Answer Keima with Kosumi

  Difficulty: Advanced   Keywords: Shape, Proverb

Here's an example. B1 is played to reduce White's framework; W2 is correct shape in reply. -- Charles Matthews.

[Diagram]

Answer keima slide with kosumi



In this situation Black answers the keima slide of W1 with the kosumi of B2. This is a common joseki. -- Bill Spight

Bob McGuigan:

[Diagram]

Another Joseki

Here's another well-known joseki example of a kosumi response to a keima approach.


Other discussion

This means to play kosumi (diagonal move) when your opponent plays a keima (knight's move) approach to your stone. Your kosumi will be on the point that the approach aimed at. It also aims at a shoulder hit (katatsuki) against your opponent's stone.

Take for example the following situation that often arises in a handicap game:

[Diagram]

Kosumi answer

White approaches at W1 (keima in relation to Black's corner stone). Next Black plays at B2 answering a keima with kosumi. After W3 and B4, White will stabilize the group with a play around a. Note that the aim of B2 is not to secure territory in the corner. White can still invade at b later on. Instead it denies W1 access to the corner, thus keeping this stone from easily securing a base: the white group remains weak. -- Arno Hollosi

Bill Spight: Actually, B2 is a kosumitsuke. I would have thought that answering keima with kosumi meant something like this (Shusaku kosumi):

Isn't there another joseki when white plays at '1', black responds at the position which white had played '3' and then white will play a hane and the joseki continues...? Random Passerby?

[Diagram]

Kosumi reply

But this, while joseki, is slow, and is usually avoided. The kosumi-tsuke is good to know, but also relies on the surroundings. You would not typically respond with either kosumi or kosumi-tsuke to a keima kakari.

This seems to be a misconception these days, as the kosumi response to the keima kakari is seen often in pro play. -- Anon

So how come this is a "proverb"? Aside from here, I have seen it only on Jan van der Steen's list, and did not find an explanation there.

The other way around makes more sense:

[Diagram]

Answer kosumi with keima

B2 is a keima response to the kosumi of W1. That is joseki.

Bob McGuigan: First, all proverbs have exceptions and are only meant to suggest a proper way to play. The correct move in a situation always depends on the over-all board position. In the preceding diagram W1 is a kosumi but doesn't have the same relationship to the corner 3-4 stone. Also, B2 is not the only joseki response to W1, there are several "non-keima" possibilities.


See also keima slide and ogeima slide.


This is a copy of the living page "Answer Keima with Kosumi" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2004 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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