[Welcome to Sensei's Library!]

StartingPoints
ReferenceSection
About


Paths
GoProverbs
Study

Referenced by
Joseki
ControversialStat...
RankRelationToWins

Homepages
Joshual000

 

Learning Joseki Loses Two Stones Strength
Path: GoProverbs   · Prev: StrengtheningYourOwnWeakGroupMakesYourOpponentSWeaker   · Next: BlackShouldResignIfOnePlayerHasFourCorners
Path: Study   · Prev: HowDoYouLearnJoseki   · Next: LearningProcess

  Difficulty: Beginner   Keywords: Opening, Joseki, 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]
Fred Seki

Since I didn't know joseki, White 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]
Joseki but kikasare

White 1 - White 7 is joseki. However, White 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]
Whole board thinking

White 1 is an example of leaning.


Comment: I wonder if joseki without some fuseki is almost useless.

Charles If you have a problem with corners dying - for example in handicap games - some sensible joseki plays can get you off to a better start. But after that you should learn something more in the way of principles - influence is important as well as territory, the reasons not to be shut in - which are fundamental fuseki ideas.



Path: GoProverbs   · Prev: StrengtheningYourOwnWeakGroupMakesYourOpponentSWeaker   · Next: BlackShouldResignIfOnePlayerHasFourCorners
Path: Study   · Prev: HowDoYouLearnJoseki   · Next: LearningProcess

This is a copy of the living page "Learning Joseki Loses Two Stones Strength" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2003 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.