The phrase "Today is the first day of the rest of ...
By Rob Van Zeijst
The phrase "Today is the first day of the rest of your life" easily can be applied to go because every move creates a new board situation. But it is up to you to think of the best move for each situation. However, many players merely follow their opponent around the board and fail to come up with their own plan. In other words, moves are not based on new board positions, they depend on what move was made last. When I ask my students to consider the best possible move in a particular situation, invariably one will ask, "What was the last move?" This is beside the point.
Reading the whole board
In a way, every move can lose the initiative. As soon as you play your move, your opponent may or may not respond to it. If you are in this position, you should consider following your own plan and playing elsewhere.
Diagram 1: If Black played his last move at A, how should White respond? Figure out how White should respond if Black played his last move at B through E. Now have Black respond to White's last move at A through E. To help you, I will add some more information. After black E, White's stones around A are in danger, so Black should attack and White should defend. Black B attacks the white stones around C. A stone around black D/white E is the key point for expanding both players' territories.
Diagram 2: Do you keep on coming up with different answers? This is both good and bad. It is bad because you attach too much value to your opponent's way of thinking. But coming up with various answers is good too, because it means you are flexible and ready to learn new things.
If it is Black's turn, playing at 1 is best. This puts a lot of pressure on White's lower position, while expanding his moyo (framework) on the right. At the same time, he is aiming at attacking the white stones around the A group. After black 5, White has a problem. Should he defend with B, allowing black C, or should he defend around A, allowing black B? Instead of black 1, a move at D is not sente (free to play elsewhere) for either side. The groups around D and E are too strong to attack. White F is not significant at this point. White may ensure that he will live with the sequence F through J, but Black could answer with K or L, which would complicate things. A black move at I would weaken the white stones around D. As long as White's stones around A and D show weaknesses, playing at F could be dangerous.
Diagram 3: Black 1 is a strong attack on the marked stones. However, White should sacrifice them in order to occupy the vital point at 2. If Black tries to capture on a large scale with 3, White can play at 10 either before or after forcing with 4 through 9. Even after black 9, White has forcing moves around A, B, C and D, helping his stones on the left and building a moyo on the lower right side. White could still play at E later, but after white 10, Black is in trouble.
Solutions to last week's problems
The point is not to answer every move. Find a way to keep the initiative in a profitable way as long as possible.
Solution 1: After black 1 and 3, White should attack the two marked stones with 4. Black must be careful to either make eye space (profitable) or connect in the center (not profitable). White 6 through 10 forces Black to use a lot of stones (5 through 17) to connect in the center. White profits with 4, 6, 8, 10, 16 and 18. It is a close game after this move with White leading slightly, but the skills of the players will decide the outcome.
Solution 2: White 1 and 3 connect in sente. Black must defend at 4 to make eye space. White 5 and 7 are sente against the lower right corner. In the end, White 9 forces Black to play at 10, then takes a two-point gote move (not requiring a response) with 11 and 13. After white 15, the game is over. White has 10 points and Black has 7.
New Problems
Problem 1: Don't worry about the order of the moves. Where should Black play next? A through F are suggested. Consider all these moves then decide for yourself.
Problem 2: After black 1, where should White play?
Ben's Cafe in Takadanobaba, Tokyo (03-3202-2445; www.benscafe.com) offers free English-speaking go lessons every Sunday.
Van Zeijst is a four-time European go champion and European representative at the Fujitsu World Championship.