Big Sacrifice To Get A Wall

Difficulty: Advanced Keywords: MiddleGame, Tesuji, Tactics

Chinese: -
Japanese: 締め付け, シメツケ(shimetsuke)
Korean: -

There is a rather standard sacrifice that comes up in several situations, which allows someone to build an impressive wall. The basic shape is this one:

is a move somewhere to the left, which prevents the marked stones from living

White sets up a semeai with the geta W13 . The marked white stones are the sacrifice, they do not have enough liberties to the left to win the semeai.

There is either already a white stone at a, or white can add it in sente, so that black cannot break out of the geta

The end result will give white an impressive wall.

Table of contents

Trick plays in joseki

Nineteen point trick play

4-4 ogeima enclosure

3-4 high approach, keima joseki

3-4 high approach, one point jump joseki

Example from professional play

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Trick plays in joseki

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Nineteen point trick play

One of the most famous examples is the 19 point trick play:

is the trick play. - fall for it. W14 kills the corner, but that was black's intent all along. Black sacrifices and ends up with an impenetrable wall.

B33 is usually not urgent, and black can keep it in reserve as a ko threat.

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4-4 ogeima enclosure

This same sacrifice pattern is found in this standard 4-4 enclosure

is a standard invasion when black has nearby support. goes all out to capture black, but that is what black was waiting for. After W14 , the position starts
to look familiar.

Note that KataGo rates as the correct move in this position, as a small mistake, W12 as the decisive error and W14 as another mistake. If W12 at a, then black can live in the corner, and it's white who gets the outside strength and the advantage. If white plays W12 as in the diagram but W14 at a, then again white has the better position.

B23 initiates a driving tesuji as well, adding to Black’s thickness.

White wins the semeai in the corner, but Black’s sacrifice has given him an impressive wall, worth much more than the corner points.

Note: At W20 , white cannot break out into the center because of the Black atari at c.

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3-4 high approach, keima joseki

The pattern occurs often with invasions of large knight move extensions:

Another standard joseki situation. Again, the presence of the marked black stone makes the invasion possible. And again, B23 initiates a driving tesuji. The further pattern should be familiar by now.

Again, KataGo points to errors by both sides: is correct, is a mistake, there are several good alternatives to W12 , and if white plays W14 at either a or b then black is in serious trouble.

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3-4 high approach, one point jump joseki

Another joseki variant, similar to the one above. Because of the low position of the marked stone, black cannot squeeze by cutting at W22 , but B21 is still quite effective.

As always, B27 is not urgent and can be kept in reserve.

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Example from professional play

This is Otani Motohiro (white) versus Kuwahara Munehisa in 1942. In this example, the sacrifice works even with best play by both sides.

The difference between this and the trick plays above is that white can't decline the sacrifice. If white refuses to capture the corner, then the white+circle stones are captured instead.

Big Sacrifice To Get A Wall last edited by xela on October 6, 2024 - 12:14

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