cause it will make "Kake tsugu" no matter which way White tries to break through. If he should play at D 17, White could get through at E 16. 5. E 4. 7. D 2. 9. F 4. 6. C 3. 8. Ε 5. 10. C 4. C 2 is not so good. The corner is divided, but Black has better prospects. live. 2. C 7. now BLACK 4. D 3. Black's three stones are called "Ogeima shimari"; they are supposed to be a strong formation protecting the corner. 6. D 5. 8. D 7. 10. B 8. 12. C 8. 14. E 6. 16. C 4. 18. E 8. Black cannot venture A 8, as his four stones would then die. 20. F 7. Takes. White has entered the corner and still his stones will We now come to the "Joseki" where no handicaps are given. In such cases, of course, Black has the first move. The first stone is generally played on an intersection adjacent to the point on which the handicap stone is placed when given. There are, therefore, eight intersections on which the first stone might be played. In the lower left-hand corner, for instance, these would be C 3, C4, C 5, D 3, D 5, E 3, E 4, E 5. By common consent C 3 has been rejected as disadvantageous for the first player, because the territory obtained thereby is too small. E 5 has been rejected because it allows the adversary to play behind it and take the corner. D 4, or the handicap point, is also not used. The other six points may be divided into duplicate sets of three each, and, therefore, there are only three well-recognized methods of playing the first stone. These are: in the lower left-hand corner, C 4 or D 3, the most usual and conservative, which is called "Komoku," or the "little 'Me"; E4 or D5 which is bolder, called "Takamoku," or the "high 'Me'"; and E 3 or C5 which is not so much used as either of the others, called "Moku hadzushi," or the "detached 'Me.'" We shall give about an equal number of examples of each of these methods of opening the game, commencing, as is customary in the Japanese works, with "Takamoku.” |