Plays against low Chinese opening
the original content of this page has been moved to BQM563. This page is being reused to discuss the sixth move in the low chinese opening. There is already the low chinese files but its organization is author specific and its content is out of date
This is the position in the low chinese opening, before . We're assuming a ni ren sei formation for White on the left, as is very common. According to An Younggil of gogameguru, a-j are common options for
. We'll highlight a few of them.
White's high extension of and
keeps the central influence of the chinese formation in check. Next, Black will use his sente to dismantle White's left side with a or c, or build the upper side with b. If
is played at
immediately, the follow-up remains largely the same.
Black could also pincer around
, but then White will play at
to enclose the black corner stone, which immediately makes the game complex for Black. See [1]
Nowadays (2012), a steady move like is popular with the professionals, which avoids direct contact with the stones of the low chinese, while keeping its influence in check on a larger scale. Next, Black who is locally unaffected by
, turns his attention to the upper side.
is commonly seen, but local continations like a and b are also common.
Another idea is to play at the top immediately, allowing Black to form an ideal territorial framework at the upper right. Next, Black will naturally shift his attention to the lower left, using the influence of the low chinese opening to build.
[1] If Black pincers the reduction stone:
In 3 of the 5 games in a gobase search where Black pincers the reduction stone, this is the continuation. prevents White from making use of her influence at the right side. White then turns to the lower side with
, where the influence is less strong and the black stone has more flexibility.
Dieter's opinion here is that Black has not made clear use of his original low Chinese formation. White seems to have a more active position which is why I believe this variation is abandoned by Black.
See 3-4 point distant high approach from the wrong direction for more analysis of this corner position.