Episode #70 Two master players
Hello everybody. Today we are going to do something different.
We're going to have a look at a game between Go Seigen and Takagawa played in 1972.
It was played in the Nihon Ki-in, the Japanese Go Association, in Japan, Tokyo.
And it is part of the Oza-sen, which was a tournament that was at that time dominated by the older players.
In this game Go Seigen plays as black and Takagawa plays as white.
So I will be Go Seigen, as black, and Peter will be Takagawa, as white.
Go Seigen is famous for his refreshing openings, he experimented a lot.
In this case he plays the 3-3 point in combination with the 3-4, which was his favourite opening.
And afterwards he plays a shimari. And Takagawa also plays a shimari.
Would you play this in your own game, Peter, this kind of shimari?
I used to play this a lot because I was thinking: this is so small, there's not so much territory here. So why not try and make it bigger, like this? Or maybe even here.
But the drawback of this is that there is still a lot of weaknesses in white's shape.
So when black for example gets a stone here, then later black can invade here, or here, or maybe even here. Right.
So there's still a lot of weaknesses here.
That's why I don't play this anymore. I normally just play this move. You go for the secure territory. Yes.
So this is kind of a choice between smaller territory but very secure and bigger territory but it's more vulnerable for attack.
Yes, white can expect to spend an extra move later to really make it secure.
I see. Nice.
So in the game Go Seigen immediately played on the left side to split the white formation and also to aim at this move.
Yes. Normally this is the normal move, to split in the middle. To make miai of extending this way or that way.
So if white would play here, then black would play like this. And if white would play from the other side, for example like this, then black plays here.
Yes. But in this case, if black plays here it is not as close to the white stone, so the aji is less dangerous for white.
So this becomes less interesting, invading here, for black.
Right. So that's why black played a little bit more to this side, so that he would get a stone that's one space closer to the white formation, so the aji is more dangerous for white.
So you can already say that this move takes advantage of white's weak shape here. Nice!
Could black also play on the right side, for example here?
Yes, it's a matter of taste. It's certainly possible. If black wanted to create a big moyo, then maybe you can say that this move would be better placed here.
Because white can reduce still, by playing for example here. And black will maybe play something like this..yes.
Ok. So we get moyo vs. territory. And this will be more about territory, the black corner, and this will be more about influence.
Right. So black is dividing his attention between influence and territory. And it's not a bad strategy at all, but black decided to split this territory instead.
I see. So let's see the game.
Black played there. And then white also played on the other side, to split black, right?
Yes. So we've learned that this is not a good move now. Because black will play here.
And in this case the shimari is very solid. It's not a big one. So here the aji is less important. Actually there is less aji.
And black feels very comfortable. Also the white group is still not completely secure. If I would be white I would feel the urge to play here.
And then we get a very straightforward and comfortable opening for black.
Also, white can play tenuki, maybe play on this side for example. But then later with such a move black also puts pressure on the white group.
Right. So in this case, this move is not a good splitting move. And it's better to play in the centre.
And black extended from this side. Right. This is quite a natural formation, with the shimari and then 3 spaces and then a stone.
What about this move? Is this possible for black?
Yes. It is a common way to play. You could say that for example, if white immediately approaches here, then black could consider playing here.
And when white extends, then black gets this point. And black gets a wave shape, which is very good.
So high and low stones combined. Yes, this stone is now better placed than here.
I see. This would be too low. Yes.
But black should be sure that he actually gets this stone, because this move is very painful for black.
I see. So if white already has a stone here, then this is dangerous because white can attack.
Now white will play here? Exactly, so black does not get the extension here and a white move here would be very painful.
So black needs to defend against this by playing here himself.
But this is also painful right, because black is quite passive. And slow aswell. White got this move for free.
And white can seal black in. Oh yes, nice.
So that's why instead of playing this keima, black chose to play more solid and not leave any weaknesses behind.
And now white again is weak, right?
So to protect his weak group, white extended here.
And now black played here immediately, which was surprising to me.
I would think, personally, that I would've played here.
Yes, I agree, this is the biggest direction.
Also because it makes a double wing from the black shimari.
Right. This works very well together.
And also this stone has more or less a miai. Black can play here or here to make a base. So you can say that this move is not very urgent. No.
But it does attack white's corner so it is by no means a bad move.
So maybe black expected white to answer this move.
Hmm..I think that if white answers it's very slow. For example like this, or here.
Now black would play from this side.
Yes, exactly. He can be very happy with the result in this corner.
And he can leave this group for what it is because it is strong and start building something magnificent on this side of the board.
Right. It's very good for black.
So this is maybe what black hopes for. Yes.
But ofcourse Takagawa will not give black what he wants.
And he played in the lower side now.
So at this point it's difficult for black to find a really [urgent] move. So instead he just played a very [big] move, which was this.
And, well, I wouldn't play here myself. It looks a little bit small, right? Yes, it's surprising.
Maybe black can play here instead?
Yes. I think this would also be my natural flow. And it is also another possibility.
Black makes again a kind of wave shape, with high and low stones. This side is very balanced.
But now ofcourse white gets sente and he can play the big move on the lower side.
So this is also I think an even result and just another type of game.
But black decided to play this move, which was a bit surprising. And white took the opportunity to immediately attack black.
Should you respond as black and play here?
Yes, this is a very big move. But because of the weakness of the big keima here, it's not that urgent, black is not under that much pressure. And I think, when black defends here then white will also defend. And this area becomes too big for white.
Yes. White feels better to me.
So instead black invaded. He left his group for what it was and played here.
Shouldn't black play on the other side instead, over here maybe?
Yes, this would be my first idea aswell. Because this stone is closer to this stone than this one is to this. There is more space between these stones than between these stones. So it is easier for black to invade here than it is for black to invade here.
Also because this side of the board is strong for black. This is much stronger than the group on that side. So it's easier for black to invade over here, right? Yes.
But Go Seigen played here and he surprised Takagawa.
Takagawa played this. In modern go you often see the [kosumi], right?
Yes. This is, especially when black can not make a nice extension, this is a good move.
So you can expect such a sequence. And I think a big fight will follow.
Now white will try to escape. And we will get some fighting.
So can you say that either black or white is better or is it an even fight?
I think it's an even fight. Also because black can still aim at weaknesses in this corner, so it will be not that easy for white to move out.
But we maybe will get something like this and a complicated fight will follow.
Ok, nice. But Takagawa didn't choose this fighting. Maybe Gu Li or Lee Sedol would do it.
And afterwards Go Seigen immediately invaded the corner. And white did block.
And we get a standard joseki here. After this it's always very difficult. White can block from this side, but white can also block from here. And I always find it very complicated: when do you block from which side?
Yes. I don't know either. It's very complicated. But in this case white has a stone here and when white blocks from this side, this stone looks a bit lonely.
Yes. So after this the black group is secure in the corner. And this stone is not really doing much anymore.
No. White has to sort of connect the two, so maybe by playing here.
Yes. But it still looks a little bit strange because white is trying to build something in the centre, but it is very open.
White would prefer to have another stone in the area already. Here or on [tengen], to really make something.
So this stone looks a little bit strange. So in this case it would be better to block from the other side, which also happened in the game.
White didn't block here, but here.
And then we get a standard corner sequence.
Where black makes life in the corner.
And here it's necessary for black to finish the shape by playing here. Now black is alive.
If black plays tenuki then white can actually kill black.
Right, this is a very famous life and death problem. It's the standard example from the proverb [there is death in the hane].
Wow, scary man!
So white will play the hane. Right, but can't black live by playing here?
Then white will play another hane. Another one?
On the other side. Here.
This looks like the shape move to live, but can white kill?
Oh, I think I start to see what's going on.
Ah, and now black gets a false eye. If he plays here, white can just connect. Yeah, white can even connect here and black is dead. This is not an eye because white can always give atari.
White could also play here even. This would also be dead for black. After this white can throw in and black is dead.
Ok, nice. So it is necessary for black to come back in this corner.
And to play here.
And now white is left with a very big cutting-point here. So white defends.
And black plays this peep in sente.
Note that these two stone aren't really doing much for white. So this shape is inefficient for white.
After this, black played a very nice move. I was quite impressed by this. He played here.
And I think it's really nice because white made a lot of thickness here, and he was capturing the two stones, but now black is kind of reducing the thickness. So white can not use it very well.
White can not cut, this would be dangerous. Because black also cuts and white has to be very careful with his one stone. Otherwise it will be captured. And the ladder is good.
Exactly, so it will be miai for black.
And if white doesn't cut but plays here, which was the game, black also strengthens his own group. So he will be more solid on that side.
And white feels a bit overconcentrated. Right.
Also there is some tactical problem here. After this sequence white would very much like to extend here. Yes, this feels very natural.
And it seems possible because this cut does not work.
After this move black is captured. And we can see that when we give this atari, then white has 5 liberties and black has only 4 liberties. So black is captured.
But instead black will not cut. Black has a tesuji up his sleeve. Black will play here!
After this, the best white can do is to play this hane.
And black makes a tiger's mouth. And this is kind of a miai situation for black.
Right, so if white connects here then black will also connect under and this is a success for black. And when white tries to block black, then we will actually get a ko.
So white throws in here.
Black can not play here because black has 3 liberties and white also has 3 liberties.
It's white to play so that would mean that black is dead. Right.
So instead black takes away a liberty from the outside. But now white can make this ko.
This would be a success for black, because it's a picnic-ko, a flower-ko, kind of a free ko for black.
So in the end this is an overplay. White can not extend upwards here.
So in the game white was forced to play here. It's a very nice result for black. After the nice exchanges that black did in this area, white had to come back to defend here. Very overconcentrated. And now black can aim at the next target.
There are two interesting parts of the board, I would say.
Black could play in the upper side, which is still very empty. Something like this.
After this, the white corner is pressured a lot, so white would probably have to defend.
And then black can do this nice jump. It makes the top area bigger for black and it also aims to make something in the centre.
Maybe by playing here.
But black was very territory-oriented. And black simply invaded here.
And from here on the game got very interesting. Black took more territory and white got more influence.
And we will see in the next episode how this will continue. See you then!