TheArtOf9x9Go/Game i1

The Invisible in 9x9 go  

The secret of go study, since the Edo period, particularly at the Honinbo house, is to understand WHY the best go player played like he did. At that time, it's hard to know who is the best, and even harder to know how he played unless you have his game records. This is not true nowadays, during the Internet period.

This game is the first invincible 9x9 game to accompany this book.

New orthodox  

Attack at the very beginning, with . Black started with the New Orthodox Opening of , , and , which is Darksniper's most favorite formations. both attacks and defends the bottom right corner.

de-balancing  

De-balances the shape of White, with . Black is ready to divide its army after , while White becomes unstable and needs a complex fighting to change the situation. White needs to play a touching attack.

Fight back  

Fight back a touching stone with a sente hane. both attacks and blocks it from the major army on the right. is a common response to a touching attack. The bending stone creates a weak point at a, which should appear far from the enemy.

Give, in order to get  

Give before you get. touches Black in order to exchange for space on the top right corner, by using to control Black's responses. If Whites simply played a, he would end up with no space at the corner.

Bad cutting  

Allow division if your split armies can live well. Although White can cut Black into two groups, both of them are strong, easy to become immortal.

Attack before defend  

Attack before you defend. and apply the proverb. White allows to die, as he wants to use for supporting the defend at a and serving as a basis for camping at the top right corner.

Allow him to live  

Allow the enemy to live in a confined area. as done by , which makes the southern black group look solid and have a bright future: Black can play a big and strong move at a.

Bright defend  

Defending that can jump later is good. as done by , which is low enough to defend the corner and can jump to a later.

Attack before  

Don't reply a gote attack if you can do a sente attack. Black does not reply because he has a contingent plan: to play at b if White plays a. He attacks with instead, which, if ignored, can cut from the big white group. with also demonstrates the proverb "play diagonally if you are near the strong enemy."

Allow him to live  

Allow the enemy to live if his army is small. allows and to live at the corner, and claims the bottom right corner. Black and White look balance, but Black can either attack more at a, or extend to b. White sees these risks, but he wants to play a sente move on the next move.

Safety first  

Safety first. makes the whole white group strong, while the northeastern black group has not been well established yet. It is urgent to help this black group, with

Attack the weakest  

If you don't know where to play, attack the weakest stone, as done by . White has two groups, which are both strong. is the only weak stone on the board, so Black attacks it, which also makes this black group even stronger.

Sente defend  

Small but strong is better than big but weak, as shown by . As is not powerful; Black can reply it later. Black plays a small, strong, sente move at .

Kill  

Kill him before he kills you. If Black does not capture , White will kill the black stones here. White wants to make it difficult for the southern black groups to survive.

Read ahead  

Read many stones ahead. If Black ignores , he will be in trouble because of White a.

Heading a free space  

Defend by attacking and moving toward a free space. defends and attacks . It also moves toward a free space with potential opportunity. is a basic reaction for limiting Black's development.

Big gote defend  

If it is big to defend, defend it, even with gote. is a big gote defends.

Weak attack  

Don't reply a weak attack if you have a bigger point to play. is a weak attack, which cannot kill or destroy any black stone. Black can play somewhere else that has a future potential. Eye for a free space.

Extend from a strong group  

Move from a strong base if you have to contact the enemy. extends from the strong black group, which is better than a or b as the local bases of Black are not strong enough to support the attack at a or b.

Crucial point  

Don't let him stand. makes it hard for White to force Black around here.

Blocking  

You can block if you can survive. blocks White and kills his own space from 4 to 3 points. This is okay as cannot manage to kill this black group.

Attack the weak side  

Attack at the weak side. attacks the weak side of White. If ignored, Black can demolish this weak wall at a.