Noseki 1

 

Dieter: To my knowledge, most amateurs will invite easy joseki by playing a or b. Players with a sense of whole board thinking will sometimes shift to the low move at c. More adventurous players will pincer at d, e or f, with decreasing popularity, either led by whole board thinking or by lust for battle.

 

Anyone who witnessed a pro game in his Go life will rarely or never play . However, a beginner could easily come up with this move. As a matter of fact, experienced players could mistake this move for some kind of Shusaku kosumi. While this move will be dismissed as noseki and a violation of basic instinct, what's so bad about it ?

 

Let's imagine the well known continuation despite the "wrong" first move. How much worse is this result than if Black's stone were at a and why ? Myself, as a 2d, I think Black's development at the right side would be faster and equally safe with a but I can't express it in points.

In a sly mood, I could play this move to have the other player think he's leading by a lot so that he will start playing slack moves later.

 

This surprising cut is only one of the many variations one can think of. Black 11 is at a and White captures in a ladder at b. However, this ladder may not work and Black's noseki is a success.

Transpose to joseki  

Bill: transposes to joseki, which normally goes - , .