4-4 point low approach one-space low pincer, attach and crosscut

Crosscut  

This page will discuss black's responses to . To see how this position emerged, please visit 4-4 point low approach one-space low pincer#1.

Atari then extend  

antic: This variation seems the most plausible for me. After , black will either atari at a or descend at b, depending on how white plays.

Atari then extend  

If white , then black must descend at .

antic: The question I have is then, does black have to play a, or can he descend at b in sente?

JoelR: If Black b, then White a threatens to capture . Besides, after Black b, White tenuki, White can play for ko. If White will play this , then Black probably would rather have taken Option C.

Atari then extend  

If white , then black must capture with .

antic: Does anyone think a is better here, instead of ?

JoelR: I agree, is more solid.

Atari on the outside  

The most common joseki is to play this sequence. Black first forces with two atari's and then plays . This threatens to capture at , so white defends by playing . White can play a first, but when black responds at b, white must play after all. White can play this to create a cutting point though. threatens to capture again, so white must play , after which black plays to defend the cutting point.

Since white's corner is more enclosed than it would be if white had origininaly invaded at 3-3, this isn't played much.

Extend towards the left  

It is very hard for whit to find a good response after . There is a good sequence here, but it requires white to find two tesuji. Each of the moves a, b and c looks promising, but the result is sub-optimal. We will discuss these moves before showing the right response.

White also extends to the left  

If white also extends to the left, black has the belly attachment tesuji of . After , white's marked stone is captured and is cut of. This result is bad for white.

White extends towards the bottom  

is sente, because it threatens to play at a. is insufficient to protect both this weakness and the stone. After , white's stones are captured and white is left with a bad result.

White plays atari  

After , black has taken the corner and sente, white white is still without eyes. Black might consider attacking with a or playing along the top side to strengthen . This depends on the surroundings

Tesuji sequence  

is the tesuji that white is looking for. is the most obvious response, but with the additional belly attachment tesuji at , white is safe.

Tapir: This looks impressive, but what happens if black resist at a?

Black resists  

If black resists with , white plays . Now black can give atari at either of the points marked a, but neither will allow him to live or win the semeai.

Black resists  

After , white wins the semeai

Black resists  

Even when black creates an extra required approach move for white with and , white still wins the semeai. After , w24 will be at and black is one liberty short

Reasonable followup  

Black can followup like this, cutting of the stone while yielding the corner to white. a is an important move for either side, and might be played immediately.

Question  

But what about this simple sequence? White can't play atari from any side and black wins the capturing race. -Yuna

Why does white need to descend at 4? White playing 4 at either 6 or 7, I think, forces black and allows white to play at 5 and escape. -Anonymous

This shows if White tries to kill the corner. White escaping isn't a good result if it abandons .

A running fight  

White can play and escape with both groups, Black having some trouble finding the next shape. If Black first pushes at 3, White a, Black 2, then W jumps to 4.

If White is not willing to assume a divided position, the crosscut is likely an overplay. (The option of atari at c in the first diagram in this section remains.) -Slarty