Last week, we said Black had an advantage ...

By Rob Van Zeijst

Last week, we said Black had an advantage because he moved first, while White was compensated in the form of 6.5 points, called komi. The one-point increase in komi a few years back has revolutionized strategy. However, strategy is constantly evolving between "realistic" territory-oriented ideas and more romantic concepts of building center influence that could be likened to building castles in the sky. During the course of history, realists have always represented the majority, but even among the very top players we can find romantics.

Diagram 1: O Meien, one of Japan's strongest players, is a prime example of a romantic player with an inimitable style. In this game against Tomoyasu Mimura, he plays black.

It is apparent immediately that O likes the center. Of the tens of thousands of games played by pros, this is the first game to feature the first 12 moves played in this fashion. Even more astounding is black 13. O is probably the only pro who would have chosen this move because it seems so impractical. But let's not be too judgmental. Wait and see what happens.

Diagram 2: White stakes out a position at the top. But Black develops the lower left with 17 making miai between playing at A or at 19. Miai means that if Black plays at one spot, White will play at the other, and vice versa. However, White chooses to play at 18, probably because after 21, White can easily invade at lower left. With 22, White tries to encircle the marked black stones. The middle game now starts with Black playing at 23. This move does more than just defend the marked stones, it also aims at sliding to C to destabilize White's two stones at upper right.

Diagram 3: White 24 is the vital point as it makes Black's marked stone heavy and deprives it of a base, while defending the marked white stones. Since Black cannot make a base here, he moves out into the center with 25. However, White tries to cut off his escape route with 26 and 28, which leads to a full-fledged battle when Black cuts with 29. The moves that follow are the result of accurate reading by both players.

Diagram 4: We are in the midst of a really big battle now. Using superb techniques, Black makes an eye shape at the top, while White safeguards three stones in the center. With 52 and 54, White makes inroads into Black's framework. However, Black appears to be alive after 57 and with 59 cuts off White's center group. We will continue this game next week in which Black will make a huge sacrifice to gain a a massive piece of territory.

Solution to last week's problem

Solution 1: White 1 is a clever move. Because he lacks liberties, Black cannot play at 3 to make an eye there. But if he captures at 2 to avoid that, White 3 takes away Black's eye.

Reference 1: So this is the end position. What about B? Isn't that an eye? No, if White plays at A, Black's three marked stones are down to just one liberty. So White can capture them by playing at B. On the other hand, if Black defends by connecting at B, it becomes obvious that it was a false eye. In other words, Black is dead because he has only one eye.

Reference 2: If White naively plays at 1, Black would connect at 2 to form two solid eyes.

New problem

Problem 1: Try these four problems in alphabetical order. A and C seem similar but the solution is quite different. Be careful.

Van Zeijst is a four-time European go champion and European representative at the Fujitsu World Championship.