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Extend or Pincer
Difficulty: Advanced Keywords: Opening
Any thoughts or knowledge that can be formulated in heuristic rules? Depending on the situations in other corners and on the sides. -- Conceived by HolIgor Miz: Interesting topic. But nothing here so far, so I'll make up some examples. I hope more people will comment.
In this position, a White pincer is also an extension from the left side wall, so it seems better than just extending. a would be the natural extension. b would be a more severe pincer. But what kind of joseki would follow? Is c a good compromise, accomplishing both objectives, or is it "neither here nor there"? How about high pincers d and e?
Kirk: Option b seems good if Black takes the corner. White jumps out and makes a nice framework at the top. It is a bit loose, but Black is not likely to invade as it would create a heavy burden. Charles Matthews The marked white stone seems misplaced here. At p surely makes for better balance on the side.
Kirk: ...but if he jumps out, then I think Black gets the better of it. White is pushed down. Charles Matthews White has played a joseki blindly here.
White ought to assess this variation before playing the marked stone as pincer. If it isn't good, White's pincer at c may be a better idea. (There is just a main variation at 4-4 point one-space low pincer, one-point jump; first of all there is a ladder question to consider.)
Kirk: This pincer looks pretty good. Perhaps Black's best bet is to cap. This exchange looks even to me, although White may be a bit unsatisfied since the sequence is Black's endgame privilege.
Kirk: Black can settle himself easily, so it is hard to see the value here.
Kirk: Okay, the simple move at a in the original figure... Black has a lot of options since this pincer doesn't exert much pressure. The endgame concerns from above are also an issue here.
Kirk: All in all, I would probably play the one-space low pincer. It is severe, which means White stays in control. But isn't there another joseki after Black 1? Ishida gives no options. I can't believe nothing else works. What about 2-4? Is this feasible if White has a position in the lower right? Charles Matthews This would make White's solid connection look heavy; now it seems it should have been at q or r. So White shouldn't go down this avenue. Kirk: Some-dan, please stop me before I make a fool of myself...
What if we reverse the colors on the left side? Is a pincer good now? a would clearly be a nice point for Black, so perhaps White should deny it to Black, by playing there first?
Now Black 1 seems like a reasonable extension from the wall, so pincer would be an overplay.
Equivalently, now a pincer would be too close to the wall.
KarlKnechtel: If friendly stones nearby make a pincer a better idea, especially as a wall, presumably hostile stones nearby make it a worse idea?
Miz: You mean a white move at b now? I'm not sure if it should be called pincer at all, when the marked stone is in place. Perhaps it is playable, but it certainly isn't clear to me if it is any good. So I would simply extend along the right side.
Combine a pincer with an extension This is a copy of the living page "Extend or Pincer" at Sensei's Library. ![]() |