15 May 2010 No Comments

Strategy Spotlight: The 4-4 Kosumi Contact

Ever since I got back from the student OZA in Japan, I’ve been loaded with work that I blissfully missed. After a good month or two however, I should be again in position to return to writing strategy spotlights!

Today, we look at an unusual variation of the standard 4-4 approach.


Diagram 1.

Everything up to 4 is perhaps one of the most ubiquitous Joseki’s you’ll find. White, however, decides to spice things up with kosumi of 5. What is the purpose of this move and how how should black reply?


Diagram 2.

Black’s first instinct might be to play a hane at 1, following with the Atari at 3. While this might give some instantaneous gratification, black is left with no ideal follow-up. One possible method if to play the sacrifice tactic of 5. After white 10, black blocks at a, follow by white b. White has gained magnificent thickness on the top, while black’s influence is hampered by the peep at c. This is clearly unsatisfactory.


Diagram 3.

The proper response is the unlikely empty triangle at 1. White plays actively with the forcing moves of 2 and 4, and finally fixes his shape with 6. While black’s moves feel rather submissive, he is usually satisfied that the marked white stone looks out of place.
White on the other hand, has achieved his strategic objective. His group on top is much stronger than the standard joseki and can much more readily create a moyo up top. The cost, of course, was to leave black’s corner totally without weakness.

White thus chooses this joseki when the potential on the top side is of great importance. For example, when white already has significant influence on the top left, or when black is sufficiently strong on the left side such that this variation leaves him overconcentrated.
Black, however, may choose to challenge white’s plan.


Diagram 4.

He has the option of playing 3 in diagram 3 at 1 in diagram 4, inviting a massive fight. The moves up to white 10 are one natural continuation. Locally, the fight is not necessarily good for white, but white should have only played the marked stone at the start if he had supporting influence on the top left. Assuming that’s the case, both black and white will have weak groups to contend with. It’ll be a fighting game!

The above game highlights a pro match where the strategy was employed by Korean 9p Ch’oe Ch’eol-han at move #37. As black, Ch’oe has built up significant influence on both the bottom and top right and felt that the standard joseki on the bottom left would no longer be satisfactory. White chose to resist, resulting in a massive fight. If you like this style, give it a try!

by Mile Gu in Strategy Spotlight

21 Mar 2010 1 Comment

World Pair Go Tournament features 3 Aussies beating other.

Its worth noting that the World Pair Go Cup in Hangzhou officially begins tomorrow, where Australian is represented by Cathy Zhang and Yiming Guo. Its a four round elimination tournament, and the detailed matchups are available here. Ironically, our first match-up happens to be against Joanne Missingham, Brisbane born, and alas, representing Taiwan is the tournament. The match-up should at least be fun to watch. It’ll be broadcasted live today at 11am Australian time on IGS. So if you’ve got Sunday morning spare, log-in, at least one Aussie is guaranteed to win.

by Mile Gu in Life, Opinion, Tournaments, World Championships Tags: , , , ,

13 Mar 2010 4 Comments

Match-up against a 9 dan Pro at the Nihon ki-in

With my extended stay in Tokyo, I was lucky enough to schedule a trip to the Nihon ki-in, the Japanese go association. Naturally, the first thing I wanted to do (other than well, cleaning out the English section of their book store) was to play a game against one of their professionals.

Despite the surprise that absolutely no one there spoke English, whereby appointment was made by various comical gestures, I succeeded in setting up a match with Nakamura Hidehito (中村秀仁), a 9 dan professional! I have played against 6p’s before, but never anyone higher.

With a 3 stone handicap, which is reasonably standard for a 9p to give a 6 dan, I was prepared for evisceration. It is then, with great, and pleasant surprise that I somehow managed to win! It certainly wasn’t easy, I was slowly, but steadily losing ground the entire game. But with a 3 stone advantage, I was able to lose ground slow enough to survive to the endgame with a 15 point advantage, forcing Nakamura Hidehito to resign.

Despite speaking no English, Nakamura Hidehito was able to convey the major mistakes I made in the game. I attach the game here, with the variations he presented. Hopefully it’ll be useful!

Black 22: The result is not joseki, but according to Nakamura, quite even. In a handicap game, that means good for me :).
Black 27: Should be more aggressive, at B.
White 48: Not joseki…. I didn’t know how to respond.
Black 49: The cut at D6 would have been better, resulting variation shown in SGF.
Black 91: A mistake I shouldn’t have made, but it wasn’t a major mistake.
Black 95: A good attack, if Black had wasted one move defending corner, it would be just what Nakamura wanted.
Black 147: Game winning move. White was hoping for black to make a mistake here and reduce the middle. With the center secure and all groups solid, white has little chance to reverse the 3 handicap advantage from now on.

by Mile Gu in Analysis, Visiting

12 Mar 2010 1 Comment

Student Oza Results

The student OZA is over, and what an experience it has been! The participants in the tournament was truly exceptional, with a runner up the World Amateur Championships, and half the contestants at the level on 9 dans on KGS. I always expected the contestants to be challenging, before the level of the participants exceeded even my elevated expectations. So the final results!

1. Meng Xiao Long (China Male)
2. Yutae Seo (Korean Male)
3. Lai Yu Cheng (Taiwan Male)
4. Yamamoto Takunori (Japan Male #1)
5. Lin Hungbing (Taiwan Female)
6. Taniguchi Yuhei (Japan Male #2)
7. Lee Sunah (Korean Female)
8. Artem Kachanskyov (Ukraine)
9. Wang Zhuo (China Female)
10. Gabriel Benmergui (Argentina)
11. Zhang Xiang (Singapore)
12. Nuttakrit (Thailand)
13. Sekine Riko (Japan Female)
14. Mile Gu (New Zealand)
15. Garcil Emil (Mexico)
16. Anna Prokopova (Czech Republic)

So, China takes first place, followed by Korea. No real surprise! Artem did well as the ‘Champion of KGS and the western world’ by getting into the top half of the board. While it may not sound that impressive to get 8th out of 16th, such a feat is certainly not easy amidst such fierce competition!

I did managed achieve the goal that I always joke about, not get last :). My only regret is that I did not get to play Sekine, Nuttakrit or Garcil in competition, they would have made interesting matches. 4 games is just too short!

I have to thank the all students go society of Japan, who did a remarkable job organizing everything. They made sure everyone had fun, despite that many spoke very little English.  All of the organizers were in fact Igo players themselves, including some, such that the female champion of Japan, who could have done quite well the competition themselves. I was quite impressed with how faithfully they recorded each game. When one poor girl (pictured) made a mistake recording a move at wrong point, she spent the entire lunch time copying the kifu to fix her mistake.

by Mile Gu in Other, Tournaments Tags:

12 Mar 2010 3 Comments

Student OZA round 4 Report

The final round of the 8th World Student OZA has finished, and with it, concludes the student OZA.

Player Record Result Player Record
XiaoLong Meng [China] 3-0 1-165 Black won by resign Yutae Seo [Korea] 3-0
Takunori Yamamoto [Japan] 2-1 1-183 Black won by resign Sunah Lee [Korea] 2-1
Yucheng Lai [Chinese Taipei] 2-1 1-279 White won by 14.5 Yohei Taniguchi [Japan] 2-1
Hongbing Lin [Chinese Taipei] 2-1 1-243 Black won by resign Artem Kachanovsky [Ukraine] 2-1
Zhuo Wang [China] 1-2 1-143 Black won by resign Reiko Sekine [Japan] 1-2
Gabriel Benmergui [Argentina] 1-2 1-202 Black won by 15.5 Nuttakrit Taechaamnuayvit
[Thailand]		 1-2
Zxang Xiang [Singapore] 1-2 Black won by 2.5 Garcia Emil [Mexico] 1-2
Mile Gu [New Zealand] 0-3 1-214 Black won by 18.5 Anna Prokov [Czech Republic] 0-3

Championship Match: XiaoLong 6d (Black) vs Yutae (6d), B+Res.

The battle for the finals was intense, as the Chinese and Korean champions launched into heated battle in the background of the Japanese press. The game started off favoring Yutae Seo by a large margin, and it seems like XiaoLong Meng’s fuseki was in shambles. By the start of the mid game, the only way for Meng to take the lead would be slaughter Yutae’s floating group.

Yet, later when I talked to XiaoLong, it was apparently his style. He barely used any time in the fuseki, and saved almost all the hour given for the mid game. Here he launched a severe attack, sending the board into chaos. Yutae, who had spend a full half of the time in fuseki, was forced into a complex battle on byoumi. 30 seconds per move was just not enough… and finally Yutae made a fatal mistake. He’s group was killed, forcing resignation. The kifu of the game is attached.

Several there games were also of interest. Artem was pitched against HongBing Lin, the female representative of Tiepei, and a 9d on Tygem. Artem played extremely well, entering the mid game with an impressive lead. However, as both entered byoumi, HongBing’s superior reading skills under limit shown as she punished Artem for a careless tenuki, leading to the death of a 30 point corner.

Yutae attempts to look for a way out of a difficult fight.

As for me, the last round was the first round where my opponent wasn’t 6d! The game turned out to be reasonably relaxing. My opponent, Anna Prokov, at around 2d level, was ill-equipped to deal with my unorthodox fuseki, and entered the mid game at a significant territorial disadvantage. After missing a few opportunities to play aggressively, I had a 20 point lead. From then on, I simplified the game, giving no chance for a recovery. The game ends in what’s called professionals call a ‘happy death’ for white.

White 10: Should be at R-18. The corner variation favors Black, white wastes a stone, black doesn’t.
White 20: The tenuki is uncalled for, since White 22 is not an important place.
Black  35: Black is strong on both left and bottom, white has a difficult time choosing a good way to black this 3-3.
White 48: This is a big move, white should play E2 first and force Black to live in gote, gaining significant thickness. White can then play 48.
Black 51: Intended overplay. After playing the first 50 moves, I had read Anna’s playstyle and suspect should respond at white 52. This exchange spoils whites chances of a large moyo on the right side, allowing me to defend the corner with 53.
White 52: Another mistake, white must play E2 first.
Black 55: Bad move, white need not respond to this peep. However, white does anyway, allowing Black to play 55. I had gained another exchange I was never meant to deserve.
White 62: This exchange gains white almost nothing. White should play D17 instead. White does end in sente, but his group is far from settled.
White 66: This move seems at odds with white 64, white should have played at Black 67. Anna’s only chance now was to wall a large center moyo.
White 74: Too submissive. Its counterattack or lose now. L7 to cut off black( is the only viable strategic option.  Black manages to confine white’s moyo in sente and then play 77, causing whites top group to feel immensely uncomfortable.
White 104: Perhaps last chance to create complication by playing at O2 to move out the 2 stones. Once black removes all aji with 105, Black has a 20 point lead with no weak groups. White has already conceded defeat.

So, with this game, I’m glad to announce that I achieved my original intention of not being last!

by Mile Gu in Analysis, Tournaments Tags:

09 Mar 2010 No Comments

Student OZA Round 3 Report

Sorry for long time in coming! I’m stuck in Tokyo with reasonably limited internet access. The third round of the Student OZA was held on March 3rd.

XiaoLong Meng [China] 3-0 1-301 Black won by 8.5 Yohei Taniguchi [Japan] 2-1
Yutae Seo [Korea] 3-0 1-270 White won by 14.5 Takunori Yamamoto [Japan] 2-1
Sunah Lee [Korea] 2-1 1-302 White won by 4.5 Zhuo Wang [China] 1-2
Yucheng Lai [Chinese Taipei] 2-1 1-247 Black won by resign Nuttakrit Taechaamnuayvit
[Thailand]		 1-2
Hongbing Lin [Chinese Taipei] 2-1 1-131 Black won by resign Reiko Sekine [Japan] 1-2
Artem Kachanovsky [Ukraine] 2-1 1-238 White won by resign Gabriel Benmergui [Argentina] 1-2
Zhang Xiang [Singapore] 1-2 1-248 Black won by 13.5 Mile Gu [New Zealand] 0-3
Garcia Emil [Mexico] 1-2 1-196 Black won by resign Anna Prokov [Czech Republic] 0-3

XiangLong Meng, the male rep of China and favorite of the competition pulled a convincing win against the Japanese OZA, who was my opponent for the first game. Meanwhile, the male rep of Korea defeats the second male rep of Japan. This leaves Japan out of contention for first and second place. The student OZA champion will now be decided between China and Korea.

Artem vs Danigabi in round 3. I'm in the background, mulling over a difficult fight.

The rest of the results did not yield much surprise. Artem defeats Gabriel (Danigabi from KGS), and now rises as the top ranked player out of all nations not in the `Big 4′. This allows him to finally challenge another player from the Big 4 in the final round. Meanwhile, Nuttakrit of Thailand, who scored a lucky win vs Zhang Xiang the day before due to a missed atari, was convincingly destroyed byYucheng Lai, the male rep of Taiwain.

  • Fun fact: Yucheng Lai was 2nd in the World Amateur championships when he was 15.

As for me, my opponent Zhang Xiang is reasonably strong, defeating Supertjc  (8d on KGS) in the Singapore Youth League and Bloodarena (7d KGS) in the Singapore national cup. It is unfortunate that I matched up with him, given he should be in the 1-1 group, if not for his unlucky mistake!

Unfortunately, my luck didn’t quite change this round! The game started at a disadvantage due to a mistake on my part in a complicated fighting joseki. Though, by exploiting a ladder for exchange and a heated mid game fight, I had restored the game to an even position. Unfortunately, my backing out of a `fight or die’ situation during bouyomi, and an casual misjudgment of the strength of one of his groups, Zhang Xiang managed retook the lead.

A mistake near the end game saw me draw the game dangerously close, but my yose  during bouyomi was not as consistent. A few mistakes, and one missed opportunity saw Zhang Xiang take the win.  The game is filled with fighting, and should be rather enjoyable to see:

Black 15: This starts are very difficult joseki, a mistake on either side could cost the game.
White 26: A mistake in order by me, white should play D-17 first. Black 29 exploits this error, at this point, if white plays D-17, black will capture at A-16 instead of connecting. By Black 29, I was forced into an unfavorable variation. White is completely sealed on the left side, but black still has an excellent tesuji at H-17 to access the top.
White 46: This was a good move, threatening the ladder is black continues with Joseki. Zhang Xiang was forced to concede a loss on the bottom left corner. The black stone is not completely dead though, so the game still favors black.
Black 48: A mistake, black should play 51 immediately. This gave me an opportunity to fix my shape, so that I could black with 52, starting a large scale fight.
White 57: Difficult choice here on whether to defend the top or the middle. If played at M-17, I feared black can form an impressive moyo on the right by attacking my group with K-11.
White 76: This is the move that made sacrificing the corner worth it, Black is under severe attack, and concedes much of the center influence to white. The dust settles at 102 and Black has lost his advantage.
White 110: This was a mistake. The play on the fourth line was meant to threaten black’s center group, but I had forgotten that black can live in sente with N13. A move at L3 for territory or R6 to prevent ladder breakers would be much more appropriate. When black plays at M3, white is at a loss for good follow-ups. By 116, Black has easily secured a large corner (A 3-3 invasion would be dangerous, since it breaks the center ladder)
White 116: Another mistake, P-6 is much bigger.
Black 121: White’s moyo vanishes, as black punishes whites mistake at 116.
White 126: In buyoumi, I played the safe move. However, white was in no position to concede territory. White had to play Q6, followed by a cross-cut, resulting in a difficult battle for both. By 135, black’s corner is now larger than white’s right side, I am about 20 points behind.
 Black 153: Zhang Xiang must of thought this sente, threatening a possible invasion. However white could ignore this, giving white a chance with the huge move at 154 (Though I should have played T-18 first).
White 190: A terrible mistake played during byoumi, spoiling all aji on the left side. White should play sentes first, and the save the two stones with D-10. Black will be forced to eventually captured at A-12, the difference could be well over 10 points. This mistake cost white any chances of winning without a serious error by Black.
Black 209: Not sente and a serious error! Final opportunity for white. If white plays Q18 now, blacks top right corner will suffer serious point loss in points, and possibly die. Unfortunately, I didn’t think quite so clearly, and missed the opportunity!

So going into the final around, I’m forced with the unfortunate prospect of fighting to prevent last place. Though for the first time, its actually with an opponent who I should have good chances in winning!

by Mile Gu in Analysis, Tournaments Tags:

03 Mar 2010 2 Comments

Student OZA Day 2 Update

The second day of Student OZA, and the competition has officially launched! And what a day it has been! I really should sleep in half an hour, and thus will have to keep this brief. However, here’s how things happened!

Round 1:

1st Round [2nd March 2010]
Winner Record Result Loser Record
Yucheng Lai [Chinese Taipei] 1-0 1-137 Black won by resign Garcia Emil [Mexico] 0-1
Takunori Yamamoto [Japan] 1-0 1-157 Black won by resign Mile Gu [New Zealand] 0-1
Sunah Lee [Korea] 1-0 1-260 White won by 5.5 Hongbing Lin [Chinese Taipei] 0-1
Zhuo Wang [China] 1-0 1-210 White won by resign Zxang Xiang [Singapore] 0-1
XiaoLong Meng [China] 1-0 1-152 White won by resign Artem Kachanovsky [Ukraine] 0-1
Yohei Taniguchi [Japan] 1-0 1-157 Black won by resign Gabrirl Benmergui [Argentina] 0-1
Yutae Seo [Korea] 1-0 1-146 White won by resign Nuttakrit Taechaamnuayvit
[Thailand]		 0-1
Reiko Sekine [Japan] 1-0 1-238 White won by 34.5 Anna Prokov [Czech Republic] 0-1

The first round had no surprising underdog stories. Artem, the top European here, and 7d on KGS, was no match for Meng XiaoLong. Xialong apparently kept a steady lead through fuseki, and punished Artem severely when he tried to turns things around with a unreasonable fight.

Zhang Xiang’s game vs the Chinise female representative Zhuo Wang, the female rep from China, actually started off pretty well for him. Unfortunately, Zhuo Wang proved a much superior fighter, and once mid game started, several of Zhang’s groups somehow died, inducing resignation.

The only two reps of the ‘Big 4′ that fought were the female reps of Korea and Taipei. The game looked complex, but Sunah Lee of Korea gained an advantage when her opponent misread a ladder in byoumi, ending with a 5.5 point loss.

As for me? My game with the Student OZA of Japan turned out to be much closer than I expected. The game, I attach as SGF file below.

I took the game as white, and used my standard tactic of attaching first, followed by a 3-4. This, in my experience, is one of the best ways of preventing the opponent from applying his own fuseki. Up to 37. the game was considered to be fairly even for both, with a exchange that give white 3 corners, and black the potential for large territory on the left side of the board.

White 44: I was a little too eager to hold onto the bottom right corner, and wanted sente to seal the top right. The exchange was slight unfavorable for me. White 44 should tenuki and play at B18 immediately, leaving the corner open to attack.
White 46: White should play at B-18 instead, if black attempts to swallow the two stones in the corner, white can sacrifice them and break into blacks moyo on the left. The resulting sequence solidified the Moyo, giving black a slight advantage.
White 66: Q-18 would be better.
White 70: The first seriously bad move, should be at Q-15. The resulting clamp was painful for white, and costs around about 10 pts in territory.
Black 71: Exploits my mistake :(
Black 77: Black was a little too eager to break into whites moyo, the follow sequence made by me on whites Corner was painful for Takunori. Black now about 5 pts ahead.
White 98: Should play at G-8, exchanging with E-8.
Black 99: Tangen Syndrom. If he played 1 below the tangen, at K-9, there would be no invasion. And the game would be over.
White 114: After my successful invasion,  Black is still ahead slightly in points, but not enough to be confident of win.
White 116: Thinking I was a little behind, I made a move at 116 rather than the proper defense at P4. The resulting aji would be ignored by most low dans, but vs a 6 dan, it spelt my doom! Losing move.
Black 129: Punished my overplay. Despite appearances, it is actually impossible to cleanly kill this stone.
Black 141: Black lives in my corner, stealing 20 points. White is now about 25 points behind, and with end game approaching, no opportunities for come back. The game was over.

Probably the most rewarding thing was that Takunori Yamamoto though I played at the level of a 6 dan from Japan :).

My opponent first round, charging up his mental energy before the game vs me. It was slightly scary. But his moves were scarier :).

Round 2:

2nd Round [2nd March 2010]
Winner Record Result Loser Record
XiaoLong Meng [China] 2-0 1-274 White won by 2.5 Yucheng Lai [Chinese Taipei] 1-1
Takunori Yamamoto [Japan] 2-0 1-165 Black won by resign Zhuo Wang [China] 1-1
Yohei Taniguchi [Japan] 2-0 1-155 Black won by resign Sunah Lee [Korea] 1-1
Yutae Seo [Korea] 2-0 1-96 White won by resign Reiko Sekine [Japan] 1-1
Hongbing Lin [Chinese Taipei] 1-1 1-110 White won by resign Mile Gu [New Zealand] 0-2
Nuttakrit Taechaamnuayvit
[Thailand]		 1-1 1-176 White won by resign Zxang Xiang [Singapore] 0-2
Gabrirl Benmergui [Argentina] 1-1 1-210 White won by 9.5 Garcia Emil [Mexico] 0-2
Artem Kachanovsky [Ukraine] 1-1 1-114 White won by resign Anna Prokov [Czech Republic] 0-2

Round 2 sees the Big 4 playing themselves, since they exclusively took all the winning spots in the first round. The rest of us had to compete for scraps! XiaoLong of China, defeats Yucheng Lai of Taipei to continue his streak. The game was intense, and lasted 30 minutes after the rest had finished. In the end, it was probably the first game in competition that didn’t warrant an early resignation from one of the players. My opponent from first round, defeats the female rep from China, though more by luck than skill… Zhuo Wang misread during yose, leading to the death of one of her groups.

The worst experience prize, however, would have to go to Zhang Xiang, who turned a winning game into a loss by not seeing an Atari. Zhang Xiang is now the only 6 dan with no wins.  His opponent, Nuttakrit, 4 Dan of Thailand now marches ahead. Meanwhile, Artem is back on his home turf of European opponents, and gets a well expected win.

Me? Somehow I ended up against the only member of the ‘Big 4′ who had a loss in the first round, Hongbing Lin of Taiwain. She certainly felt as strong as my first opponent. During the early mid-game, I made a mental lapse and played a stone in a place where I did not intend to (I deep read two options, concluding one is okay, while the other is bad. I ended up playing bad one :( ). Needless to say, Hongbing pounced on the error, and my moyo became two groups separated by a living group from my opponent. Needless to say, that’s not good. With about 20 points behind in territory, I was forced to make an highly risky attempt at killing Hongbing corner attachment. The battle became intense, and for some reason, I can’t out read a 6 dan on byoumi when she still had 20 minutes on her clock :). I lost track of battle, and found myself in in a semaei where I was 1 liberty behind.

Unfortunately, running out of time to put up the SGF file. Will do so later!

Round 3:

Round 3 begins tomorrow, with following match-ups:

3rd Round [3rd March 2010]
Player Record Result Player Record
XiaoLong Meng [China] 2-0 - - Yohei Taniguchi [Japan] 2-0
Yutae Seo [Korea] 2-0 - - Takunori Yamamoto [Japan] 2-0
Zhuo Wang [China] 1-1 - - Sunah Lee [Korea] 1-1
Yucheng Lai [Chinese Taipei] 1-1 - - Nuttakrit Taechaamnuayvit
[Thailand]		 1-1
Hongbing Lin [Chinese Taipei] 1-1 - - Reiko Sekine [Japan] 1-1
Artem Kachanovsky [Ukraine] 1-1 - - Gabrirl Benmergui [Argentina] 1-1
Zxang Xiang [Singapore] 0-2 - - Mile Gu [New Zealand] 0-2
Anna Prokov [Czech Republic] 0-2 - - Garcia Emil [Mexico] 0-2

With Teipei eliminated from 1st place, it is now essentially Japan vs everyone else. It’ll be interesting to see how my opponent from Round 1 fairs against the strongest rep from Korea. Meanwhile, I had the misfortune of again bumping into the strongest player possible with no wins, this time Zhang Xiang, the 6 dan from Singapore who lost his last game only due to misreading an atari. Having played Zhang Xiang in competition before, where I managed 181 as Black playing my almost best, I can tell for sure that this will be a very tough match.

Its a little unfortunate, given that I managed to defeat Garcia Emil and Nuttakrit Taechaamnuayvit in friendly games! Oh well, playing against stronger players is always good!

by Mile Gu in Analysis, Tournaments Tags:

02 Mar 2010 8 Comments

Student OZA Day 1 Update

The reception for the World Student OZA is over, and competitions are looming tomorrow morning.  A few interesting facts revealed:

  • Artem Kachanovsky, the Ukrainian representative is Artem92, whose teaches as a 7 dan on KGS.
  • USA did originally have a participant in the student OZA, but could not make it due to visa reasons. Thus, he was replaced by  Garcia Emil of Mexico who had only a few days notice.
  • Jan Simara of Czech Republic could not make it due to sudden sickness, he is now replaced by a third participant from Japan.
  • Zhang Xiang of Singapore was second the three countries competition between Singapore, Malaysian and Thaialnd, and has a 5d account on KGS (Sodaharu).

It’ll be an honor to compete against such a stunning list of participants! A photo has been attached below:

From left to right:

Standing: Mile Gu, Ma XiaoLong, Yutae Seo, Taniguchi Yohe, Artem Kachanovsk, Gabriel Benmergui, Takunori Yamamoto, Lai Yuchen, Nuttakrit Taechaamnua, Zhang Xiang
Sitting:  Anna Prokov, Wang Zhuo, Lee Sunah, Lin Hongbin, Garcia Emil

The first round match-ups has also been decided by random lottery:

  1. Sekine Rieko (Japan) vs Anna Prokov (Czech Republic)
  2. Yutae Seo (Korea) vs Nuttakrit Taechaamnuay (Thailand)
  3. Taniguchi Yohei (Japan) vs Gabriel Benmergui (Argentina)
  4. Ma XiaoLong (China) vs  Artem Kachanovsk (Ukraine)
  5. Wang Zhuo (China) vs Zhang Xiang (Singapore)
  6. Lin Hongbin (Taiwan) vs Lee Sunah (Korea)
  7. Mile Gu (New Zealand) vs  Takunori Yamamoto (Japan)
  8. Lai Yuchen (Taiwan) vs Garcia Emil (Mexico)

Of these matches, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan on the obvious favorites. Match 4 is interesting, is it probably pits Europeans top player here vs China’s top player, who is one of the more likely candidates to win the OZA. Nevertheless, you can’t expect a 7d KGS to go down without a fight :). Nuttakrit has also go quite a fearsome reputation, though unfortunately, he ends up being pitted as the Korean team… I wish him luck! Match 6 between the China and Korea’s female rep is probably the most balanced match this round, and it’ll be interesting to see who wins.

As for me? I’m playing against the Japanese Student OZA… of course I’ll win :). Well the aim is to play an exciting game! Matches start 11:30am Brisbane time today. I’m hoping for a good night sleep!

by Mile Gu in Analysis, Tournaments

28 Feb 2010 2 Comments

Student OZA Coverage

As  many of you are aware, I’ll be heading off to Tokyo to represent Oceania  in the 2010 World Student OZA. The list of participants has been announced on the official website:

Participation player
Japan Takunori Yamamoto Reiko Sekine *
China XiaoLong Meng Zhuo Wang *
Chinese Taipei Yucheng Lai Hongbing Lin
Korea Yutae Seo Sunah Lee *
Other Asian Thailand Nuttakrit Taechaamnuayvit
Singapore Zhang Xiang
Europe Ukraine Artem Kachanovsky
Czech Republic Jan Simara Anna Prokov *
North, Central &
South America		 Argentina Gabrirl Benmergui
Mexico Garcia Emil
Oceania New Zealand Mile Gu
* = Woman

Competition will take place on the 3rd and 4th of March. Needless to say, its going to be some very tough matches, the Argentina rep, for example, is the well known Danigabi 6d on KGS. I’ll try to do some live blogging while I’m there, so stay tuned!

by Mile Gu in Events, Photos, Tournaments

26 Feb 2010 1 Comment

Strategy Spotlight: Deep Invasion of Oversized Moyos

This week, we take a break from variations on corner josekis to investigate something that’s close to the mid-game. How does one make a deep invasion into a massive half board moyo?


Diagram 1

Consider for example, a San-rei Game, where black intends to build massive region on the top of the board. For most of us, such large moyos are scary objects. The calmest way, would of course, to recognise than one had already made significant profit:


Diagram 2

Something like diagram too might occur. Such a reduction would have little risk for white, and the result may even be considered rather advantageous. Black’s territory on top is certainly impressive, but white has gained a good amount of territory on both sides. Later, White can cut away black’s corner with a, and exploit the weakness at b for further invasion. However, for some players, the prospect of giving the opponent so much territory is, at the very least, psychologically bothersome.

So, what are the options for deep invasion?


Diagram 3.

The attach at 1 looks like a natural position. After black hanes, the hane at 3 is the natural move to seek survival….


Diagram 4.

However, with so much strength on outside, there’s good chance that black can kill white completely. White, of course, has other options, such as playing white 3 and black 4 in Diagram 3 and hoping to use the corner aji. However, white’s chance of living is never that great.


Diagram 5.

A better approach is to consider a capping play at 1. Obviously if black submits by playing at a or b, then white plays c and the resulting exchange gives him a much superior position to diagram 2. Black therefore, must cap at 2. White now returns to playing 3. When black hane’s, white crosscuts at 5. With the support of 1, the situation is significantly different.


Diagram 6.

For example, if black extends with 1. White exploits the circled stone to the max with the sequence 2-8. Whites resulting survival, of course, remains unguaranteed. However, the groups of stones is now rather resilient, with possibility to make eye space at A, B and C. Killing the group will be difficult.


Diagram 7.

Should black extend the other stone, white continues with 2-8. Once again, whites group becomes rather resilient to attack. Black may attempt a cap at a, but white has the ability to attach at b, and a good amount of eye space as well.

That’s not to say, of course, that white is completely out of danger. However, should white live, Black’s large sacrifice both corners would have conceived few rewards. If you’re a fun of a fighting game, you may like to try such an approach against an oversized moyo.

by Mile Gu in Strategy Spotlight

19 Feb 2010 2 Comments

Strategy Spotlight: Punishing the Kobayashi 1 Space Approach

This week, we explore a extremely punishing sequence that’s available  to black when white plays a high approach to black’s 3-4, when it has support in the region of the triangle stone. This sort of pattern happens quite frequently, in, for example, the Kobayashi Fuseki.


Diagram 1.

Typical responses to the high approach involve close pincers at a, or 6, reasoning that this forces white to jump out towards the triangle stone, and any running fights would be in black’s favour. Recentally, however, black has been given an additional option.

Instead, black feints submission with 2 and 4. Just as white expects black to complete the standard joseki with b, he makes a punishing pincer at black 6. White is now much heavier than the case where black pincers directly.


Diagram 2.

White’s first instinct, of course, is to punish black’s defect shape in the corner with 1, to which black calmly responds at 2. If white pulls back at 3, black happily connects at 4. White is left with a heavy group, that must either run out eyeless, or concede further thickness to black with the sequence 6 to 10. This is clearly unsatisfactory.


Diagram 3.

Therefore, white boldly cuts black with 1, a necessary move, regardless of result. The corner descends into chaos. Black triangle, however, ends up in a perfect position. White is now split into two groups, and will find it extremely difficult to save both.


Diagram 4.

If, white for example, chooses to help the four stones on the left, black effortless walls in the triangle stones on top. Even if these stones somehow survive, the thickness that would gave black is unthinkable.


Diagram 5.

Therefore, white 1 in Diagram 2 is overplay. The best white can hope for is the settled with the sequence 1-8. Although he managed to get sente, black’s left side has been solidified, and blacks top right now has a lot of potential. This does not look good for white at all. So…. where did white go wrong?


Diagram 6.

To answer, we’ll have to backtrack all the way to the initial approach. If black is strong on the left, white best stay away. 1 is a much better idea, to which black responds with a or b.


Diagram 7.

The feint plus pincer, however, is a good sequence to keep in mind. Even in cases where Black has no stone at a, the option is possible whenever black has significant strength in the bottom left and top right. Diagram 7 outlines one possible sequence of moves. The result will now depend entirely on surrounding conditions. Play this is you like seeing blood, though it could be your own!

by Mile Gu in Strategy Spotlight Tags:

05 Feb 2010 2 Comments

Strategy Spotlight: Territory focused Chinese Fuseki

This week, we consider an unconventional defence against an enemy approach to a common pattern that arises from the Chinese fuseki.


Diagram 1.

When white makes the corner approach to reduce Black’s potential, the orthodox reply is at Black 2. What follows is a standard pattern that many of you would have mostly likely encountered, especially if you’re a fan of the Chinese fuseki.

At any rate, Black is usually satisfied with this result, white 7 looks reasonably cramped, and black has increased the potential territory on both the left side and the top right by playing either a or b. In either case, white generally needs to respond at c. Meanwhile, white cannot complain too much, since he must of had three free moves elsewhere on the board.


Diagram 2.

There are times, however, when Black might feel his behind in territory. Or perhaps, the moyos are just not that important. In these situations, Black can choose the unconventional move at 2.


Diagram 3.

White might first look at black in puzzlement. Surely he has made a mistake? White’s most obvious response is at 1, and if things proceed as in diagram 3, black cannot possibly be satisfied. The circled stone looks flat on the third line ineffective. Meanwhile, white’s shape is solid, and it looks like white has successfully neutralised black’s moyo. What could black be thinking with 2?


Diagram 4.

Diagram 3, in fact, is just wishful thinking on white’s part. Black 1 starts the small avalanche Joseki, making maximum use of his extra circled stone. After white 6, Black 7 is essential. Playing this move at a is also joseki, but a total mistake in this context.


Diagram 5.

When white continues the joseki with the cut at 2, black’s circled stone looks perfectly positioned. If it were not there, black would be forced to play 5 at 7, and thus allow white to seal off the top in sente. With the stone, however, is it white 2 and 4 that is under pressure. By Black 7, white has two unsettled groups against black’s one. What’s more, black has taken a solid corner. The ensuring fight will be in black’s favour, and white has been completely tricked. Note that if white a, black can counter with b. Black 7 can also be played at c, but white d is sente.


Diagram 6.

So what is white’s best response? To answer that, we’ll need to rewind to the beginning. Despite first intuition, white’s only choice is to hane at 3, and play lightly at 5. With Black 6, black has completed his goal of securing a significantly larger corner than diagram 1. The result, however, is not one-sided. White’s light group is difficult to attack. Later, white can protect his cur with the 7/8 exchange, and then press down with 9.

If the top right is unimportant, black 2 is well worth a shot. In all likelihood, the enemy will walk right into a small avalanche, and end up fighting for his life.

by Mile Gu in Strategy Spotlight

29 Jan 2010 5 Comments

Strategy Spotlight: Breaking out of San-ren-sei

This week, we’ll spotlight a violent variation of the standard 1 space pincer that happens so often in games involving the san-ren-sei.


Diagram 1.

When white makes the standard corner approach against san-rei-sei, the one-space pincer at black 3 is a very common response. Black aims to maximise the effectiveness of black 1, and create an impressive moyo on the top. White 8 is more commonly played at a, followed by black b, this seems to submit to black’s plan of sealing white inside. Mind you, this doesn’t mean whites at a is disadvantageous, the result is considered even.  In this diagram, white 8 suggests that she actively wishes to spite black’s game plan from the very start.


Diagram 2.

The standard continuation (Diagram 2) of the joseki, however, still results in white sealed within the corner. After white 10, black either protects his cut directly at a, or first ataries at b. White has gained a few extra points compared to Diagram 1, but black’s influence seems even more impressive. For this reason, most players would prefer the more standard variation where the marked white stone was is played at 5.


Diagram 3.

Recently, however, pros have experimented with a highly aggressive variation. After Black hane’s, white plays an empty triangle at 2. Is this an overplay? It certainly looks like it! Black 3 is clearly a must, playing at a and allowing white b is clearly unbearable. White looks to be in a difficult position… if not for the severe clamp at 4. The fight is on.


Diagram 4.

If black submits at 1, the remaining moves up to white 8 are almost forced. White settles his center group with 8, and black is left with nothing to attack. This thick white group in the middle will make it difficult for black to form any large scale moyo, and black feels like he has been tricked.


Diagram 5

Black can alternatively play the severe moves and 1 and 3. After a sequence of forced moves, white finished with the terrifying cut at 10. The fight becomes frantic, but black looks to have the harder end of the stick.


Diagram 6

So what is black’s best response? That’s still an open question. Diagram 5, for example, shows one possible variation that occurred between pros. One thing is for sure though, white should not try this move is she’s not willing to put up a huge fight.

So, if you don’t like facing giant moyos, and prefer a game filled with fighting, you can give this a go. Again, this tip was possible due to the extremely helpful advice of Kang ZhanBin 6p.

by Mile Gu in Strategy Spotlight Tags: ,

17 Jan 2010 4 Comments

Strategy Spotlight: The Large Knight Response

First of all introductions. My name is ‘Mile Gu’, a go player from Auckland, New Zealand who studied at the University of Queensland. Given that I’ll be representing Oceania in the coming Student OZA competition, I volunteered with the encouragement of the Brisbane go club to contribute some humble tips to the Australian Go Journal, and give an insider account on the future competition. My accounts on KGS are Syptryn and Zyptryn (The latter when I’m too sleepy to play well). If you have a question that a 4 Dan could potentially answer (or at least make an educated guess), feel free to drop me a message if you spot me online!

To begin with, I’ll be presenting a semi-regular ‘Strategy Spotlight’. The goal of these columns will be to highly some unconventional or trick plays, so you you can either employ them, or at least know how to handle it if someone tries to pull it on you. They’ll be tailored for a range of skill levels, but probably most useful for low dan and high kyu players.

The Large Knight Reponse to 4-4 Attach:


Diagram 1. The Large Knight Move.

When white attaches with 1, black plays 2 instead of the more usual a or b. This isn’t trick play, but is a somewhat special strategy.


Diagram 2.

If black continues using the standard sequence of Diagram 2, she can’t help but feel unsatisfied. White circle is in a better position than a. If this was blacks’s guaranteed response, than there will be no reason for white to ever play a. So how should black punish white? The trick is observe that black circle leaves the corner far more open. black should usually jump in the corner as in Diagram 3. Diagram 3 and 4 shows one standard continuation.


Diagram 3.


Diagram 4.

The result is considered fairly even, so the Large Knight move is fully playable in certain situations. For example, when white has a strong position at the top, so that the two isolated black stones can be severely attacked. Feel free to try it in your next game!

by Mile Gu in Analysis, Strategy Spotlight Tags: