B2 Bomber
For many years the B2 Bomber was used as an enclosure tool, particularly as part of tenuki joseki. However, that approach has been rejected. Now it is more often used as an overwhelmingly powerful shape that can decisively alter the course of a fight.
Before proceeding, please note that the following discourse is only for advanced Go players. Unless you've reached zero-dan (alias zeri-dan),
don't try to understand it. Most importantly is that you do not attempt to use this shape unless you understand its dynamics.
The following illustration shows its strength in action as an offensive shape:
Notice how weak the white stone is. In fact, it is so weak that it can be practically considered dead. This is just one example of the B2's power. Many times a play that prevents its formation is large.
Here the white stone is decimating Black's entire position. Notice the major difference between this and the earlier diagram. Before, the white stone was weak; here, it is stupendously powerful!
For another thing, note that the B2 Bomber has 10 liberties (no, this is not a lie. Count yourself and you'll see the astonishing truth -- 10!). This number, the 10, which in Jewish mysticism is full of cosmic power, makes it very difficult to capture a B2. Indeed, as statistical analysis done by a Korean-Indian-Russian team over three years shows, 10 is an unparalleled number in capturing races; the average tends to be near 5 or 6.
The B2 Bomber certainly is a powerful shape, and it 'certainly' never fails to amaze.
Finally, though we have already established the B2 as being "uber," there is one matter that is of note. As trestles, a KGS 2d, teaches, one should ignore all proverbs?. Amazingly enough, there are little to no proverbs about the B2! What that means is that trestle's postulate applies to the B2.
Clearly the creation of a B2 Bomber is game deciding. If you can understand its strength, the folk-saying goes, then you are a 5d (though, honestly, you could be just a 3d). Indeed, one can only imagine how different games would go if more people devoted a turn or two to forming a B2 Bomber.
For instance:
This position is a common enclosure shape. Later in the game, it will usually evolve into something like
Here, even a 5k can miss what's happening -- a B2 Bomber is under formation! One more move and it will be almost unstoppable. White must strike now. The entire balance of the game is at risk; no mistakes can be made at this point.
Compare the next two diagrams:
Both take the corner enclosure and add a stone, whether it be white or black. The primary difference between the diagrams, besides for the obvious points, lies in a principle discovered by a Korean pro:
Differential Influence
Yes! As strange as it may seem at first, the B2 Bomber, when formed, is an example of Differential Influence!
(Upon rereading this, I came to realize that SL does not have any adequate pages on Differential Influence. Hopefully, one will be made or I will be forced to explain this high-dan concept in this lowly page about the B2 Bomber!)
Onwards to another point:
This is a position from a recent pro game. The first thing that one may notice is that Black has moved an extra time. That is because White naturally panicked after seeing Black's formation in the center and decided to pass. White did recover his stamina and managed to continue play after downing a cup of water. (As a side note, please note that the pro did not drink alchohol. Though the situation is scary, alchohol is not needed to deal with B2 Bombers. A B2 Bomber is not a good reason to become a drunkard (unless it is flying above your head and you see the bombs falling).)
The second thing noticable is that Black has a surplus of power in the center. Though Black has neglected the corners, the rest of the game will be a hard fight for White, as groups are chased to the waiting B2 Bomber that is hovering in the middle.
And indeed, 104 moves later, after a toughly fought ko, White did resign.
Modern thought on such play is that instead of passing, White should have dynamically attacked the B2 Bomber by playing in the center. This ties into Differential Influence:
There is a proverb, saying, A Bomber in play adds 4 to your kyus. This example shows the only possible way for White to reach Black's level of play.
Notice that Black still has the upper hand. The stone occupies tengen, which is the highest position on the board! This "small" difference in position is so critical that some have pushed for banning black from opening at tengen. Of course, such an idea is absurd. The B2 Bomber, despite apperances to the contrary, is stoppable.
Attacking the B2 Bomber
The most basic idea for striking at a B2 Bomber is
[1]Do not panic!
The B2 is frightening, no one can deny that. But if you let it get to you, you've already lost half the battle. A positive mindset will do wonders, especially in such a difficult position.
(Though it is true that you made a huge blunder in letting the B2 come into existence. You should certainly be irked at yourself for that -- but do not let it influence your playing.)
Understanding the second idea is easier if we look at the following diagram:
Notice that White has played precisely at the tip of Black's formation -- thusly diffusing all its influence in that direction. This is a key idea: for all its benefits, the B2 is not a useful territorial shape. Instead, it is influential -- and in any fight, you should seek to ruin its influence.
Black is not going to let White push him around. He knows how strong his shape is, and he's going to fight the position out. This is a very violent reply, and one that is judged optimal. Anything else is a compromise and can lead to disaster for black.
All of this, however, is discussing the attacking of a B2 when it is placed in tengen as a ferocious opening strategy. What if the B2 appears elsewhere in the game?
This is a very realistic depicition of how a B2 could come into play. Here, black faces a major dilema, namely how to deal with the amazing threat.
I'll admit that my puny brains can not handle such a problem. As shown earlier, often B2 Bombers are part of complex 4p-strategy. I am not 4p, so I know not what to do :(.
A possible solution is to use ground to air missiles, or perhaps even air to air missiles to take the bomber out before it does any harm, as with the contra strategy. One problem with this solution is that your opponent may object to you carrying missiles.
Obviously, the answer to that is another missile.
This is what is left after one strategic missile is launched. The difference is plain to all -- the B2 Bomber is gone, and Black is free to expand into the lower-middle. If only all problems in life were so easily solved.
BenjaminGeiger: The inevitable result of air-to-air missiles:
(Sebastian:) The B2 Bomber also is predestined to make two eyes. Simply mirror it like this. This shape is called the B2B Bomber.
(Lynx:) Fantastic! I never approached the B2 Bomber on that angle! On other pages you state that you a kyu. Please do not mock us with such lies. Once you spout such wisdom at us, any claim of being a kyu is immediately destroyed.
Bildstein: Indeed, with such stunning insight, Sebastian is clearly giving away that he is at least of 4p strength. This leads me to beleive that Sebastian may indeed be Tartrate. Perhaps he deserves an entry in TartrateGossip?
Kyu players often have trouble make effective use of the B2 in play, because they often lack a deep enough understanding of the difference between light and thin, and heavy and thick. As a sort of stepping stone to the effective use of the B2, kyu players can try this, admittedly thinner, cousin of the B2.
It has some interesting qualities. For example, it is very difficult to stop the creation of the "thinner B2". Consider the above diagram after White has played the three marked stones with her first three moves. It is very difficult for Black to stop her, and if he tries, he ends up with his stones too close to White's thickness.
Lynx: Also note that Black would find it quite difficult to play inside the B2 Bomber and escape. 'Minor' facts like that are essential to fully appreciating a shape's strength.
Thad: Actually this is a much better variant of the B2Bomber for kyu players. Composed of a ponnuki and two semiponnuki.
However, I wonder if the B2Bomber is solely a high dan shape. I see it being employed quite often by low level kyus. Virtual beginners employ it quite often. Perhaps there is an intuitive power to this shape that makes it powerful for all levels of play.
Life, Death, and the B2 Bomber
Ask any weak 10kyu and they will immediately say this shape is seki. However, a stronger player will recognize a B2 Bomber in the making.
Black is brilliant. Letting the opponent capture your B2 Bomber may seem like suicide, and in a way it is. Usually losing your B2 Bomber is a game-ending disaster, but this is a special case. This kamikaze play aims to exploit the properties of B2 Bomber in the corner. White
is forced.
Black is like a phoenix rising from the ashes! So powerful is this play that white has no choice but to play on the point of symmetry. However, black calmly replies at
and white's eyespace is reduced to bent four in the corner. White is dead.
Anonymous: And what happen if White play 2 at 3?
MrTenuki: In order to not spoil the joke, please refer to the page B2 Bomber in the corner.
With all that said it is easy to go astray. Black at
would be a grave mistake. Even a dan player who is unfamiliar with the ways of the B2 Bomber might claim they are "miai". To you, dear reader, the fallacy behind that statement should be obvious.
Additional shapes that are similar:
ThaddeusOlczyk:The B2 is nothing compared to TheEnterprise.
The opposite in Karma relationships to the B2Bomber is the BloodyL
ChaoSpectre: I do not think that the BloodyL is the "opposite" of the B2Bomber. Although the Carpenter's Square is something formidable to deal with, the Box connection is quite useful, if carried out. The L has 11 liberties, which is more than comparable to the Bomber's 10. Also, note that the L is only one stone away from being a Bomber.
ProtoDeuteric: Chao, I think that you should realize that this is a humor page. Notice the "deathstar" comment below and the "Enterprise" comment above.
ChaoSpectre: What good is humour that doesn't make sense? ;)
Although... it does seem like the L is a Bomber that has taken AA fire and had a part shot off. This means the Bomber will crash at any point unless repaired, wasting a move to play an immensely thick and useless point, and giving white sente to roll out some SAMs or some more AA guns. Or you know, play somewhere else...
I think the deathstar formation should not be ignored
B2 Bomber in Professional Play
- 2005-02-24, 29th Kisei Title match game 5, Hane Naoki vs Yuki Satoshi. Hane completes the B2 Bomber on move 132. The game ends twenty moves later, thus demonstrating the awesome power of the B2 Bomber !
Advisory Real Game Examples
There are plenty of real life games everyone can evidently see the correct use of these high performance shapes. Just for instance, I saw a double bomber attacking formation at different heights at a mere 9d vs 7d game on kgs! Naturally Black pawns White with the striking power of such a formation and wins by resignation...
However, there have been reported occasional counterexamples as well:
Some have claimed that this shape is a joke. Doubtlessly, they are trying to delude their opponents into poor play by tricking them into not using this excellent shape. However, it is an effective shape, and it is used quite often in advanced play.
For instance: http://files.gokgs.com/games/2004/11/22/matsumoto-Horse8161.sgf.
Black does eventually lose. It is a shame that the advantage gained was squandered. In fact, now that I think about it, tears come to my eye. Such is life, no? Black had a huge advantage, the indominatable B2. And somehow, Black loses.
There is a deeper meaning to that game. The B2, with its mystical 10 liberties, is full of spiritual power. We can only watch in silence as it teaches us all how to be better people.
Velobici: This shape occurred on 5 January 2004 during a game between du1 4d and jun22 3d* on IGS. White (du1) attacked Black's B2 Bomber using peeps. Black (jun22) "flew" around within White's moyo seeking targets of opportunity for making eyes. It is sad to report that the B2 Bomber ran out of fuel before finding what those eyes.
Obviously, not every player can handle the ultimate power of the B2 shape appropriately.
blubb: In a recent match of mine, a perfect B2 bomber suddenly occured quite early in the game. Even though I warned my opponent not to underestimate it's secret power, he clearly began to gradually lose attitude.
To the unskilled eye, it might have looked as if I was performing hilariously badly, losing groups on and on, with hardly anything (but my B2 formation, of course) surviving. The whole middle game seemed to be dominated by him. Even me was tempted to give up, but luckily I knew: finally my opponent would sense what was really ruling the game, and inavoidably have to resign.
I relaxed looking forwards, until it happened.
To be honest, I could never have kept confident about this strategy without having studied the B2 revelations of uttermost importance provided here in depth. Thanks to the authors of this page!
Thomas : I started playing a B2 bomber in a game of mine on kgs against a 2d and with 2 stones taking white. I played 5 out of the 6 moves of the bomber in the center while he was playing star points, until he suddenly resigned and left the game without saying thanks ! He must have thought i wascrazy :(...
kaiou: Shusaku won Ear Reddening Game thanks to a bomber ^^ you can see it on diagram
Check out this Video showing the
Bomber's real strengh!!!
See Also: B2 Bomber Josekis
See Also: B2 strikes on goproblems
This is actually a story.. one about a prodigal child who used the bomber so effectively it literally made me shut my laptop, place it on the desk and sprinkle sesame salt on my arms (you know..). but in all honesty this child was amasing.. an infant to the go scene.. here transcribed is the kibitz pre-game:
fgsdmjn: hi rubbergo: where are the admins when you need them :) fgsdmjn: :P kiyohime: Poor weakbot50k just got escaped. wji203: hi wji203: any beginners fgsdmjn: me wji203: challenge me fgsdmjn: I challenge you! wji203: come on fgsdmjn: bring it wji203: umm i duno how fgsdmjn: oh i thought we were just mock verbal fighting wji203: well of course we were wji203: but we will now escalate wji203: to go armageddon fgsdmjn: well yes. you mean a game of go wji203: i made a game wji203: join wji203: it is named 'go armageddon'
here is a piece of transcription of the game itself:
fgsdmjn: have you heard of the b2bomber? wji203: yes fgsdmjn: are you sure? wji203: a distant relative invented it fgsdmjn: wow! wji203: i lied
--so there you have it.. he is a distant relative of the INVENTOR of the b2bomber... this is evidence (1) he is go genius... and boy what an armageddon it was!
So i casually joined game with him assuming this would be more of a "teaching" game than a real one. I casually proceeded placing my stones on each star point while yawning and drinking my cup of java at the same time (the exact same time). when stone j8 struck the digital board it sent subsonic shockwaves that rippled through the keyboard, up my arms giving me indian burns clear up to my next and seizured my brain while the best I could do to counteract the overwhelming truth of the situation was clench my eyes and grit my teath as i convulsed shaking the hot java all over myself.
There in front of my lay the most beautiful thing I had ever layed eyes upon, when the shock settled and the smoke evaporated before me was the very definition of beauty. I can die happy (see move 83 in( http://files.gokgs.com/games/2006/11/20/fgsdmjn.sgf), I have met the prodigal child of the b2bomber scriptured had told us of... some say he was born in a nuclear warzone and rose from its ash with a piece of B-2 bomber irreversably imbedded in his soul. I am not a 9p so I could not tell you the depth to what happened to me that game but i was hoping the kgs community, may be able to help me know if I am delusional and meerly had the wool pulled over my eyes temporarily, or if he truely is, the chosen one.
--birdmw
(anon): I prefer move 160 in that game. The sudden change in state of the board reminds me of fireworks.