Table Point Play

    Keywords: Shape

This page is in need of attention.
Reason: See below. I think the focus of this page is wrong


A table point is the unoccupied intersection which would enable one side to complete a table shape. A special case of the eye-stealing tesuji, a play here can be very telling, as in this example from a game between Takagawa Shukaku and Kitani Minoru:

[Diagram]

Takagawa Shukaku (Black) versus Kitani Minoru, 1956


Here, a is a table point. Takagawa played here with powerful effect:

[Diagram]


Play continued as follows:

[Diagram]


Black acquired powerful influence and separated white's centre group from the corner, while white+square was injured. Kitani was under constant attack for the remainder of the game, which ended in his resignation on move 143.


Remarks

Dieter: I'm skeptical about this page. Although this is an interesting situation from professional play, I doubt that the table shape is an essential aspect of it, or rather incidental. The critical aspect here is the direction of development, not the shape.

[Diagram]

AI review

AI (in this case LeelaZero used on ZBaduk, prefers B1 over a. Regardless of who's right, the human pro or the AI, this indicates that indeed the key element is the direction of play rather than the shape.

[Diagram]

AI review

ZBaduk's LeelaZero finds B1 to be a 16% mistake. It also considers B3 a minor mistake (better to press at a). After B7, it plays W8 instead of connecting at black+circle, upon which B9 takes the ko. White then continues on the lower side.

The idea here seems to be that Black will end up overconcentrated, while White can make good corner territory while reducing the lower side.

[Diagram]

AI review

The AI recommendation here looks like it simplifies matters. W2 creates a table shape indeed. After W4-B5 White can turn to the key point on the left side for attack and defence a. It's still expected Black can play on the right side first (i.e. sente).


This is a copy of the living page "Table Point Play" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2024 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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