Leaning

    Keywords: Tactics

Leaning is a Go technique, involving contact plays.

In the first example below, Black leans on a stone, making it stronger in the process. However this shifts the balance of power between the Black corner stones and the single White stone at the top of the board in Black's favour. Black can then proceed to attack the weak white stone at the top of the board.

A few examples:


[Diagram]

Defense against a pincer

White has played a pincer against the lone black stone. Black leans against the white group in the corner, solidifying his position. Now he is aiming at white+circle.


An example from a real game, Sakata (Black) vs.Kitani (White):

[Diagram]

Sakata - Kitani

B1 and B3 threaten to slice up the bottom side.

[Diagram]

Sakata - Kitani (ii)

White resists staunchly, but Black builds up thickness in sente. Now B6 attacks White's central group, driving it towards Black's new strength. White will have a difficult time of it. (In fact, White resigned without making a second eye.)


[Diagram]

Common leaning attack situation

B6 is the key move here, leaning on White to prepare the attack on White's other group.


Notes:

BillSpight: A good metaphor for leaning: To take a step with your right foot, put your weight on your left foot first.

BobMcGuigan: It should be mentioned that the leaning moves work because the person being leaned on must respond or suffer a loss. A beautiful example of a leaning move is W5 in the second diagram in Favorite Moment 1, a game between Takemiya and O Rissei.

Questions

Anonymous: What would b do if in the last diagram 6 was ignored? Hane? To which side?

Bill: Black threatens to hane on the outside, ripping into White's framework.


This is a copy of the living page "Leaning" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2011 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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