Lee Se Dol, a 21-year-old South Korean ...

By Rob Van Zeijst

Lee Se Dol, a 21-year-old South Korean go master, has grabbed the world title for the fourth time after defeating Wang Xi, 5-dan from China, 2-0 in the best-of-three playoff in the 9th Samsung Cup. The tournament followed a five-round knockout system, so Lee actually won six games in a row to take home 200 million in prize money. Let us have a look at one of the games Lee played and find out why he is so good. Lee is White.

Diagram 1 (1-42): White 8 is not too good. Backed by his strength in the lower left, White perhaps should have played a pincer at A or an attachment at 35. Black is happy with the play up to 13. After 15, white B would be a joseki, a standard corner exchange, but then all his stones are very low. As he does not want to play here, Lee goes all out with 16. What he is saying is: "Come on and do your worst!" Of course, Black tries to do just that with 17 and 23. However, white 24 is an interesting move. A lesser player would try to invade at C at some stage so as not to induce Black to defend at 25 and 27. However, as a follow-up, white 28 is a good move. See Problems 1 and 2.

In the sequence through 35, White cleverly takes sente by switching to 36. He then boldly sets up a huge framework on the lower side, but at the cost of Black turning the right into solid territory. How will Black cope with this framework?

Diagram 2 (43-90): Black 43 and 45 are a standard technique for destroying frameworks. White will have to attack on a large scale to win the game, and does so with 48. White then proceeds to cut off the marked black stones and set up a huge territory in the center. However, Black gets sufficient compensation with 53 and 55. After 56, if Black succeeds in reducing White's framework, the game is over. However, Lee is famous for turning around games that appear to be lost. Moves 67 and 69 are good, and Black's victory seems assured. White 72 is a vague attempt to attack. If Black had played 75 at A, Black probably would have won the game easily. However, he slips up with 75. This move is unnecessary, and White thinks for a while before answering with 76. Black's attack ends when White ensures life with 90. Now, Black is left with a weak center group. Still, Black is leading in the territorial stakes. We will look at the rest of this game next week.

Problems

Problem 1: In Diagram 1, white 28 is the marked stone. What happens if Black replies with 1? How can White take advantage of this?

Problem 2: If White had not played at 28, Black has a good move here. Where should Black play? This is a difficult problem, but if you look at Problem 1, you may get a hint.

Problem 3: Black's stones in the corner are in trouble. The only way to save them is by connecting them to the outside. How can he do this?

Problem 4: Black plays first and kills the white stones. Where does he play?

Solutions to the problems

Solution 1: Black 1 is a disastrous overplay. White 2, 4 and 6 cut off Black's stones. Whatever he tries, e.g. the sequence 7 through 12, Black cannot get more than three liberties, while White has four on both sides. Black's stones are lost.

Solution 2: Black 1 is the vital point. If White tries to counter with 2, he will get clobbered. After 9, White's marked stones are adrift. On top of that, Black can exchange A for B and C for D. White is alive but with just three points of territory.

Solution 3: Black 1 is the vital point. If White plays at 2, Black would answer with 3. White cannot cut at B. Instead of 2, if White plays at A, black B works just fine. Incidentally, instead of black 1, he could play at 3 first to connect.

Reference 1: Black 1 and 3 look like the right combination, but it does not work, as the moves through 8 show.

Solution 4: Black 1 is correct, as this connects. White 2 and following moves are a waste of time. Note that Black could play at 5, instead of 1.

Reference 2: Black 1 is wrong. White 2 and 4 cut Black's stones off. After 6, White is alive.