Table of contents Some 9x9 openings from Go Quest hoshi (4-4 point) tengen (5-5 point) takamoku (5-4 point) komoku (4-3 point) What does Leela think is the best 9x9 opening See also Art of 9×9

Table of diagrams First move choices Lunar Eclipse Black Boomerang Bean Throwing Orthodox Pendulum Head butt Cross line New Orthodox Jump Attachment Boots Kodachi Flower Fairy

mgoetze: Maybe you should specify which set of pro games you're talking about... from the recent Ricoh PairGo games, [a first move at] e seems to be quite popular nowadays (at 6.5 komi)...

DougRidgway They are all fairly popular: in my current set, largely taken from Gobase, b-e have been played 70, 47, 30, and 27 times respectively, out of 311 games. Also see http://gobase.org/gobase/demo/s9/s9.html.

ilanpi (4K) Here are some general comments about 9x9 opening theory. I hope that these are consistent with what can be found in professional 9x9 games, e.g., as in http://gobase.org/9x9/ and http://www01.tjsys.co.jp/minigo/

I believe that I am correct in stating that the opening in go ends with the first invasion or reduction. The reason for saying this is that this is when fighting begins, so the game will proceed along unpredictable tactical lines, as opposed to general opening principles.

That said, one can almost conclude that the opening in a 9x9 game will last at most 5 moves. This is because if both sides develop territorial frameworks in the first 4 moves, e.g., corner enclosures, then Black's 5th move can increase his territorial influence, but it seems that White, on his 6th move cannot hope to compete by increasing his, so is virtually forced to invade Black's position or otherwise start a fight, typically with a contact move.

Here is an opening principle which seriously improved my 9x9 results in the last few months: In an even game (6.5 komi), Black does not get a good game by making a corner enclosure with his first two moves. On the other hand, in an .5 komi game, (handicap of about 3 ranks) it seems that making a corner enclosure (3-4 point + large knight move) is a simple and safe way for Black to keep an advantage.

For further discussion of 9x9 concepts see 9x9 strategy.

DougRidgway: Robert Jasiek likes to say that 9x9 is a game without strategy, by which he means it's all endgame. Seems a little extreme, but maybe not if you read it as macro endgame. Even for a DDK like me, general endgame principles apply very early.

A lurker: I submit that the most significant strategic decision in a 9x9 game is whether to keep expanding an existing group or to split up and start a new one. Generally, this is white's problem, not black's. Please discuss.

holosys: You can see lots of fascinating stats on 9x9 openings by using the 9x9 sub-database at the excellent website http://fuseki.info/.

DougRidgway: Am I missing something? (I hope so!) All I can find is 9x9 corners of full board games.

Some 9x9 openings from Go Quest

The GoQuest server names some popular openings when played. Below are some I encountered while watching highly ranked players' matches. While these openings are common, they certainly do not account for all openings. At least than half of the games I have seen use different variations. The most popular of the variations below are probably "new orthodox" and the "black boomerang". Opening moves starting with sansan (3-3) or moku-hazushi (3-5) are less common.

hoshi (4-4 point)