Filed under: Go Journal, Go Lessons, Joseki | Tags: Guo Juan, Opening Theory
I’ve decided to try Guo Juan’s Internet Go School. I read about the group lesson’s on Terri Schurter’s blog. So, I decided to take a look. The winter session of the group lessons was already underway. So, I decided to check out the audio lessons, which are actually more than audio as they are full-fledged screencasts showing board positions for all of the exercises.
Guo Juan, 5 Dan Pro and Internet Go School Proprietor
I was a bit surprised to read in the study guide section that Guo recommends that all kyu level players begin with the 30-20 kyu lectures. I thought that I was surely past this level of instruction. However, after dutifully watching the first lesson on opening theory, I believe she is correct (Good of me to agree with the 5 dan pro, eh?)
Even in this first lesson titled Opening Training A1, I was able to put guidelines to what had for me become educated intuition, meaning that I made a number of the right moves in teh ecercises, but I would have struggled to tell you exactly why I made them.
For example, this first opening theory lesson, which runs a bit more than 45 minutes for about $1.60 (1 euro), focused on ensuring that extensions maximized territory without sacrificing security. I always wondered when to use two, three, four, and even five space extensions. This is the focus of this first lesson.
Because this is my go journal, I’m now going to summarize what I’ve taken away from this lesson. So be warned that there may be spoilers here for those wishing to view Guo’s lectures with any hints.
Opening Training A1
Never more than 5 spaces: By limiting extensions to five spaces, your opponent is denied adequate space to make a two space extension after an invasion. This also limits your opponent’s own safer extension from his stones and maximized territoy for you.
Enclosure shape: When considering corner enclosures, a deeper shape is worth more than a flatter shape. Extend appropriately based on this knowledge.
Jump out: After an extension, if your opponent does take the small extension from his own stones, jump out toward the middle from your extending stone and being to build your moyo.
Extend two from a single stone: Don’t overextend from a single stone and leave an easy invasion for your opponent. Use longer extensions when building off of a corner enclosure.
Empty moves: Try to avoid empty moves. These are moves that do not make territory. This is good to consider when choosing between potential moves.
Finally, here is a nice invasion joseki that came up in this lesson that I wanted to preserve for later study.
Invasion Joseki
I’m working through Kiyoshi Kosugi and James Davies’ book 38 Basic Joseki. In case my readers are looking for this study to be in order, I’ll warn you that it won’t be. I’m studying the joseki that I use in my games or the ones that match the positions and play I see most often in my games, or at the very least ones that I would like to learn to use.
Joseki #3 is characterized by black solidly getting the corner while giving white a higher position with more territory potential.
According to the authors, Joseki #3 is characterized by black solidly getting the corner while giving white a higher position with more territory potential. The basic position is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 - Joseki #3 Basic Position
If white decides to play 5 connected with 1 and 3, then white 7 should also be moved one line closer to the other stones to maintain a three line gap.
There are a number of variations that I will talk about here. If readers her are interested in more detail, they should acquire a copy of the book. These variations cover a white tenuki (play elsewhere) which I found highly interesting, but I doubt it will come up in my games enough to make going into a lot of detail here worth while.
The one variation I would like to note here is one where black already has stones on the two nearest start points as in Figure 2 below:
Figure 2 - Joseki #3 Alternate Position
In this case white plays 5 as shown above rather than at ‘a’ and then completes the basic joseki with a one space extension at 7. I can see myself using this in situation where my opponent has settled into a corner and I need to drop in and disturb his comfort zone and yet still get a high position.
The final diagram from this joseki that I will post here deals with the posibility that black will but with 6. The authors make it clear that this is not a bad thing at all for white (see Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Joseki #3 Alternate Position with Cut
White loses his marked stone but now has adequate power to go after black’s marked stone and extra power to spare to harass black on the bottom.
Question for my readers: What experience do you have with this joseki from your own games? Please leave your thoughts as comments to this post.
