86.157.243.212: Authentic (2021-10-04 14:31) [#11881]

John F.The game is well attested and appears in many sources, starting with the Carefree & Innocent Pastime Collection. We even know precisely where it was played: Xianggong High Pavilion, Qionglin Garden, beyond the Xinzheng gate, Kaifeng. See my "Wizardry the Stone Chamber." The game is usually referred to as the Qionglin Game, and is one of several games known from Kaifeng around 1100.

The players are likewise well attested, and have several other games in the corpus (see GoGoD database).

As to the opening style, the pincer was very common and the jump* out was normal - going into the corner was considered bad because of group tax, and Katago has confirmed this.

• Except it wasn't called a jump - it was called (making a) barrier, and was a very common move, with precisely that intent in mind, in order to separate the opponent's groups, again because of group tax.