Thickness

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  Difficulty: Advanced   Keywords: Strategy, Go term

Chinese: 厚 (hou4)
Japanese: 厚味 (atsumi); 厚さ (atsusa); 手厚さ (te-atsusa)
Korean: 세력 se ryeok)

Thickness

1) The quality or property of being thick.

2) A strong formation of stones, typically exerting outward influence. (in Japanese: Atsumi).

3) Overall lack of defects. (in Japanese: /Atsusa).

Thickness is a high level go concept. Utilizing thickness is an important skill.

Nearly all occurrences of thickness in the English go literature have the second meaning. Here are some examples:

Example 1

[Diagram]

Black thickness, White territory

From the 3-5 joseki. Black's thickness is large, with good eye potential.

In the above diagram, Black's shape is difficult to attack. The white stone will be captured, and there is no local play that would really threaten black's status as a living group. White isn't typically considered thick here because thickness is usually thought of as strength that is facing outward. White is definitely alive, but her strength has little effect on the rest of the board. The principle characteristic of White's formation is that it makes territory, while the principle characteristic of Black's formation is that it radiates influence, which it does because of its strength (thickness).

Example 2

[Diagram]

White thickness, Black territory

From the 3-3 joseki. White's thickness is not as strong, with less eye potential.

Example 3

[Diagram]

Thick territory

From the 3-4 joseki. Black has territory with thickness, radiating influence along the top side.


Further reading

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