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.

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.

[Embedded SGF File]

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: White 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!

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:

[Embedded SGF File]

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!

The party arrived in Melbourne on 2nd March 2010, and then flew to Brisbane on the 3rd. We held a welcome banquet for them, with local dignitaries and BGC members.

Mr. Wang with leaders of the Brisbane Chinese community

Before dinner there was friendly go with the visitors, who were all strong players.  Each visitor received a small gift, and we presented a special gift of a boomerang, signed by BGC members, to Mr. Wang.

Presentation to Mr. Wang Runan 8P by John and Larry

We all enjoyed a delicious dinner, and afterwards there was more go, until the restaurant kicked us out at 9.00pm. They just can’t understand, it seems.

On Thursday the 4th March, the visitors enjoyed a day out, and in the evening BGC hosted a BBQ. Thank heavens we were able to give them one fair dinkum Aussie meal on their trip. Four of the visitors brought their wives, who had to put up with the go players. The ladies kindly helped with the BBQ preparation, we can call them part of the BGC team.

Honorary BGC team members

What would a day be without go? Of course we again played social go with the visitors.

Jeremy won this six stone game against Mr. Wang

Everyone had a marvellous time. Mr. Wang is a warm, enthusiastic and friendly person – he even speaks excellent Japanese, which certainly helped me with communication. We dare to hope that this party will visit us again some time.

There are many people who must be thanked for their efforts in bringing this event to fruition. Bill Sun (Melbourne) and David He (Sydney) looked after the southern cities. David was responsible for the travel arrangements and put in a huge amount of effort on that. Larry Wen conceived and drove the idea to a successful conclusion and made most of the Brisbane arrangements. Brisbane members Erli Qiu and Kevin Jiang helped out with donations to help cover expenses (the AGA also contributed). BGC President Mark Bell did s sterling job behind the BBQ.

We consider this to be a highly succesful event which may lead to more exchanges between Australia and China.

For more pictures of this event -

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/jackoheart1/WangRunanVisitMarch2010#

This is a placeholder for the weekend in mid-April when the Keio Old Boys will be visiting Brisbane for their annual shindig with the Brisbane Go Club. Dinner on Saturday evening, random go, lunch and the now-traditional team vs team match on Sunday. RSVP and/or query John Hardy at the club, if you’re in Brisbane at all and want to come play.

Fresh off the Perth mailing list: the Perth go players are holding a Beginners Session on Sunday afternoon. Like their last beginners session, this is also a regular playing meet up, so all strengths and ages of player are encouraged to turn up and play. The venue is 93 Circe Circle, Dalkeith, opposite the Dalkeith Primary School playing fields. Parking near the fields, or come by bus or train to nearby Clairemont Station, and they’ll pick you up. RSVP to the usual suspects, Clive Hunt or Peiran Guo.

Round 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 females reps of Korea and Taipei. The game looked complex, but Sunah Lee of Korea gained 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 close than I expected. The game, I attach as SGF file below.

[Embedded SGF File]

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:

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:

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!

• 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!

On Wednesday evening this week (3 March), members of the Brisbane Go Club will host a banquet with guest of honour Wang Runan 8p, the current chairman of the Chinese Weiqi Association, who is visiting several cities in eastern Australia. The venue is the Rasa Malaysia Chinese Restaurant, Underwood. Please RSVP to John Hardy at the AGA before turning up, as a cover charge does apply; dinner starts at six, go probably around eight.

All else being equal, there will also be a less formal barbeque on Thursday evening, and more go, at St Mark’s Lutheran Church, Mount Gravatt. As this event is free, please RSVP to Larry Wen at the AGA beforehand so they can lay on enough food. The BBQ starts at half past five for six o’clock, and go will happen after that.

Further events on Wang Runan’s visit to Australia are being coordinated by David He in Sydney, and Billy Sun in Melbourne. Please contact them for more information as to what’s happening in your city, and do feel free to tell us!

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!

Click on photos to enlarge and see description.

There was a good turnout for the tournament with 33 players between the 3 divisions. The open division with 17 players, had a turnout of 45 dan (There was one secret zeroth dan despite what the results pdf says).
Thanks go to Horatio Davis, Jason Mackay-Dwyer, Mark Bell and Amelia Gray for organising and running the tournament and to the Queensland university games society(QUGS) for organising the venue.

Results tables from the tournament open division, first handicapped division and second handicapped division can be found here.

The final schedule of the event has slight timetabling changes from the original copy. Saturday lunch was thin base pizza baked ~20m away, which disappeared all too fast. Sunday lunch was sandwiches/rolls that lasted untill half-way through the AGM before round 6. Due to the freezing Air-conditioning at the tournament location, several freindly games during the breaks were played at tables outside. No photos are yet available however.

Game record from Round six of the tournament, Matthew Crossman vs Fred Huang.

[Embedded SGF File]

Once more photos from the tournament become available, a post will be made to collect them together.

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.

Fresh off the nzgs mailing list: there will be a go tournament in five rounds at the International Cultures Festival in Napier, NZ, starting on the afternoon of Saturday the 6th of March and finishing Sunday evening. The Festival is organised by the New Zealand China Friendship Society and this is the first annual tournament of the new Hawkes Bay Go Club. Contact details and schedule are on the NZGS wiki.

Update: Long Yang Li 5d and Juhua Zhou tied for first place. For the rest, see Graeme Parmenter’s excellent tournament report on the NZGS wiki.

The Insei League on KGS has Australia’s own An Younggil 8p participating. In the KGS English Room on February 27 (1pm GMT, 11pm Brisbane time), there will be a live review of his game against Ilya Shiksin 8d. They invite everyone and anyone interested to come and watch; they’re hoping to get a record number of observers, and will repeat the event later on if they do.

If you’re going to be around the University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus on Wednesday the 24th, drop by the Queensland University Gaming Society stall, where they will be raffling off a Hikaru no Go-themed beginners go set and various other gaming gear, to kick off first semester. They usually run a weekly go session on campus during semester. More go players of all strengths always welcome…

The Melbourne University Students Playing Go collective are kicking off first semester with their traditional Beginners’ Night from 4pm on Friday the fifth of March. If you’re around Melbourne Uni then, RSVP via Facebook or just turn up. Here are some pictures of last year’s beginners night.

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!

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.

.

White resigned at that point. Mile Gu will represent Australia and New Zealand in the championships on the second and third of March in Japan.

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.

• Shigeru Inoguchi 5k (inogus6044) black no komi vs Horatio Davis 4k (aguido) white – black by resignation
• Kiyoshi Itsuki 7d (itsukk6575) white vs John Hardy 4d (jackoheart) black and three stones’ handicap – jigo
• Shunji Iseki 7d (isekis6575) white vs Alexander Hanysz 3d (xela) black and four stones – black by one point
• Tokio Sugimoto 1k (sugimt6560) white vs Amelia Gray 2k (kifudancer) black – black by resignation
• Humihoshi Mochida 1k (motidh6560) white vs Matthew Weiss 4k (weissm) black and three stones – black by resignation
• Tatsuo Suzuki 5d (suzukt6572) white vs Jason Mackay 3d (nighteyes) black and three stones – black by resignation
• Kensei Ishibashi 3d (ishibk6668) black vs Mile Gu 3d (syptryn) white – white by resignation
• Hiroshi Kobayashi 2d (kobayh7466) white vs Jeremy Wen 2d (hello12345) black – black by 15.5 points
• Yuuji Kaneko 4d (kaneky7870) white vs Rene Hexel 3d (powidl) black – white by four points
• Takahiro Ishiyama 2d (ishiyt1765) white vs Matthew Crossman 2d (matjet) black – black by 20.5 points.

Etsuko Hoshino 15k did not get to play, unfortunately, as her opponent from the Brisbane team, Dr Peter Hexel, was a late scratching due to illness. The shortest game was Jason Mackay’s (15 minutes):

and the last to finish was Alex Hanysz in a thrilling arm wrestle in the endgame:

An afternoon of good clean fun, and hopefully a stepping stone on the way to many more such matches in the future. Kudos to John Hardy from Brisbane and Kiga-san from Keio for organising the event.

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!

It’s back. The All Keio Igo Association will meet the Brisbane Go Club (and connections) in the Australia Room of the KGS Go Server for the annual friendly team vs team match on the afternoon of Sunday the seventeenth of January. Come and watch. If you’re a Brisbane player, or know someone who once played go against someone who once had a beer in Brisbane, contact John Hardy and see if there’s still a place or two open on the team.

Kickoff is at 3pm Brisbane time, 2pm Tokyo time. Games will be played in tournament time and at tournament strength.

White plays a 3-4 inside approach, black attaches outside, white hanes underneath
The result appears similar to joseki of the week 11.

Diagram 1.

After white 4, black can also play at a instead of at 5 in diagram 1.
White 6 is preferred instead of a, since when black cuts, the black corner territory is larger than the similar result in joseki of the week 11.

Diagram 1.

After black 3, white can take sente, having a successfully undermined blacks corner territory, but leaving black with a wall facing down the left side.
White cannot cut at a, and black can later jump at b, so the wall is fairly thick.

If there are any questions about the joseki of the week,
or if they are too basic/under-examined/complex, let us know in the comments!

• Tim Oh 2d and Rene Hexel 1d (A)
• Joshua Wan 1d and Jeremy Wen 1d (C)
• Markus Pache 4d and Yanis Pache 5k (D)
• Andrew Lewis 2d and Horatio Davis (E)
• Sam Nakagawa 2d and Kei Nakagawa 7k (F)
• Walter Chang 1d and Rodney Topor 6k (G)
• John Hardy 3d and Fumiko Hulme 10k (H)
• Larry Wen 3d and Andrew Gray 9k (I)
• Mark Bell 3d and Bill Wen 12k (J)
• Mr. Chou 4d and Peter Hexel 16k (K)
• Andrew Cao 1d and Matthew Crossman 2d (L)

up from eight competing last year. Second place went to team A (Tim and Rene) with three wins and 2 points SOS, and third place (with a box of Christmas crackers as the prize) went to team L (Andrew and Matthew) with 2 wins and a bye. As always the draw was a mutant Swiss with initial slide pairing, ably executed by Amelia Gray with a bare spreadsheet and mysterious incantations, then funneled through whichever BGC committee member was handiest as a front man:

The consensus is that Yanis is indeed not a fifth kyu, Fumiko Hulme is indeed not a tenth kyu, and that go on a thirteen by thirteen board is much deeper than it looks. Many thanks to club president Mark Bell for his house as the venue and the barbeque (and the beer), John Hardy for donating the first prize, and the players for turning up and joining in in such good spirits.

The WPGA would like us to select a representative by the end of January. We are looking to close expressions of interest by 8 January and hold playoffs circa 23 January. These dates will vary depending on what comes in. Tournament details and prize money are here.

Diagram 1.

White 4 above is forced. White can play either a or b next.

Diagram 2. – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – Diagram 3.

White 1 in diagrams 2-3 allows black to cut on either side.
White gains extra thickness from the ponnuki in both cases.
In diagram 2, white continues with 7 at a or b.
In diagram 3, where black aims for outside influence, white can continue with a or tenuki.

diagram 4.

If white plays tenuki at the end of diagram 3, then black can play 1 and 3 in diagram 4.
However even if white plays tenuki a second time, the corner is still a ko at a.

Diagram 5.

white plays 1 above to ensure access to both corner and top side of the board.
Black no longer has the option to choose whether to take the corner, or influence on the top side.
However, white has a lower position than if white played as in diagram 2.

If there are any questions about the joseki of the week,
or if they are too basic/under-examined/complex, let us know in the comments!

At the very last minute, we’ve arranged a teams match between Melbourne (MU-SPGO and the Victorian Go Club) and Brisbane (Brisbane Go Club and QUGS). It’s on at 2pm Brisbane time tomorrow (Sunday the thirteenth of December) in the Australia Room of the KGS Go Server. More details at Sensei’s Library.

White normally plays 4(d13) after black 3(d14), but c(d15), d(c17) or tenuki may be possible. These will not be looked at here however.

In joseki of the week 4, black a(e14) next was looked at. This week black 5 at b(c15) is considered.

Black can either tenuk or play around a(k17) now.

White can either play at a(c17), black b(d17) then white c(b16) to take some of the corner, or d(b15) to gain sente.
Black plays b in response to a, since white can live in the corner otherwise.
Black replies to d(b15) with ac17(), since playing at c(b16) will result in bad shape and bad aji in the corner.

Black can also play this way. Now black has a secure corner and sente, but the white group is solid and has greater influence.

If there are any questions about the joseki of the week,
or if they are too basic/under-examined/complex, let us know in the comments!

The Australian Go Association by prior invitation contributed substantially to the cost of the plaque, in “deep appreciation of (their) pioneering effort and leadership in the development of pair go”. Mrs Taki was reported to be very happy indeed.

After white plays a or b, black usually plays c but d is possible.

When using the sold connection, the joseki continues with
both players making extensions, ending in blacks sente.
White 3 can also be at a(d10).

When using the hanging connection, white can extend one extra space down the side.
However, white needs to be carefull of the weakness at a(c8).
b(b13) is the usual responce to an immediate invasion at a(c8) by black.

If there are any questions about the joseki of the week,
or if they are too basic, let us know in the comments!

White can now play one of a, b or c in the above diagram.
In each case, black will end up with a formidable wall facing the top side.

Black can also play 8(e14) at b13. This leads to white fighting outside.

4 at b14

After this joseki, white can play around a to keep access to the left side, or can take sente.
The black wall is now thick.

If white plays at b in the 1st diagram, this is the simple continuation.
White can jump to a, or take sente.

This is the continuation if white plays at c in the 1st diagram.
White can come under blacks wall with b, but white cannot jump to a now.

If there are any questions about the joseki of the week,
or if they are too basic, let us know in the comments!

The thirtieth Queensland Championships will occur over Saturday 6 February and Sunday 7 February, 2010, in the Holt Room at the Student Union on the University of Queensland campus at St Lucia in Brisbane. There will be an open division for dan players (attracting AGA representative points) and a handicap division for kyu players. First round of six starts at nine o’clock, and there is a published schedule running until five o’clock both days.

Please RSVP to your nearest Brisbane Go Club officer – use the registration form or write an email. If you’re interstate, that’s horatio@go.org.au. Because this is an AGA-sanctioned championship, competitors will need to either have current Australian Go Association membership or be prepared to acquire some during registration (club membership will do nicely), and will accrue AGA credit points from their placings. Entry is five dollars for students and juniors (thank QUGS for this one) and thirty-five dollars for everyone else. Anyone and everyone who plays any sort of go in the greater Brisbane area is welcome and strongly encouraged to turn out and play.

The 2010 annual general meeting of the Brisbane Go Club, including elections, will take place on the Sunday of the tournament, during lunch.