With his ready smile and open-minded personality...

By Rob Van Zeijst

With his ready smile and open-minded personality, Masaki Takemiya is one of the most popular go players in Japan. But this belies his depth of calculation and the flexibility of his play. His acute feel for the flow of the game backed up by accurate reading of the board have earned him his share of big titles, including the Honinbo six times and the Meijin title once. His interests go beyond go as he is believed to be an avid mah-jongg player and has written a best-selling book on golf.

However, his go strategy is what really captures the attention of his fellow pros and go fans. While the top players today tend to be territory-oriented, Takemiya develops huge spheres of influence in the center, daring his opponents to invade. Should they do so, Takemiya punishes them with his attacking skills as he expands his territory. He is no softie, though, as he can kill the stones of his opponents at the drop of a hat.

The following game, the second in the 1996 Meijin title match, is representative of Takemiya's style and has a fitting grand finish. Takemiya (black) plays Cho Chikun.

Diagram 1 (1-43): In the moves through 43, Black has built up a huge framework that extends from the lower right to the center. But it does not stop there--his framework has the potential to extend toward the left. If White does nothing, Black will pile up almost 100 points in the lower right quadrant. That far exceeds the combined territory of White's groups. Therefore, White must do something. Where would you play if you were White?

Diagram (44-59): In his quest to make a dent inside Black's framework, White strikes at 44. But instead of Black defending his territory by playing at 46, he aggressively tries to contain White and after 59, the White group is locally dead. White can try to break out by connecting at A, but when Black plays B, his marked stones turn out to be at all the right places and White cannot escape. Since a simple approach is useless, White wants to complicate matters. How can he do that?

Diagram 3 (60-82): Ordinary moves don't work here. So, playing an attachment (just like 44 earlier on) is the usual idea. In that sense, White 60 does not come out of the blue. Black cannot afford to answer directly, so he plays at 61, the move he would have played had White connected with A. White then struggles to ensure life on the right side. Can you kill that group after White plays at 82?

Diagram 4 (82-101): We have discussed the principles of killing some time ago. It is exactly in line with these principles that Black kills the white group. Black 83, 85 and 87 first reduce White's eye-space. The second step is to play at the vital point. That means if White plays at A, Black would play at B and it becomes obvious White's group cannot make two eyes. So he tries to move out. However, black 93 and 95 are good moves that pen Black in and prevent him from making eyes. Upon seeing black 101, White resigns. Even if he puts pressure on Black by playing at C followed by white D, black E, white F and black G, White makes life with H.

Diagram 4 (final position): Cho resigned when Takemiya played the marked stone and it becomes apparent that all of White's marked stones in the lower right quadrant have died. This territory alone is worth more than 80 points, a territory larger than that of all of White's groups combined.

Incidentally, we will be creating a site (www.themagicofgo.com) where all past The Magic of Go articles will appear. You also will be able to express your views on the site.

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