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Probe Popular Misconceptions
   

[Diagram]
Diag.: A well-known sequence

Black 2 is a mainstream reply to White's probe 1 in Black's enclosure. White cuts at 3, an interesting play based on ideas of light shape.

This sequence occurs for example in the yosumiru chapter of Strategic Concepts of Go. It is something like a textbook example of a certain kind of play (formation of what you could call 'screening kikashi'). It does seem to have led over time to at least its fair share of misconceptions. Some of these are to do with inappropriate thinking (equating middlegame joseki with joseki in the sense of adequate set patterns).



Firstly, how does Black respond?

[Diagram]
Diag.: A well-known sequence

This seems to be the common continuation in contemporary pro go. This is stern resistance from Black. Black 1 and 3 are severe plays, Naturally enough they give White scope for action in the corner, though.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Securing the corner

In comparison Black 1 here is clearly mostly concerned with corner safety. It means White has kikashi to play at 2 and 4: for Black to play 3 at 5 looks self-contradictory when White plays immediately at 3, forcing Black to connect (it's a picnic ko for White).

The attraction of this sequence for teaching purposes is the handling next of White's position. One does wonder though if the message given, that Black can play submissively like this, isn't misleading.



[Diagram]
Diag.: White's shape

Then there is the question of White's continuation to make light shape.

White a and b are heavy, and that's the initial lesson. Anyone who simply looks for such plays, and no further, can almost certainly improve by considering what is wrong with emphasising connection here.

If the marked black stone is there, for example, White b will be answered immediately by Black c, a perfect attacking peep.

Therefore some other choice must be found, out of c to i. Here the point e is included out of respect for 'Strategic Concepts', which uses it as an exemplar of light shape. In pro games, however, this isn't such a common sequence in the presence of the marked stone. A Takagawa-Sakata game had White continuing at i.

Granted that this is a good example of something, it does seem that it is high time that it was reconsidered, in the database search era.

Charles Matthews



This is a copy of the living page "Probe Popular Misconceptions" at Sensei's Library.
(C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.