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Preferring to Pincer
This page picks up on ideas given on the Kobayashi fuseki and mini-Chinese pages.
When Black approaches with 1 it is normal for White to defend the corner with a or b. Then Black can extend back to the middle of the side to make the Kobayashi formation. The pincer at 2 is seen in fewer than 10% of pro games.
Supposing the normal development shown in the right-hand corner, White has sente to approach in the left-hand corner with a play such as 1. In this position the area of marked points has become important. It isn't immediately clear how White exploits it, though.
Again a pincer to prevent Black building up a mini-Chinese formation along the side. Once more this is seen in professional games, but isn't highly favoured (no more than 10% of examples).
This is a main variation. White plays 7 to gain the maximum on the right side. White's next plays on the other side would be a or b, which are good shape but gote. There is nothing here really to support the common amateur idea that playing a pincer confers an advantage, though. In both cases Black takes territory early in White's corner and pros like profit.
A quite different attitude is shown by this counter-pincer strategy, played quite often recently by Kato Masao. Black starts a running fight on the top side. This suits Kato's style but should be considered a difficult choice. This is a copy of the living page "Preferring to Pincer" at Sensei's Library. (C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0. |