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Elementary moves 1
PageType: Path   Difficulty: Beginner   Keywords: Go term

Many moves have been analyzed in amazing depth. Some of this analysis is already to be found at Sensei's. This is no more than a list of the most basic moves, their shape-names (form) and typical usage (function). If it has a name know it.

The stones don't really move. One should look at the relation between the new stone and a nearby stone already on the board. This old stone may be friendly or hostile. The names refer to these relations.

W1 is friendly / hostile

[Diagram]
moves/relations

a: nobi / tsuke

b: kosumi / kata-tsuki

c: ikken tobi / -

d: keima / keima approach

e: niken tobi / -

f: ogeima

g: hazama tobi


How Moves Relate to Friendly Stones

  • Closer moves are slower
  • Closer moves are more strongly connected

In order of distance [1]:

Relations between two friendly stones that are even further away from each other do not have their own generic names, independent from board geography. In specific situations some do for instance extensions and opening formation?s.

How Moves Relate to Hostile Stones

In order of Manhattan distance:

How Moves relate to Friendly and Hostile Stones

These are discussed at elementary moves 2.

Elsewhere


Moves in relation to one friendly stone

Solid

[01] ノビ Nobi or stretch

[Diagram]
Nobi

A move in direct contact with a friendly stone.

Typical use: Answering atari, tsuke, oshi, or making an iron pillar.

This is not a push.

One space

[02] コスミ Kosumi

[Diagram]
Kosumi

A move with two ways to directly get contact with a friendly stone. The two stones are on different lines.

Typical use: connect, move out?, attack, answer to keima

Proverb: Answer keima with kosumi

[03] 一間ト ビ  Ikken Tobi

[Diagram]
Ikken Tobi

The two stones are on the same horizontal or vertical line and have exactly one space between them.

Typical use:
1. enclosure, e.g. the small high enclosure
2. getting out of a pincer
3. getting into the centre
4. extending when above the fourth line
5. getting ahead
6. blocking the opponent's natural line

Proverbs:
1. Ikken tobi is never bad
2. Don't try to cut the one-point jump


Both kosumi and ikken tobi are at a distance of one space. Both need one move only to make a solid connection. Because there are two ways to do that with kosumi and only one with ikken tobi, the kosumi is more solid.

Two spaces

[04] ケイマ  Keima

[Diagram]
Keima

The two stones are on different lines and have two spaces between them.

Typical use:
1. attack
2. enclosure, e.g. keima shimari
3. answer to keima kakari
4. connecting two groups
5. getting into the center and blocking at the same time
6. getting ahead

Proverbs:
1. Answer keima with kosumi
2. Strike at the waist of the keima


[05] 二間 トビ Niken Tobi or Two space jump

[Diagram]
Niken Tobi

The two stones are on the same horizontal or vertical line and have exactly two spaces between them.

Typical use:
1. extension: Creating a base with a two-space extension
2. a light move


Both keima and niken tobi are at a distance of two spaces. Both need at least two moves to make a solid connection. Because there are three ways to do that with keima and only one with niken tobi, the keima is more solid.

Three spaces

[06] 大ゲイマ Ogeima

[Diagram]
Ogeima



[07] ハザマ トビ Hazama Tobi

[Diagram]
Hazama Tobi



  • Typical use:

Both oogeima and hazama tobi are at a distance of three spaces. Both need at least three moves to make a solid connection. There are four ways to do that with oogeima and even six with hazama tobi. However four of those six go over a. This makes a, the hazama (hole), a weak point. Oogeima does not have such a weak point. It is more solid.


[1]; : Basically, distance is proportional to speed and inversely proportional to strength of connection -- JasonD


See also haengma, for further development of these ideas.


Moves in relation to enemy stones

Moves in relation to one enemy stone

[11] ツケ Tsuke or contact play.

[Diagram]
Tsuke



A move in direct contact with an enemy stone.

  1. Use contact moves for defence
  2. Don't attach when attacking
  3. Respond to attachment with hane

[12] 片ツキ Kata-tsuki or shoulder hit

[Diagram]
Kata-tsuki



A move in close diagonal contact with an enemy stone

[14] Keima approach, see Keima Kakari

[Diagram]
Keima approach



A move in keima relation to an enemy stone

  • Typical use:
  1. kakari
  2. approach in general

Moves close to both an enemy stone and a friendly stone

These will be discussed at elementary moves 2.


Moved from Messages.

mAsterdam: I am hitting the wall of my ignorance in trying to make a shape-based catalog of basically generic moves/properties. Generic in the sense that there is basically no context?, so no defining direction, extension, shimari or kakari. Of course a property of a move can be that it occurs frequently in a specific context.

One question I had (and answered my way - but maybe there are other considerations) is ''Where should elementary stop?" "Elementary" here should mean one stone in relation to one other. So I think elementary moves already contains moves it shouldn't: Push, bump, etc..., but that brings me to the next question.

What to call the (class of) more complex moves?

They are not really complex, just not elementary. I thought about "compound", because there are more relevant relations (at least three) but did not like that because it does not respect the notion that there is just one field of tensions defining the moves.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Charles I think go encourages multiple approaches, and supports the idea that any one formal classification is too limited. "Take the cream from the top of the milk."

mAsterdam: Heh. I could have said that myself. However, I find that I am still far from the limit of this formal classification. I could still continue with Type 1, Type 2 etc, like Richard Hunter in his classification of semeai in Richard Bozulich's second book of go. Ugly, but if I can't find a more meaningful set of names I will do just that.



This is a copy of the living page "Elementary moves 1" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2003 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.