(
;
SY[Written by GoBase-0.0.9]
EV[19th Meijin title]
RO[3rd preliminary round]
PB[Kudo Norio]
BR[9 dan]
PW[O Meien]
WR[9 dan]
DT[9 September 1993]
PC[Tokyo, Japan]
KM[5.5]
N[Figure 1]
RG[aa][ss]
;B[pd];W[dp];B[qp]C[
A favourite fuseki of Kudo. He uses it in about half his games as
Black so that he doesn't have to spend too much time in the opening.
]
;W[dc];B[oq];W[de]C[
It would be far more common to play a splitting attack (wariuchi)
around r10 below the star point on the right side. A double
shimari type game is relatively rare.

 Kudo said there were three big points. Goal one is to find
 them. Goal two is to find which one he chose. Goal three is
 to predict why. I think the reason he gave for his choice
 will startle you and show the gap in pro thinking and amateur
 thinking. It has to do with White 6.
]
;B[pj]C[
He said there were other big points but this was the
biggest/most important. The other two he gave were k16 which he
said simply was "a good point", and f3, which he said was "a big
point, but..."

His explanation of why he chose q10 was "to punish White for
not having come in with the wariuchi (splitting attack)" on
the right.
]
;W[nc]C[
Natural, said the pro. But he could equally have played on
the centre of the lower side (he didn't say exactly where
unfortunately - suggestions?).
]
;B[lc]C[
A favourite of Kudo. He could have played q14 and then White
would play k16 (star point) - not q18 because he couldn't
rely on Black answering at r17.
]
;W[ld]C[
His idea was to move out into the centre and thus erase
Black's moyo on the right, amongst other things
(unspecified - but what?).
White did not play r17, r16, q17, p16, o18, n15 simply
because that would be following Black's orders.
]
;B[kd]C[
There was a choice: l17. But Takemiya Masaki said that
if Black pulled back to l17, White would play n16,
Black k15 and White r14. JF: A shade less control for
Black perhaps?
]
;W[le]C[
White had a valid alternative too: n16. The likely continuation
then was Black k17, White q14, Black p14, White p13, Black p15,
White r17 - a dodging manoeuvre by White. Then would follow
Black q17, White r16, Black q15, White r15, Black q13, White
r14, Black o13, White p12, Black n14, White q12. The conclusion
was that this exchange is even (White can count on getting in
q18). Territory is about the same but Black is thicker {JF: Of
course he has an extra stone in the area}. {JF: Comparing what
I read in pro commentaries to what I hear amateurs say, the
word "thick" is many, many more times commoner in pro talk. I'd
suggest that would repay a good discussion}
]
;B[mc];W[nd]C[
Now, apart from any comments on the above,
what is Black's move 15?.
A chance to use those joseki dictionaries?
]
;B[pg]C[
Before explaining Kudo's moves, for the benefit of the weaker
players let me try to explain what is going on in macro terms.

Black is building a moyo. In almost all moyo games the moyo
builder would love to tempt the other side to invade it soon. He
will then attack the invade and *** let him live small *** (no
need to kill) and in the process build a strong wall that lets
him secure the rest of the moyo as territory, like an oyster
creating a pearl around a tiny piece of grit. Rash invasions
into moyos like this tend to turn two thirds or even three
quarters of the moyo into territory.

However, you never see this in pro games. Instead, the other
side will try to build up strength at a distance so that he can
invade later and live not so small. That is what White is trying
to do here with his centre group.

Black of course is trying to keep White off balance by attacking
him relentlessly. If he can do this well, he will not only
retain sente but will build up strength in front of his moyo,
and this is a secondary way of turning the moyo into territory.

It becomes a bit tortuous, but Black will never rely on turning
his moyo into territory and he will be prepared at any time to
let White invade and live if, in the process, he can attack the
invader to get strength to attack elsewhere. You will see all
these points in this game.

The top side is no man's land - what the Japanese call horse
pasture, land too poor to grow rice on. If you try constructing
various scenarios there, you will see that neither side can get
much territory there in relation to the number of stones they
have to invest (at least this early in the game).

Now to the pro bit. Kudo played 15. q13.

He mentioned q14 as a possibility, the move that springs to mind
first. But he quoted against it the sequence that Jan van der
Steen spotted: White peeps at p15, forcing Black q15 and can
then turn to j16 in good order with his weakness covered. He
gets the lead in the attack (next is Black l14, White l13, Black
k15).

Kudo then considered r14, with the idea of avoiding giving White
a forcing move to cover his cutting point. He said it was also
possible to play p14, a move that several rggers spotted (he
didn't give variations - I think you are supposed to realise
that it is not the tactical nuances that matter as much as
concentrating on the right side).

But he decided to try something different with q13. His thinking
was this: if White peeps at p15, fine - Black will answer at
q15. White can still turn to the top side to attack (in order
to get a strong centre group, remember) but Black will have
made a gain on the right side because then the stone on q13
is in a better position than a stone on q14 would have been.
This sort of analysis is called tewari and is a big feature of
professional opening play.

When asked by a _very_ strong amateur about playing on the top
at h17 (I think rggers mentioned only k17 and j17 so it is worth
considering why the extra stretch), Kudo dismissed it out of
hand as "no good" because it lets White play q15, r15, q14, r14,
r16.
]
;W[id]
C[
White declined to peep at p15 and played the high pincer.
]
;B[ke];W[kf];B[je]
C[
Black, regretfully but predictably played the deliberate
bad shape of 19. k15

The reason Black could not play 19 at k14 was White cuts at k15,
Black k17, White p15, Black q15 and White j17.

Now I invite you to guess the next three moves (20, 21 and 22).
They are not specially hard in themselves, but the idea is to
get the right flow.

A hint is given below so you can skip if desired.

Hint
----
For the lower kyu players, White 20 is especially important
to think about. Good advice that emanates from a Korean pro
(I don't know who) via an American 4-dan is "be aggressive
strategically, be modest tactically." Remember White's aims.
]
;W[lg]
C[
White has achieved his aim of getting out into the centre.

I don't think anyone got the full answer (White 20 to 22),
although some got the first move, and some people spotted
ideas that come up later in the game. I detected strong
players getting an edge for the first time.
]
;B[ie]
C[
Because it would be unbearable to allow White to get a "fanning
the flames" kind of attack with j13 {this refers to the Japanese
word aoru which is used in go to refer to the kind of chase
where you are fanning flames or, if you like, beating the grass
to drive the grouse up into the air for easy pickings. It's
a useful image to help you get the right shape for a running
attack, although you don't often see it in pro games}
]
;W[pe]
;B[qe]
;W[oe]
C[
The alternative r16 was of great interest as this was a new
pattern (because of Black 15). They suggested Black would play
atari at p15, White q14, Black r14, White p14, Black q17. But
then it gets messy: White r17, Black r18, White s18, Black q18,
White s16. The black stones are not easy to capture as he has a
potential ladder breaker at q12, then if White p16, Black s15.
But as the ladder favours White just now, Black would have to
try something else first.
]
;B[qc]
C[
Intermediate question: Was the new move Black 15 to be
judged a success or not?
]
;W[jc]
C[
Cheeky.
]
;B[kc]
;W[ig]
C[
g16 was rejected because of Black h15, White h16, Black g15. {JF
I'd say because it makes White thin above and below and loses
touch with the real focal point - the centre and right-side}

Now Black 29 was seen as a good move. What was it?

Remember always to think of White's best replies but what you
have to keep in mind here is shape and what flows from that:
thick/thin and heavy/light shapes.

Background noise
----------------
In a book of 200 fuseki problems (this game is still in the
fuseki by the way) put out by the Nihon Ki-in, there was an
afterword in which they said they had analysed which proverbs
were most relevant to the answers. The most important by a
long, long way was "urgent points before big points." Also very
important was "a two-space extension makes a nice house." Coming
up behind this were "a one-space jump is never bad" and "attack
is the best form of defence." They mentioned also: "Kosumi in
the opening is a good move," "Keep away from thickness {yours as
well as the opponent's}", "One side high, the other side low,",
"the star point leaves invasion at 3-3" and "it's a long lane
that has no loaf on the bread".

{After reading the suggestions by the readers of rec.games.go}

So far nearly everyone seems to have missed the mark. One thing
that will help is to look at the three black stones on L17, M17
and N17 and recall your go proverbs. This becomes significant
later in the game, too.

By way of an ultra-subtle hint, here's a story about Cho Chikun.
It came in a book on Go Seigen where the author, a noted
newspaper go reporter, was trying to explain Go's vision of
21st century fuseki. It is based on the "six unities" (North,
South, East, West, above, below) or the "three axes" (vertical,
horizontal and whatever the other one's called).

The writer was trying to get his mind round what this
3-dimensional vision of go was when he was lucky to get a shaft
of illumination from Cho. Cho was locked in a tense game with
Takemiya where Cho had a group fighting for oxygen inside one of
Takemiya's floating space stations. The talk in the press room
was that if the group lived Cho won; if it died he lost. Our
author duly noted this and when, in the end, Cho won he asked
him how he had felt about the life and death battle during the
game.

Cho looked surprised and said he hadn't been thinking about
it at all. What he thought about was the resulting situation
roundabout if the group lived and the situation if it died. He
was happy to accept either eventuality if it gave him the right
result. The author saw this as one facet of the extra dimension.

I might add that Takemiya makes similar points about his moyo
game (i.e he doesn't think about moyos, but about something
beyond them).

What I am getting at in relation to the Big Game is that many
people seem to focus too much on local tactics or short term
gains. What I think Black and White are trying to do here in
getting good shape has relatively little to do with the local
situation and a lot more to do with setting themselves up
strongly to be in a position to fight better _much_ later in the
game. You should therefore be trying to work out where future
developments are likely to occur.
]
;B[gd]
C[
Black h16 instead was described as bad because it made Black
heavy: White h17, Black g17, White g18, Black g16, White f18.
]
;W[hd]
C[
White g18 was rejected because it lets Black settle himself
with profit too easily: Black h17, White h18, Black j17,
White j18, Black k18.
]
;B[he]
;W[gc]
;B[fc]
;W[gb]
C[
Now I invite you to find Black's move 35 but I will tell you
the choice is between:

 (1) Black f16, White f18, Black g13
 (2) Black g15, White f18, Black g13

Which is better and why?

Terms (from Japanese dictionaries)
-----
Honte: The proper move. A move that at first sight looks slack
but which is the most appropriate to the situation.

Background noise
----------------
As, relatively speaking, a non-player and more of an observer,
I notice a huge difference in the way pros and amas talk about
the game. The words differ (pros say thick, thin, amas say kill,
kill), and amas try to explain their thoughts more through
showing tactical sequences than pros do.

But of course pros see all the tactics we do, and more. Ishida
Yoshio is fond of saying that pros see "a thousand moves at a
glance". While that's an exaggeration, Fujisawa Hideyuki more
temperately claimed that he would see 20 to 30 moves at a glance
and, counting the variations that would instantly spin off,
200-300 moves in total.

I can recall being gobsmacked watching a commentary by Feng Yun
on a game she had never seen. Someone asked about a nice-looking
(i.e. crass) move and she looked startled and _instantly_ said
that was no good because of the ladder. What ladder, we all
chorused. She then flung a few stones on the wall-board, wiggled
her finger halfway across the board, round a couple of corners,
up a dale and down a dell... I think that's when I gave up
pretending to be a go player. At any rate, it convinced me that
Fujisawa was not exaggerating.

Yet all this remains normally hidden when pros talk. Go Seigen
said he spent next to no time working out tactics. He spent
almost all his time counting, and favoured the move that gave
the simplest win. He said Kitani Minoru, famous for using all
his time, also saw all the possible moves instantly but spent
the rest of the time comparing one with another, to find the
best rather than the safest. Maeda Nobuaki said he thought a
long time only when he was confused, but nearly always ended up
playing the move he saw first.

When pros talk to each other they say shorthand things like,
"That's no good because of the hane" when there's no possible
hane for miles around, yet understand each other perfectly. When
the go reporter asks where it is, they are shown a variation
with hane on move 12.

The book where I saw the comment above about Ishida appended a
cartoon with a bushy tree growing out of a go board. There was
no caption but I think it alluded to a story about a famous Zen
monk, Takuan Soho. Giving advice to a swordsman, he said that
when his mind was working and he looked at a tree, his gaze
fixed on a leaf and that became all he saw. But when his mind
stopped being active and he achieved "no mind" he saw every
single leaf.

This goal of "no mind" (mushin) is often cited by pros as
something they strive to achieve too. Although the phrase may
conjure up incense sticks and vegetarian sandles, it is a state
that most of you will have experienced. You probably have
similar abilities to the go pros in your own profession, but one
thing most of us have in common is that when you drive a car,
you can probably drive safely even while still talking, eating,
listening the radio, etc. The automatic responses you have
learnt take care of the gear changing, mirror glances, steering
touches, road watching (the 1000 moves of tactics), leaving your
attention free for more important things (strategy - the moyo
here!). You will probably have also achieved that even more
blissful state where you have driven 100 miles up the motorway
and suddenly realise you have absolutely no recollection of
getting there - yet you obviously did. Think of "no mind" as
that sort of automaticity. The oft cited advice of pros to play
over 1000 games to reach shodan is the same advice as martial
artists get to practice their forms (kata) until they become
automatic, or mind- free.
]
;B[ge]
C[
The pro commentary was that Black 35 was the "proper move"
(honte) and they said amateurs would play instead f16 (true in
my case). This was explained by the proverb that Jan spotted:
"Sacrifice stones used for forcing moves" (Kikashita ishi wa
sute yo) - perhaps rather more accurately put as "sacrifice
stones that have served their purpose". This refers to the black
stone at f17. They then went on to say that "sacrifice" here
really means "treat lightly", which is "the same thing in go theory".

The other proverb I'd been dropping broad hints about, for use
later in this game, was also spotted by at least a couple of
people so I'll mention it now: "The comb formation is alive"
which refers to the three black stones at L17, m17 and n17
being able to live (though in gote) with the shape o18+o19 and
k18+k19.
]
;W[fb]
;B[gg]
;W[hi]
C[
The commentary added that g13 was an urgent point (=vital point) for
both sides ("urgent points before big points") and that White 38 was
attacking.

A final comment on "shape" (katachi) since it seems to cause a lot
of bafflement to lower kyu players in r.g.g.

A definition from a Japanese book first (it distinguishes two uses):

1. The vital point for defence. When you are reinforcing stones,
   if you play on the most appropriate point you say,
   "This point is (good) shape."

2. The pattern of stones.
   We say it is either "a good shape" or "a bad shape."

But there is a lot more that can be said about it. One of the
most perceptive comments I saw was by the Mihori Tadashi who
was recently spotlighted in David Carlton's pages. Alluding
presumably to the famous Dao De Jing where Lao Zi points out
that what makes a house valuable is the space created by the
doors and windows, what makes a bowl valuable is the space
inside it, etc., Mihori said that good shape in go could be
defined by how much can be left out - doing a job with the
fewest stones and leaving the maximum safe gaps between them.
]
;B[df]
C[
A severe move forcing White to respond.
]
;W[ee]
C[
White 40 at e15 was commented on in some tactical detail, simply
to explain that it is a mistake for White to try to attack too
strongly here, for example with 40. c14.

The sequence shown was (after White c14):

Black c13 hane;         White e14 atari
Black d13 connects;     White e13 pushes along
Black e15 cuts;         White e16 atari
Black f15 connects;     White e12 extends
Black c15 cuts;         White d16 connects
Black b14 takes;        White f11 seals Black in

But now Black, having, made big gains on the left side, is happy
to live in gote with Black o18, White p18, Black o19, White p17
on one side, and then Black k18, White j18, Black k19 on the
other.

White 40 at e14 (hane on top) was also condemned. What follows is:

Black e15 crosscuts;    White e13 extends
Black d16 atari;        White c15 extends from atari
Black c16 pushes thru;  White e16 cuts
Black e17 countercuts;  White f15 takes
Black f16 atari
]
;B[ef]
;W[fi]
C[
This move was described as a mistake.
The questions to answer are:

1. Why?
   (The commentary uses a single word - no tactics needed)
2. Where should he have played?

Background noise
----------------
As you would expect, there are pros who have little
superstitions during games, and there are those who betray
whether they are ahead or behind with little mannerisms. But
there is another class that I came across that surprised me.

Cho Chikun is supposed to take matches out of a match box and
repeatedly snap them. Rin Kaiho beats his fan rather noisily
(shades of Blackadder and Baldrick), to the annoyance of many
opponents (Fujisawa Hideyuki once complained and Rin was obliged
to use a small, noisless fan). Hashimoto Shoji had the same
habit, and Kitani used to beat so many fans to death he had to
bring several to a game. Hane Yasumasa was famous for twisting
tissue papers into little strings and by the end of a game would
have a pile of as many as 100 beside him. Kato is reputed to
take his watch off and repeatedly twirl it through his fingers.

What I found remarkable though was the phrase used in the
explanation given for these particular habits: they were
designed to create "a rhythm for thinking." How does one think
rhythmically? Is it better that way?
]
;B[cf]
;W[ce]
C[
If White d11 instead, Black b17 is too big.
]
;B[di]
C[
A rough assessment was made of who is ahead.

Part 1 of the question: Who and why? (No catch)
]
;W[dk]
C[
No choice, said O. But the fact he had to play here anyway is
one reason why White 42 at d10 would clearly have been more
sensible, he said.
]
;B[ih]
;W[hh]
;B[hg]
;W[jg]
C[
This cut by Black achieves nothing at the moment, the commentary
said, but Black felt it would prove useful later - of course
he had to secure his connection anyway at 49, so it was a good
chance to play it, they said.

The second and main part of this question now is:

Where is the next move for Black (of course it's on the lower
side) and the next move for White?

No catch, but if stronger players think it too easy, here's an
extra dimension. You may recall I mentioned a story about Feng
Yun citing a ladder when a bunch of us amateurs couldn't even
see there was a ladder. Well there's a ladder lurking here too,
and it has a bearing on the lower side. Where is it?

Part 3 (the game's getting complex):

I'm sure everyone has had half a mind on the Black moyo. The
pros pointed out one particular point as suitable for an
invasion (though there were other possibles, they said), and
while White didn't actually get it, it determined how Black
played in the next couple of moves.

Background noise
----------------
In a formal game in Japan, one of the seats is regarded as the
seat of honour. In a title game it is occupied by the holder,
otherwise the higher ranked player sits there. In games between
equally graded Nihon Ki-in and Kansai Ki-in players they even
check on dates of promotions for seniority, just like the Army.

If it is necessary to decide who takes Black, whoever sits in
the seat of honour (in amateur games this is simply the seat
occupied by the older player) is meant to take the white stones
and do "nigiri" - take a handful (which is what nigiri means) of
stones and place them on the board with his hand on top.

Black is then supposed to take either one stone to signify odd
or two stones to signify even and place them on the board.
He can also say "hansen" for "odd Black" and "chousen" for
"even Black". The player with the white stones then separates
them into twos, to see if there is one or none left over. The
allocation of Black and White is then decided by whatever guess
was made by the player with the black stones.

Of course, even in a country as wedded to formality as Japan
there are plenty of exceptions. Kitani was fond of taking _two_
handfuls of stones (Japanese nouns have no singular or plural
so it is still nigiri!). There are also plenty of stories of
fighting over avoiding the seat of honour. In Game 1 of the 1st
Kisei, Hashimoto Utaro made sure he got in to the room first and
occupied the humble seat. When Fujisawa Hideyuki came in he put
his arms around Hashimoto and tried to manhandle him over to
the seat of honour. Hashimoto refused to budge, so in the end
Fujisawa sat there. He then did nigiri but the result was that
Hashimoto got White, so they had to swap seats anyway.

Associating White with the stronger player is a Japanese
thing. In China Black used to be regarded as a better colour
symbolically - the character xuan, covering all the colours of
the heavens and so ranging from blue to black, was linked with
a superior mind. White was the colour of the clothes of someone
who had no rank or salary.

In Japan white is generally seen as a more auspicious colour,
though there are some significant exceptions (in sports and
games the best known is judo black belts being higher than
white).

As to the position of the first move, I find quite a few
westerners get quite worked up about this if it's not in the
top right corner. It is of course the etiquette in Japan, but
it's their culture not ours, and it's not something they seem
too bothered about anyway. There are several examples of players
playing elsewhere in the past, though nowadays with so many
games being separately recorded and then published, there is
strong pressure to normalise the board position for that reason
alone.

There are several left-handed pros, but I think all still use
their right hand to make moves. One special case is Sonoda
Yuichi who cannot use his right hand because of infantile
paralysis.

Can someone please add details for similar aspects in China,
Taiwan and Korea? And has anyone observed the rituals in
international games?
]
;B[jp]
C[
The commentary said this was the only big point left and
by getting it Black now had the lead. Black has a promising
position on the right, it said, but it also had holes. It
said there were various points for White to start something,
but the one they highlighted was R11.

This was connected with the ladder mentioned. As Mike Scudder
spotted after the second hint, this comes about with W R14, B
Q14, W S15, B R16, W R13, B R12, W Q12, B P12, crossing row #4
at G-K (hence the importance of plays on the lower side).
]
;W[hq]
C[
Although 41 was the cited as
the last big point, the commentary says this move is also a big
point. I think we have to infer that Black k4 in effect created
another tier of slightly smaller big points.
]
;B[nf]
C[
The commentary said the idea was to settle part of the right
side so as to remove aji there. This move is not so much a
forcing move as an inducing move, because it expects not O15
but...
]
;W[og]
;B[oh]
;W[of]
;B[ph]
;W[nh]
C[
White would like to defend at O13 but that would be gote and
he would fall too far behind in development.
]
;B[ni];W[lp]
C[
The question now is to find Black 61. It is not specially
hard (certainly no long sequences), and seeing the move my
reaction was "Of course". But truth to tell I don't think I
would have played it myself, and I think that few amateurs,
unprompted, could match the convincing clarity and above all the
_simplicity_ of thought the pro showed in explaining his choice.
See now, with that prompt, whether you can match in some way his
single short sentence. It's not a proverb this time (at least
not a standard one).

Background noise
----------------
Everybody loves Shusaku. Here's the latest news on him (not in
Invincible).

24 new games were discovered in Nagano City in 1993 by Nakata
Keizo when, ironically, he was researching the travels there
of Honinbo Shuho. He heard that Shuho stayed in the house of a
distinguished land-owning family whose 13th generation head was
then Sumita Akio.

He had a copy of an Edo period book, Toryu Gokyo Taizen by
Akiyama Senboku, which he thought was the only valuable go item
he had, and he showed it to Nakata. Only later did he fetch out
of an apple box in his storeroom 4 handwritten books one of
which was a record of a league played by pros in 1866.

The Sumita collection turned out to have over 200 games, around
30 being new games of the Honinbo family (Jowa, Shuwa, Shusaku
and Shuho). The Shusaku games were in a small booklet about 10
cm square which contained 64 games. Black's moves were written
in black ink and White's in red ink. 16 were unknown, and some
of the rest had different dates from previous editions.

Another six were discovered in the Shiraki collection of
Yonekubo Sadao of Sajiki in Ahiojiri City. He held what had
been passed down by a late Edo player from the same area,
Shiraki Sukeemon (1806-1885) who had written the book Kika Keifu
recording go history of over 100 players from Honinbo Retsugen
on to late Edo. The collection included a huge haul of Shiraki~Rs
own games and letters, and games by others, ranking lists and a
unique copy of Honinbo Sansa's diploma - plus lot of new info on
the Honinbo family, especialy Shuwa, through the letters.

One of the Shusaku games in his collection now becomes the
latest known Shusaku game (an unfinished game of 38 moves
against Narabayashi, dated 23rd of 5th month 1862 - Shusaku died
on 10th of 8th that year.)

One of the letters is from Shuwa to Shusaku's father relating
his death:

"Shusaku was abstaining from meat during mourning (for his
mother) this Spring. He ate a lot of shiitake mushrooms and
perhaps because of that became very dizzy, suffered badly from
boils on his head and had trouble with his eyes. In the sixth
month, although he gradually made a complete recovery, he was
weaker than usual and measles was raging. Both the pupils and
the womenfolk took great care of him with medicines and so on,
and he slowly got better, much to our relief. But on the 3rd
day of the 8th month he relapsed a little, then on the fourth
he had violent evacuations. Although we tried various other
treatments, he was unable to recover and passed away of his
illness between noon and one o'clock on the tenth day. Above all
he was naturally of superior wit and intelligence, and his skill
was recognised by all. Everyone, from his seniors to his pupils,
said he could have become the Godokoro, but now he has left us
in mid-course and that is now only a dream in our hearts."

It was the go researcher Araki Naomi, who was a professor
of medicine, who inferred in the 1950s that Shusaku died of
cholera (and that this was the third such epidemic in Edo,
probably brought by westerners) but at the time Shuwa thought
it was measles. The famous go book Zain Danso, written by a
contemporary, also said that measles was highly prevalent and
countless people suffered from it.

Zain Danso also says many in the Honinbo family were afflicted
and forced to their sickbeds. Despite being asked by Shuwa to
desist, Shusaku spent a lot of time tending them and caught the
same disease.

On the 2nd of the 8th month (the day before Shusaku fell ill),
Shuwa wrote to Shusaku's father asking if he had had measles as
a child, and in another letter of the 8th of the 7th month he
had said measles was raging in the latter part of the 5th month.
So they all thought Shusaku had died of that.

The earlier weakness of Shusaku probably explains why he did not
finish the game against Narabayashi, and we can safely infer
that he played no others.

If you wish to see all the new games by Shusaku, you can buy
the new complete collection (about 200 pounds), but quite a lot
are in a small book on Shusaku by Fukui (Shurei Shusaku, Nihon
Ki-in, with pro commentary) or a book by Nakata (Basho wa go
o utta ka - "Did Basho play go?", Shinano Mainichi Newspapers)
which is a wide-ranging collection of essays on old go. The
above is largely based on the latter, which can be highly
recommended.
]
;B[jr]
C[
Black played 61. K2, as many people guessed, tho I don't think
anyone gave quite the reason in the commentary, namely that it
creates miai of connection at N3 and invasion at F3.

Do you agree with me that once you've seen that simple
explanation other moves seem somehow superfluous. I think it is
a common fault of amateurs to try too hard, and I would put J5,
the other big favourite, in that category. I would also slate J5
if you said it was a "shape move" in this position (I think some
people did). Thinking that way is static. The pro alternative
(creating miai) is dynamic. This is a hobby horse of mine which
I've ridden often enough already in public so I'll say no more.
]
;W[ln]
C[
White replied 62. M6. The commentary said simply that if he
didn't pull this group out it would come under attack. Leaving
aside my gut reaction to attack it anyway, what the commentary
does not say is just as important. There is no reference to
attacking Black, no reference to squelching moyos (actually you
won't see a move there for another 40+ moves). I think you'll
agree pros are more patient than we are. "More haste less speed"
would be a useful addition to the go proverb repository.
]
;B[mh]
C[
Black interposed 63. N12 for 64. O13. I think only one person
spotted this (Roy Schmidt?).
]
;W[ng]
;B[fq]
C[
Black then played 65. F3. This attacks the white stones on the M
line, says the commentary, in that if it induces White H5 Black
then gets to play K6 and White will have to keep himself busy on
two fronts. (I probably would have skipped Black 65 and attacked
one-dimensionally at K6, committing the cardinal sin of driving
the opponent into my own moyo).

I am going to whizz on a bit now, for two reasons. One is that
we are coming to some heavy tactical sequences which do not lend
themselves readily to questions (too few different type moves
to consider) or to presentation in this ascii format. The other
reason is that I don't want this thread to overstay its welcome.

So the next big chunk of moves (with commentary) is given below,
and the diagram shows the position after these are played.
]
;W[fp]
C[
natural
]
;B[ep]
C[
The only move Black considered. He allowed that g3, g4,
h2, h4 (not e3 as Black h4 is too thick), e3, d3, e4, e5,
k2 was a powerful alternative.
]
;W[eo]
;B[eq]
;W[gp]
;B[dq]
C[
natural sequence
]
;W[cq]
C[
Forced. c5 would be a shape-only move with no affect
on White. What would follow is c3, g2, k6.
]
;B[gq]
C[
Not c2, c4, b2, g2 (gote for B)
And not c4, d5, b3, c2, b2, c5, b4, g3, d2, m2.
]
;W[hp]
;B[hr]
;W[gr]
;B[fr]
C[
Realises he has made a mistake. Was expecting to play j3, g1,
j2, f2, c4, d5, c2, b3, e2. But he suddenly saw that in this
sequence White can replace d5 with d2: d5*, e2, d4, b3, e6,
f5, d7, g7, b4, a4, a5, a3, b6, m2. In that light, 67. g3 was
probably better.
]
;W[ir]
;B[gs]
;W[iq]
;B[cp]
;W[do]
;B[bq]
;W[cr]
;B[bp]
;W[br]
C[
c4, b2, k3 is not enough for White because Black will
play o6 and get the whole right side as territory
(What? You thought he had it already?!).
]
;B[cn]
;W[dr]
C[
j1, d2, d7 is similarly not enough (Black plays o6.
The hole at e10 cripples White.).
]
;B[is]
C[
if a2, White j1 and Black is then forced to take off
the white stones in the corner, losing a lot of territory
in the process. (This sort of play by White is called
semedori and is a useful concept to isolate and learn).
]
;W[jq]
;B[kr]
;W[dm]
;B[dn]
C[
with this and his next Black appears to be filling in
his own liberties, but he is actually defending against c5
which leads to a one-step approach move ko in the corner
(sequence: b5, b7, b6, c7, a2, a3, a4, a1, b1, c1).
]
;W[en]
;B[cm]
;W[cl]
;B[em]
;W[dl]
;B[kq]
C[
White still has tricks in the corner: c5, b5, b8, b6,
a2. The "but" will be understood after this instalment's question.
]
;W[kp]
;B[ar]
C[
Your task is now to find two pro-looking moves: 102 and 103.
The 103 played was not actually the best move, but it _was_ a
pro-type move.

Because of the length of the above, Background Noise this time
will reduced to a whimper in the form of a question/puzzle.

How many animals can you think of as being intimately associated
with go (on or off the board). Monkey jump and clam shells give
you two. I have jotted down a list of about 30 so far, most on
the board. My answers next time.

Hint

1.  A secondary clue: no-one I think has hit the nail(s) on the
    head, but Barry Phease was moving in the right direction. Too
    much emphasis is being put on the lower left corner.

2.  Here is my own list of go animals:
    I didn't think of including players' names that happened to have
    an animal in them, and there are none here. It's fair enough
    to include rabbity six and horse's neck, but it may be worth
    pointing out that these are not Japanese or Chinese terms, which
    is what I have restricted myself to here. J. = Japanese, C. =
    Chinese. Where the terms exist in both languages I have given
    precedence to Japanese.

1.  Monkey jump (J. saru suberi, or o:zaru if referring
    specifically to the large one)
2.  Dragonfly - the shape m17, q16, r12 (J. o:tonbo, or
    the smaller version kotonbo)
3.  Snake - as in the special live position "two-headed
    snake"(J. ryo:to: no hebi no iki)
4.  Dragon - as in a similar position (J. so:ryu: no iki -
    double-dragon life)
5.  Turtle as in turtleshell shape (J. Kame no ko:) or
    deba kame (booktoothed turtle - said of a game full
    of peeps)
6.  Crane's nest (J. tsuru no sugomori)
7.  Horse as in knight's move (literally laurel horse;
    J. keima and variants such as kogeima, o:geima, yokogeima)
8.  Crow - as in Three Crows (J. sanbagarasu - the top three
    stars of a generation, or the shape c15, d16, e17)
9.  Heron - as in U-ro (Crows and herons = go stones =
    whimsical name for go)
10. Wild goose  as in Flight of Three Geese, a special
    variant of the Three Crows shape (J. sanganko:)
11. Cockroach - famous figure in the British Go Journal
    (J. gokiburi)
12. Racoon dog as in the tesuji Drumming on the Belly of ...
    (J. tanuki no haratsuzumi)
13. Goblin as in the tesuji  Tweaking the Goblin's Long Nose
    (J. tengu no hanazuke)
14. Boar as in the Large Boar's Snout  - the J Group
    (C. da4 zhu1 zui3) and a smaller version (xiao3 zhu1 zui3)
15. Swallow as in Two Flying Swallows, approach moves c6 and f3
    against an enemy stone at d4 (C. shuang1 fei1 yan4)
16. Tiger as in Tiger's Mouth - the shape d4, c5, d6
    (C. hu3 kou3, generally in Chinese abbreviated to tiger - hu3,
    or variants such as C.  shuang1 hu3)
17. Oriole as in Oriole Siezes a Rabbit  - a tesuji but needs
    a big diagram (C. huang2 ying1 pu1 tu4)
18. Rabbit, as above
19. Butterfly as in Oriole Siezes a Butterfly - a variant
    of above (C.  huang2 ying1 pu1 die2)
20. Ex-pig as in A Cheap Pork Cutlet (J. yasumono no tonkatsu),
    referring to the case when a player has all thickness
    (batter) and no territory (meat) - "all icing and no cake".
21. Cat as in Cat's Paws Go Board, referring to a kind of legs
    (J. nekoashi no ban)
22. Duck - Japanese slang for a sucker, as in gambling go
    (J. kamo)
23. Crab as in Crab's Eyes - the opening c15, r15
    (J. kani no me)
24. Clam (J. hamaguri)
25. Mole as in Mole Opening, e2 against d4 (J. mogura)
26. Octopus as in An Octopus in a Kettle, referring to a group
    bottled up so that its limbs stick out (J. yakan no tako)
27. Eel, through a pun on the phrase unagi no kabayaki,
    broiled eels; you suggest to the opponent that you both
    go and eat broiled eels but use onage = resign instead
    (onage no kabayaki) as an unsubtle hint
28. Cockerel as in Gold Cockerel Stands on One Leg  -
    needs a diagram but involves extending down from a single
    stone in atari on the third line in order to kill a group
    (C. jin1 ji1 du2 li4 - from martial arts)
29. Rat as in Rat Steals the Fat - needs a diagram
    (C. lao3 shu3 tou1 you2)
30. Fox as in Wood Fox. Foxes in Japan are believe to bewitch
    many things. The fox that bewitches go and shogi boards
    is bokuyako.
31. Piglet as in referring to a small group that is fattened
    (made heavy) before being slaughtered (J. buta no ko)

Phrases using humans such as oiran go and Mori no Ishimatsu
are omitted. Tengu is included but not other unearthly beings
(eg Kannonbiraki).

Maybe someone very creative fancies devising a web page of
this menagerie. Then we can go on to the flora.....
]
;W[fm]
C[
The pro-looking moves, which I don't think anyone got,
were, first, White 102. f7.

The commentary says White cannot win if he plays c5 instead
because after b5, b8, f5, f6, g5, g6, h5, h6, j5, j6, k6, k7
Black still has a cutting point at L7.
]
;B[nq]
C[
Black's "pro" move was 103. o3 to secure the lower side
territory (what, you thought it was secure already?). But the
commentary said it was better (bigger) to play o6, the move
I imagine we amateurs would play.

This will be the last question instalment. The rest of the
moves will be given in the answer.

First, some more moves and pro commentary:
]
;W[qo]
C[
Tries tricks. He cannot win if he lets Black surround this
whole area.
]
;B[po]
C[
Playing s4 would just mean being forced - inconceivable play
for a pro.
]
;W[qn]
;B[rp]
;W[qk]
;B[qj]
C[
If q6 instead, one possible result is r14, q14, s15, r16, s11,
s12, r11, s14, q7, p7, q8. It is unclear who gets the better of
this. For White a minus is having to use up his aji at r14. For
Black a minus is being forced at r10.
]
;W[om]
C[
White appears to have succeeded, but Black plans to attack this
group so as to chase it into the white moyo on the left, thereby
reducing it.
]
;B[ml]
C[
Sedate attack. The more vigorous attack was n7, p5, m7, o8.
]
;W[oo]
;B[lm]
;W[pp]
;B[pq]
;W[kn]
C[
The game is close because White has reduced the right side.
Black has a large lower side but the lower left corner is a
one-move approach ko (already explained).
]
;B[op]
;W[nn]
C[
p6 was bigger
]
;B[li]
;W[nb]
C[
Encourages Black to live.
]
;B[fh]
C[
And Black still has this sequence if he wants it, to make one
eye even at the top: k18, j18, L19, j19, n18, n19, m19, L18,
o19, threatening to connect or to connect at k19 (but White can
make it a ko by playing L18 before n19).
]
;W[ei]
;B[eh]
;W[pb]
;B[qb]
;W[ji]
C[
Combines defence with walling off territory. What it defends
against is n15, n14, n16, o15, k11.
]
;B[kk]
C[
Not L7 because that ends in gote: k7, k8, j8, j7, k6, j9, h8,
k10.
]
;W[kj]
;B[lk]
C[
White now missed a Golden Opportunity (plug, plug). A bit
tactical this time, but nothing too exotic. He actually played
130. s9. What should he have done?

Background noise
----------------
Another example of pros being plonkers (just to encourage the
rest of us): In a tv game, Nakamura Hidehito, then 7d, was
playing Miyazawa Goro, then 6d. When the game was over and
they counted up, it appeared that Nakamura had won by 2.5.
Miyazawa was surprised as he had thought he was ahead, and
in his disappointment leant back. Whereupon he noticed three
prisoners in his lid and so immediately lodged an objection.
Although the Nihon Ki-in rules clearly state that no objections
can be entertained once the result has been agreed, Miyazawa
was given the game on the grounds that he had not formally
acknowledged his loss (he had not said "makemashita").

The correct etiquette with a Japanese board is to place your
bowl at the centre of the side nearest you, and the lid at
your lower right corner in full view of the opponent. Miyazawa
obviously hadn't done this, so he should have lost for that
reason alone in my view.

But this teaches us some important lessons for go: (1) Never
admit you lost (a bit tough for many amateurs this, because in
their Weltanschau the other guy never wins - they lose all on
their own); (2) Learn the leaning back tesuji. If you lean back
far enough you can fall over and topple the board with you. This
tesuji can of course be assimilated more quickly by imbibing
suitable quantities of falling-over liquid.

Hint
----
You are meant to play the yose ko in the lower left.
I have already given a sequence to show how it starts,
but the idea now is to see how it develops beyond that
(which includes thinking about ko threats).

Background noise
----------------
I have posted the summary results from the Japanese pro
database before. Here is a little more detail.

1. Games with no komi in the Oteai, Saiko-i and Saikyo
tournaments There were 30,876 games. Black won 17,519 (58.1%)
and White 12,626 (41.9%). 731 were ties or no results.

2. Games with 4.5 or 5.5 komi in the period 1960-75.
Regrettably they do not distinguish games according to komi,
but the following were with 4.5 at least most of the time:
Honinbo, Nihon Kiin Ch'ship, All Japan 1st Place,
Nihon Kiin 1st Place, Hayago Meijin, Young Players.
The following were mostly 5.5:
Meijin, 10-dan, Oza, Prime Minister's Cup, NHK, Hayago, New
Stars, New Faces, Japan Series, Pro Best 10, Chubu Top Place.
Tokyo Shinbun Cup was 5.0 and play again if jigo. There were a
few other tournaments I haven't checked. Allowing for the fact
that certain tournaments have far more games than others, I'd
estimate the split as roughly 40:60 for 4.5 against 5.5 or,
if anything, slightly less. There were 19,571 games in this
category. Black won 10,402 or 54.5% and White won 8,691 (45.5%),
with 478 tied/no result.

3. Games with 5.5 komi since 1975 (when 4.5 was abolished)
There were 51,711 games. Black won 26,882 (53.0%) and White
won 23,798 (47.0%). 1,031 were ties/no result (these are
excluded from all percentages here).

To repeat for ease of comparison:

           Black    White
 No komi:   58.1     41.9
 4.5/5.5:   54.5     45.5
 5.5    :   53.0     47.0

The size of the komi therefore appears to have a clear effect:
at first glance 1 point komi is not too far off 1 percentage
point. However, there is a curious phenomenon to account for.
In the period 1986-95 (i.e. roughly half the period of 5.5 komi
alone) White improved his ratio slightly (Black won 16,146 games
= 52.7%, White 14,510 ), which implies it was worse in the first
half of this period. This is attributed by the Nihon Kiin to the
beneficial effect (for White) of nirensei by White, popular in
that period, and the relative failure of the sanrensei for Black
(I have already posted these figures).

Another oddity is that Black does even better in 7-game title
matches. In these he has a winning ratio of 54.2%. Possibly
the very best players can exploit Black's inherent advantage a
little bit more? Tentative proof of this is a comparison of the
winning ratios for the top players, viz.

             As Black   As White
 Kobayashi K. 69.8%      63.4%
 Cho          68.5%      65.0%
 Rin          66.1%      58.0%
 Kato         70.0%      61.4%
 Otake        66.0%      58.6%
 Takemiya     64.9%      59.8%
 Kobayashi S. 73.3%      66.2%
 Top 15 pros  68.1%      61.6%

Two players in this list (O Rissei and Ryu Shikun) actually
have a higher winning ratio with White, but in both cases they
are well above 70% with either colour. There are several more
oddities lower down the lists. E.g. Enda Hideki has a 64.6%
winning ratio with White but only 51.5% with Black - the biggest
discrepancy this way round. There are lots of players who have
big winning ratios with Black and small ones with White. One
big gap is Kanashima Tadashi 9d (Black 67.3%, White 49.0%). All
these figures are based only on komi games for players who have
played at least 200 games.
]
;W[rk]
C[
This was a mistake, said White. He should have played the two-stage
ko 'a', but the problem he had was assessing the ko threats. Even
with hindsight he gave no clear view except that given the balance
of the game he should have gambled.
]
(
;
AE[rk];W[co];B[bo];W[bn];B[bm];W[an];B[am];W[aq];B[ap];W[as]
;B[bs];W[cs];B[er];W[bl];B[ao];W[as]
)
;B[bm];W[ri];B[rg];W[co];B[bo];W[an];B[er]C[
B7 would leave the same ko aji as before.
]
;W[jl];B[jk];W[il]C[
A smaller territory than he expected.
]
;B[bf];W[ci];B[dh];W[ch]C[
d10 fails to make any significant territory after Black j10.
]
;B[jb];W[ib];B[jd];W[ic];B[ej];W[fk]L[fj]
C[
Not 'a'
]
(
;
AE[fk];W[fj];B[fk];W[ek];B[gi];W[gj];B[hj]
)
;B[fj];W[gi];B[dj];W[bl];B[am];W[bd]C[
He would like to play g9 but Black b15 is sente.
]
;B[cj];W[bj];B[gk];W[fl]
;B[gj];W[rh];B[rj];W[sj];B[ik]C[
Looks like he's connecting on a dame point, but not so - see the
later moves.
]
;W[qf];B[re]C[
Slightly more profitable then s14.
]
;W[qg];B[rf];W[qa]
;B[ra];W[pa];B[pc];W[oc];B[qh];W[ro]C[
How big is Black's terrritory at the bottom?
]
;B[pn];W[pm];B[so]C[
43 points. He has this sente play.
]
;W[rm]
;B[bk];W[al];B[bn];W[bi];B[hl];W[hm];B[gm]C[
White didn't see this move - one reason he overrated his centre
territory.
]
;W[gl]L[im]
C[
Not 'a'.'
]
(
;
AE[gl];W[im];B[gn];W[gl];B[fn];W[fo];B[ek];W[el];B[ak]
)
;B[im];W[gn]
;B[hj];W[ii]C[
j10 is meaningless since even if Black is cut in two his groups
to left and right can live independently. Note that L19 gives him
an eye.
]
;B[jm];W[hk];B[ck];W[ak];B[hl];W[lq];B[lr];W[hk]
;B[ek];W[el];B[hl];W[js];B[ks];W[hk];B[kh];W[jh];B[hl];W[mq]
;B[mr];W[hk];B[km];W[sn];B[sp];W[pf]C[
s18 is 5 points in gote, but White wants to keep it for ko threats.
]
;B[hl]C[
Should have been q9.
]
;W[nj];B[mi];W[nk]
;B[ki];W[hk];B[jj];W[oi];B[oj];W[hl];B[sg];W[si];B[ij]C[
To forestall White L8, Black 129, White M8.
]
;W[rb]
;B[rc];W[sa];B[fd];W[mg]C[
Big, otherwise Black n15.
]
;B[ec];W[eb];B[kb];W[mb];B[be];W[ad]
;B[io];W[jo];B[cg];W[nl];B[in];W[np];B[mo];W[no];B[mn];W[mm]
;B[nm]C[
Note that t17 is not a valid ko threat for White - Black can ignore
it and live.
]
;W[aq];B[ap];W[mm];B[md]C[
White resigned for lack of ko threats.
He has only three: a1, f15 and n10.
Black has at least c17, c16, c18, L13, r7.

Time taken: Black 4h 58, White 4h 59.
Game published as Igo supplement, January 1994.
]
)
