3-4 point high approach, two-space high pincer, outside attachment
With the attachment at
, White is actually challenging Black to a fight. Black can reject the challenge with a, or accept it with b or c. In particular Black c (the Magic sword) can lead to long and complicated variations.
Lower Hane
After the exchange of
for
, black can play either a, which involves a ladder, or b, which is more common with the pincer.
This
leads to a position that is also known without the pincer. White can cut at
to take the corner, or at
to take the outside with a ladder.
See also: 45Point43ApproachOutsideContact
is rare when the pincer has not been played, but in this position it is quite common. White attaches at
, and Black defends at
or
. Because of the pincer, White has little room to make a base here, so jumping out at
is common, after which
stops White's hopes of a counter-attack.
Charles The other way is
in response to
, which is natural suji, not allowing atari. Then
is agreed to be better shape here than at a which suffers Black b. This line occurs in pro games.
Upper Hane
This is the main line for this joseki. White takes the corner, giving Black thickness. After
, black can later play a or c in sente, requiring white to defend the corner. Exchanging white a for b to stop black from playing a in sente is usually not good as white is pushing from behind on the second line. On the top black has the sequence Black c, White d, Black e and White f as a forcing sequence.
Playing hane with
is a mistake. Black plays
, after which a and b are miai for black.
Exchanging White a for Black b is too great a loss, so White can only play atari with
, sacrificing two stones. Black gets a lot of territory on the upper side; white's only compensation is that she has sente, and thus played one stone less in this corner. To see why this is bad, compare this with diagram 2 of the small avalanche. This sequence is identical to that one, but all black stones are one line higher.
Magic Sword
looks like bad shape (after
, White has the Hane at the Head of Two Stones shape), but it is still joseki. Black invariably cuts with
, after which the position is known as the magic sword of Muramasa, a joseki which shares with the taisha and the onadare a reputation for complexity. See magic sword for this position.
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