Bob McGuigan

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I'm a retired mathematics professor. I live in the western part of Massachusetts, USA. I have published numerous translations from Japanese into English in the American Go Journal. I am the compiler and translator of the two Slate and Shell books Masterpieces of Handicap Go Volume 1 and Volume 2. To me, finding good moves is more important than winning.

I rarely play in tournaments. My current playing strength is around AGA 5-Dan.

As practice for me in making diagrams, here is a life-and-death problem I like because it is a shape that could occur in an actual game. It's got a lot of variations to read out. It was composed by Fujisawa Shuko around 1944.

[Diagram]

Black to play

Problem solutions


Charles Matthews Robert, you sent me email about a problem from Shape Up. I don't have much to add from pro games - there is one more on GoGod but similar to the examples you had already.

I've just been looking at this in a big joseki dictionary (the Korean three-volume one, in fact). I guess the problem was taken from a position, which might have been a 1950s Japanese book I no longer have to hand. Anyway, the circle of ideas is like this:

[Diagram]

Joseki



and now what?

[Diagram]

Variation

This is something like a joseki, from the book. Question is, can W3 be played first?



[Diagram]

Variation

I don't know, but the book suggests that on W1, B2 means W3 and W5 are then playable from a tactical point of view.



This is pretty inconclusive, but of course the pro games are not going to be in cases that can have a bad outcome.


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