3-5 point, 4-3 approach, one-space pincer

This pincer for Black has none of the glamour attaching to the taisha joseki play at a. It is also a different type of joseki. Here Black is very happy to try to build two groups while White takes the corner - for example in a cross hoshi full-board opening.

The typical fights now come about as White tries to keep at least one black group weak. Black can expect an advantage when developing on both sides. This contrasts with the cross-cut fights characteristic of the taisha.

This pincer seems to be quite close to an overplay for Black. But it has been played for centuries, and is very useful as a forceful way to make use of black influence on the top side.

White's most common answer in modern Go is to come out at a, which we'll discuss here. White b and c are plays from classical Go. White d is Leela Zero's favorite in most conditions.

Here tenuki for White is not a good idea: see 3-5 point low approach one-space low pincer, tenuki.

After , is almost certain. After that the standard continuations for White are, in order of frequency: the ikken-tobi to a, the keima to b, or the nobi to c.

This joseki is often played in the context of some stones already there in this quadrant of the board. Then the joseki choice problem becomes quite interesting. The white response at a has to be adapted to the situation.

There is a transposition question concealed in the 'classical' lines: see 3-5 point low approach one-space low pincer, two-contact transposition.

This pincer is about the only 3-5 variation to come out well from Dave Sigaty's statistical investigation (low approach to 3-5 point).

One can hazard a guess why. The reason Black should try it, strong influence on the top side, is convincing when it is present, and much clearer than a wish to play something complex. When the move is worth playing, it has a following wind as far as sense of direction goes.