Opening strategyIn go, both short-term tactics and
long-term strategy are important. At the beginning of a game,
strategic considerations take center stage, but as the game
progresses, tactics gradually become more important. Tactical
maneuvering certainly does take place in the opening, but only
within the context of strategic considerations.
Intuition is important in making strategic decisions in the
opening. It is impossible to make precise calculations of the
outcome of moves in the opening, so players must rely on their
feelings for a good move. There are two principles that can guide
intuition. One is the efficiency of a stone played in relation to
other stones. The other is balance.
Diagram 1 shows a
typical opening. Each side establishes a presence in a corner. Play
then spreads along the sides and eventually the positions develop in
the center.
The reason the first moves are made in the corner is because this
is the most efficient place to take territory. Diagram 2
illustrates this. In the upper right corner, it takes six stones
to surround nine points of territory. On the left side, Black must
play nine stones to surround the same amount of territory. However,
in the center it takes 12 stones to control nine points. From this
we can conclude that when taking territory, which is the object of
the game, stones work most efficiently near the corners and least
efficiently in the center.
Note
that in Diagram 1 the players are not concentrating their
moves in only one part of the board; they keep their stones spread
out. After each player establishes a presence in the four corners,
Black plays 5 to contest the area on the right side.
In Diagram 3, Black concentrates his moves in the upper
right, while White spreads his stones throughout the board. Black
has secured almost 30 points of iron-clad territory, but White has
the strategic advantage. White's position is well balanced and his
stones are working efficiently throughout the board. Black's stones,
on the other hand, are concentrated in one part of the board. He has
"put all his eggs into one basket," as the proverb goes, so his
position is unbalanced.
Answer to last week's problem In Problem 12, you were asked
to make two eyes for the group of five white stones. The correct
answer is for White to play 1 in Diagram 4; the white stones
are alive because the points to the left and to the right of White 1
are eyes. With two separated eyes the white group cannot be
captured.
If it is Black's turn to play,
he can kill the white stones by playing on the same spot (Diagram
5). After this, neither side will make a move here because both
players will realize that the white stones are dead.
For example, White cannot play 2 in Diagram 6 because he
puts himself into atari and Black will capture the six white stones
with 3.
If White demands proof that his stones are dead, Black will atari
with 1 in Diagram 7. White captures with 2. Black next plays
3 in Diagram 8. If White captures with 4, Black plays again
at the 3 position and captures seven white stones.
False eyesLook at the black group in Diagram 9. Is
it alive or dead? If it is Black's turn, he can get two eyes--A and
B--by playing at 1 in Diagram 10.
If it is White's turn, he can destroy the eye at the edge by
placing a stone at 1 in Diagram 11. If Black captures with 2,
the result is shown in Diagram 12. Black is reduced to only
one eye because the point A is false eye. That is, A seems to be an
eye, but eventually Black will have to play on that point. For
example, if White later ataris at 1 in Diagram 13, and, if
Black connects at 2, Black is left with only one eye (the point B in
Diagram10) and can be captured on the next move.
Problem 13
Where should White play to prevent Black from getting two eyes?
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