Ways to avoid the taisha
The taisha is complicated.
The taisha is scary and hair-raising.
The taisha is blood-thirsty.
That's all true, and weak kyu players like me are afraid of playing it!
But what if our opponent challenges us with it and we do not feel like going on and fighting?
Luckily, we have many
Ways to Avoid the Taisha!!! [99]
(WARNING: The so-called "simple variations" are themselves joseki and full of variations, especially if one of the players departs from the established sequence, so always keep an alert eye on what's going on...)
Not necessary less complicated variations
tderz: If White wants to play something different than taisha t,
she can chose between c (also Kitani), a, b and d.
These variations, e.g. those starting from b are not necessarily less complicated than the taisha, but perhaps there are less branches.
Extend
[1]
The diagram below is the easiest and simplest:
A good follow-up for White is a (honte), for Black b.
Of course Black gets influence and a moyo, but that can be avoided only by going for the complicated fighting variations...
The exception is the variation below labeled Connecting towards the center, which requires a favourable ladder (at and
in that diagram):
Connect on top
[2]
White at a leads to the full-fledged taisha, but, having checked the ladder, we connect at b instead...
In this way Black gets a lot of territory, but White has beautiful thickness in sente. For what it's worth, I've won important games playing like this.
Diagonal attachment, the "old" way
[3]
At this point it becomes important who gets to settle the corner: imagine what happens if White plays a (hint: have a look below...) before Black manages to play the sequence b-c-d-e-f...
Diagonal attachment, Kitani's way
Author (so far): AvatarDJFlux
[99]
Bill: Since the taisha move has already occurred ( in the initial diagram), it is too late to avoid it. ;-)
Imagist: In all seriousness, this actually does prevent the taisha.
Tamsin: For what my thoughts are worth...don't avoid what you fear, but confront it! If you want to get strong, take on the challenge. Study the taisha and study the large avalanche, and feel confidence when things get wild!
Bob McGuigan: The Workshop Lectures, volume 1, by Yang Yilun, published by Slate and Shell has very good material on playing complicated joseki. It is based on the idea that if you pay attention to fundamentals you can play these joseki without having to memorize thousands of variations.
Imagist: For beginners (20k or weaker) I do think it's best to avoid the taisha since the fighting that it leads to is pretty far beyond their comprehension, so there isn't likely to be much learning. But I personally love the taisha, since it gives me a chance to practice reading.
Tas: Why do a 20k even know the taisha? As a beginner the time is far better spent developing a basic instinct, than to memorize a complicated joseki sequence.