.: White's follow-up

If White does play the marked stone, Black will not answer it - if Black does intend to answer it, Black would have done better to play the old variation. White's follow-up will probably be White 1 and 3 here. This also shows why the marked black stone is important. Without it, White would play the double hane at 4 rather than 3, which would not be to Black's liking.


[Diagram]
Diag.: The second option

White's second option is to play at 1 immediately, without first playing hane at 4 and connecting. White will however have to take the possibility of Black 4 in account - this is not a small move. This variant was played between Hane Yasumasa (Black) and Fujisawa Hideyuki in the 1991 Oza match.



[Diagram]
Diag.: A rare move (5 tenuki)

Black 1 is played only rarely, and I do not know whether there is any standard joseki defined. In a game for the 1993 Myeongin title, Yu Chang-hyeok played tenuki after White 4. Yi Ch'ang-ho later exchanged 6 for 7 and 8 for 9.

White 2 at 4 is also possible: then Black plays at 3 and White has shape problems.



[1] Charles Matthews This comment has gone unchallenged since the initial version of the page; but it's misleading. This atari play is recognised as joseki, but is highly sensitive to stones on the upper side, for example at a or b in this diagram.

[Diagram]
Diag.: To take the outside

These plays occur in pro games. When Black plays 3, White will eventually have to live at e. Before that White has a chance of pulling out the marked stone with White c, Black d and White continuing on the third line for a while. The books teach that this is good for White if Black has a stone at b, but poor if Black has a stone at a.

If White lives immediately at e and Black tidies up by capturing at c, Black will be thick anyway (possibly slightly overconcentrated).

There's an early example in Chapter 1 of Beauty and the Beast.


[Diagram]
Diag.: A new technique

A novel technique in pro games in the past decade is to play Black 1 here first, in preparation for the double hane. This seems to be applied only in cases where Black has a stone at a, b or c; that is, exactly when the crawling fight mentioned immediately above would go badly for Black.


[Diagram]
Diag.: White lives

This is a normal continuation, with White living quickly and leaving some outside aji by playing 4. Black's influence is going to work well with a stone at any of a, b, c; and Black has successfully avoided the variation in which White makes a ponnuki on the upper side.



Further Reading


Author(s):



Path: InvasionItinerary   · Prev: 33PointInvasion   · Next: BlockOnTheWiderSide
This is a copy of the living page "3-3 Point Invasion Joseki" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2003 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.