Go Seigen on the Star Point - Small Knight's Shimari Fuseki

Wedge  

In Go Seigen: 21st Century Go (Go Seigen: 21 Seiki no Go), vol. 1, p. 53, Go Seigen calls the wedge, , a bit easygoing.

Shoulder blow  

He says that White must play the shoulder blow, .

After , White can aim at a or b.

Right side uninteresting  

If Black replies this way, after Go Seigen says that the right side is uninteresting, and says White should approach from the bottom ().

Avoiding the shoulder blow  

To avoid the shoulder blow, Go Seigen recommends that Black play at a or b.

Katago's analysis

 

Katago's numbers:

• the wedge at a is not in its policy; when forced, it lets Black take the lower left 3-3 invasion, for 44,6%, a 0,5 point loss, at 2,8K playouts
• the shoulder hit at b is on the radar but few playouts; when forced, it lets Black take the upper left 3-3 invasion, for 45%, a 1,3 point loss, at 2,8K playouts
• its main choice is invading the lower right corner, c, for 55,7%, a 1,5 point win, at 6,4K playouts

In short, the wedge would lose 1 point here, the shoulder hit 1/5th of a point, on average.