Go Seigen on the Star Point - Small Knight's Shimari Fuseki

    Keywords: Opening
[Diagram]

Wedge


In Go Seigen: 21st Century Go (Go Seigen: 21 Seiki no Go), vol. 1, p. 53, Go Seigen calls the wedge, W6, a bit easygoing.

[Diagram]

Shoulder blow


He says that White must play the shoulder blow, W1.

After B4, White can aim at a or b.


Anonymous: Why not B6 at W9 ? Double-purpose play: pincer and take this very interesting point of the Orthodox fuseki.

Bill: After W1 - W3, the pincer at B9 is relatively uninteresting because Black's framework is already compromised.


[Diagram]

Right side uninteresting


If Black replies this way, after B5 Go Seigen says that the right side is uninteresting, and says White should approach from the bottom (W6).

[Diagram]

Avoiding the shoulder blow


To avoid the shoulder blow, Go Seigen recommends that Black play at a or b.

Katago's analysis

[Diagram]


Katago's numbers:

  • the wedge at a is not in its policy; when forced, it lets Black take the lower left 3-3 invasion, for 44,6%, a 0,5 point loss, at 2,8K playouts
  • the shoulder hit at b is on the radar but few playouts; when forced, it lets Black take the upper left 3-3 invasion, for 45%, a 1,3 point loss, at 2,8K playouts
  • its main choice is invading the lower right corner, c, for 55,7%, a 1,5 point win, at 6,4K playouts

In short, the wedge would lose 1 point here, the shoulder hit 1/5th of a point, on average.


This is a copy of the living page "Go Seigen on the Star Point - Small Knight's Shimari Fuseki" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2023 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
[Welcome to Sensei's Library!]
StartingPoints
ReferenceSection
About