Tight, loose and destructive

Another starting point for opening strategy.

Try to classify your plays in the opening into three categories: tight territorial, loose territorial and destructive. These are neither good nor bad in themselves.

• Tight plays tend to be good when they are concerned with the base of groups, bad if a small move (small).
• Loose plays tend to be good when they are large-scale, but bad if they set up targets by playing too near enemy strength.
• Destructive plays tend to be good if they weaken an enemy group, bad if they create a weak group for you.

If the time has come at which you really must create a weak group for yourself, to keep in the game, it is probably the middle game.

An example of applying the principle about tight plays: forming a corner enclosure from a 3-4 point is tight. Therefore once it is made, extensions from it are preferably loose. If there is a fight in that part of the board, the corner already has a good base.

Charles Matthews