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Overplay
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    Keywords: Go term

An overplay tries to gain too much.

If the opponent replies correctly, it will show a loss, but if he makes a timid response or other mistake, it can succeed. Most trap plays are overplays.


In a handicap game White must overplay to be able to catch up and overtake the handicap advantage Black enjoys. Thus, overplay is relative. A play that would be an overplay in one game might be appropriate in a different game against a different player.

Migeru
Is this also part of adapting play to score?

Charles Matthews In fact consideration of what White does in skilful handicap play is revealing about the nature of overplays. For example invasions may be legitimate plays, may be overplays that should end in mochikomi, or may live with correct play but give away too much influence.

  • In the opening White may play for large, loose frameworks on the assumption that Black will not invade correctly.
  • Characteristic of play in the middle game in handicap go is that White makes invasions of the type that give away too much influence. That leaves problems for White's other groups in making shinogi.
  • In the endgame White ought to be making correct plays and relying on Black's small mistakes to catch up. Speculative invasions are not good teaching, in general.

The true nature of handicap go with White is to be a little unreasonable, in a way that is hard to punish. I'd say obvious overplays are only part of it. White's natural strategy is of the amashi kind, but thinner than it ought to be.

Jan: A low kyu player once said to me: 'In low (two to five, maybe?) handicap games, White usually can get away with slight overplays - three-space extensions where a two-space extension would be correct'

Bill: An overplay is better than an underplay. ;-)

Alex Weldon: Well, I'd say that depends on whether one is winning or losing. A rich man should not pick quarrels, after all. If you're ahead, err on the side of underplay. If you're losing, err on the side of overplay. :) (See safety play, though. Charles)

On the other hand, at my level (12k* IGS), most players could use Bill's advice. I tend to win most of my games by being a little bit quicker to tenuki and a bit more ambitious with my moves. However, I sometimes lose a game because my move actually does turn out to be overplay and the opponent spots it. Still, I think the other players need to play a bit more ambitiously, even if it means risking overplay.

Bill: I'm sorry. I meant my remark to be tongue in cheek, not advice. I do think that if you err, it is better to err on the side of boldness.
Overplays are both the easiest and hardest plays for me to counter. I find obvious overplays easy to punish. On the other hand, borderline overplays can give me difficulties. First, is the play an overplay? If so, my opponent has missed something subtle. What is it? ;-)

Jasonred : In my humble opinion, about overplaying or underplaying, sometimes it's the extent of the overplay/underplay. Also, player ability makes a big difference when considering the whole issue, no?

Alex Weldon: The interesting thing about overplays is that, if answered correctly, the result can be devastating. While the loss from underplay probably linearly increases with the "badness" of the underplay, the "badness" of an overplay has more of an effect on how easy it is for the opponent to spot than how bad the consequences will be if he does. I mean, a slight overplay might be one where there's a hard to spot tesuji that ends up killing the whole group (small chance of a large loss), whereas a really bad overplay would be one where it's completely obvious that the opponent can just capture that one stone in sente without giving you any compensation (almost 100 percent chance of a small loss).

Playing slight overplays can be like a reverse lottery, where you get paid for each ticket you take, but each one gives you a small chance of a large financial loss. That's why you play them when you're behind.

Anyway, Bill, I know your remark was meant to be tongue in cheek, but I thought it raised a real issue worth commenting on.

One more thing to add is that you don't learn much by playing underplays; you just lose a game by 10 points, and you aren't sure why. Playing overplays is instructive. When you get punished, you learn something. You'll never find the line between the two if you always play under it... if you overplay constantly, your overplays will get smaller and smaller as you learn, until you find yourself playing right on that fine line of "good play", or at least close to it.

Charles Matthews The same comment applies to wishy-washy, tepid plays of the type the Japanese call nurui. In fact, to try to clarify the terms a little, perhaps nurui stands in relation to the idea of vital point in the same way as small plays stand in relation to the big points; both types back off too much and can be called underplays.



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This is a copy of the living page "Overplay" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2003 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.