Beware of going back to patch up

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Difficulty: Intermediate Keywords: Strategy, Proverb

This proverb warns the player against getting carried away and overextending, so that "weak points and doubtful positions begin to grow up behind him and he must then hand over the sente to his opponent while he retraces his steps to make repairs (Segoe, Go Proverbs Illustrated)."

This example comes from Go Proverbs Illustrated.

Through is joseki.

looks strong, but leaves a weakness behind. has to go back and patch up. White has sente.

fixes the weakness and still threatens . After Black takes sente.

If we assume White takes her sente in the endgame, the left diagram is better for White by 4 points. In the early stages of the game this is way too small a gain to give away sente.

Black's empty triangle is another giveaway that Black's variation on the right is less efficient than the one on the left. Noticing you will be forced into such a clumsy shape can act as a warning against being greedy.