MonkeyJump/How to Stop

How to stop the Monkey Jump

Defense summary  

The correct White response to depends on whether there is a white stone at a or not. If not, c (or sometimes d) is usually the correct response, and if there is, b is the first move you should think of. If there is no white stone at a, the monkey jump is about 10 points in sente, while if there is a stone at a, it is the regular 8 points in sente.^[1]

WTD: In Monkey Jump Workshop by Richard Hunter, c is generally dismissed as a reply to the jump, because it loses points unnecessarily. I don't think it should be considered unless special circumstances apply, such as the invader exploiting a gap in the defenders formation, or forming a separate live group.

axd: so the diagram 'Correct sequence' above, which says 'c' is the correct reply, is then no more than a "special circumstance"?

Bill: I am far from sure, but e might be right. It's complicated. Anyway, e is one of the standard responses.

Karl Knechtel: It is? I've never seen that...

Bill: See real game example.

You should try to read out the answer precisely, as you should neither give up two points, nor lose the game by producing one of the catastrophic failures we have seen above.

Try out your reading in the Monkey Jump Problem Series.

Examples illustrating the rule of thumb above follow below:

10 point monkey jump  

Alternative defense  

WTD: If is played at e, in '10 point monkey jump' (above), the result is 2 points better for White. This can also be achieved if White replies to the monkey jump at here (d in 'Defense summary').

Wrong defense  

8 point monkey jump  

rz: I don't understand why in this diagram, black cannot play 6 instead of 3, putting 4 into atari

kl: it is because white could then play 3. Black cannot survive during the subsequent fight with fewer "breath".

Dead monkey - why works  

It comes down to whether Black can capture or not. With the squared white stone, is safe.

The response at e

 

Half a point better  

In this case, the first line block is half a point better, so long as Black can't play at b.

Real game example

In this game there are three monkey jumps, each answered in a different way.

Dong Yan (W) - Wang Yuan, 2000  

Dong - Wang (2)  

Dong - Wang (3)  

Dong - Wang (4)  

@

[1] dnerra: These values assume that White's hane, after preventing the monkey jump by a block on the second line, would be sente.