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Hello. This article will be the first in the series (long series, I hope) about bloopers, or bad moves, which I have observed on the net (and in real life too).
Let us look at the position below. Many many games start this way, so I hope that a lot of you are familiar with the position on Fig.1. This article is about White slide at 'x' and why it is bad.
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First - lets look at some background. Instead of White 'x'...
The usual joseki sequence is to play at 'a', after which there are quite a few possibilities - the two most common are given in Fig.2 below. Another idea for White is to exchange 'b' for 'c' first, and then clamp the Black pincer stone with something like 'd'. A sample sequence is given in Fig.3.
| Position 1 | Position 2 |
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There are many others variations, but these two can give you the major flavor of the position.
In Position 1 of Fig.2 Black gets a settled group on the right side, and he gets development opssibilities towards the corner and along the bottom. White '9' can also be at 'a'. Sometimes White omits '9' altogether to exchange 'b' for 'c' and then switch elsewhere, usually to stake out some kind of moyo along the top of the board.
Black's two separate stones can be easily harassed (for example by White attacks at 'd' or at 'e'). Also, as it stands, the corner is wide open for White. In this sequence White gets a very solid group directed towards the center. Plus, as already mentioned, if White gets the chance, he will jump into the corner. Black can try to find the right time to secure the corner with a move like 'f' later in the game.
The sequence in Position 1 is a joseki, which means it gives a locally equal result to both sides. An important element of such evaluation is the fact that the corner is still open and White might get a chance to jump in in the future. Without this element present, the shape would certainly not be a joseki. This is important. At the risk of getting ahead of myself here, I have to point out that were White to slide to 'f' before the sequence, the corner would not be open anymore, and thus the sequence would not be a joseki. But read on...
In Position 2 of Fig.2 Black chooses to secure the corner. The price for this is that White, who still ends up with solid influence towards the center (altho not as pronounced as in Position 1), has a much more settled shape and retains the ability to also develop along the right side.
This sequence is also considered a joseki.
Another approach is for white to play as in Fig.3 below.
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In Fig.3 White chooses to give black more solidity on the bottom edge in exchange for attacking the two weak Black stones and building up the right top into a huge moyo. This sequence usually leads to fierce running battles between the two black stones and the three White ones. White does not usually need to be too concerned because he can try to anchor his stones in the corner by playing moves like 'a', for example. Of course, Black can take his time to block the corner off first, but this will cost him a sente, and such loss of sente can be a dangerous thing in a running battle.
Please notice also that the corner is still wide open to a possible White invasion at 'b'.
So much for the theory - now off to see the blooper.
The move which I see more and more often lately is the slide of White '1' in Fig.4, to which Black almost always responds with '2'. Lets look at what does this slide accomplish.
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Lets consider Black's situation. First of all, after the slide, Black loses the chance of playing as in Position 2 of Fig.2 and his corner is smaller than in that Position. Assuming that Position 2 in Fig.2 is good for White in the over-all board situation, Black's loss is reduced to only a few points. This is important, but not crucial in Fuseki. Especially since Black gains a lot too - he is "forced" by White to secure his corner! Assuming White will follow with 'a' to play out a sequence simmilar to Position 1 in Fig.2, Black gains a lot - since he does not have to worry about White entering the corner and harassing his stones anymore. This is very good for Black. The same applies if White chooses to play 'b' to follow the sequence from Fig.3. So the bottom line is - Black gains in the corner due to White's slide at '1' in Fig.4!
Now - what is it that White gains due to this slide? Does it help White in securing a base on the left side of the board? No! Due to the possibility of the slick Black tesuji starting with 'c' in Fig.4 (which is shown in Position 1 and Position 2 of Fig.4a below), White does not even have a single eye on the side! Bummer... So, since the slide does not help White defend his stones - does it help him to attack Black? Lets think for a moment... The slide has hardly any effect on the single Black stone on the right, since it will develop either towards the center (as in Fig.3) or along the right side (as in Position 1 of Fig.2). So - does the slide weakens the Black stones on the bottom? No - as I have already explained, the slide actually strengthens the Black stones by solidifying the corner! It will be very hard for White now to threaten the lower Blacks. Bummer....
| Position 1 | Position 2 |
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Both positions in Fig.4a show what is the weak point in White formation containing the slide. In Position 1 Black keeps his stones connected but loses any eye-shape he might have hoped for along the right edge. In Position 2 he ends up with a life gruop (although as it stands he must to make yet another move to be certain of that, thus effectively ending up in gote), but he's stones are separated and his group is totally cut off from the rest of the board. Both results are very bad for White. There are other ways to play for both sides, of course, but the results will be unsatisfactory for White in any case.
So.. what does White think when playing the slide? I am not sure. A part of the reason might be that it simply feels good to make a move that Black will answer. Another reason, more tangible, might be that White is hoping for Black to be a good boy and respond to all White moves as in Fig.5.
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...giving White a strong shape in sente so he can start a vicious attack on the lonely Black stone on the right. And indeed - more often than not, I see the Black giving in and responding compliantly to the White moves. Even if he does though, the position does not necessarily favor White, but this is what White thinks.
So - if not playing like in Fig.5, what else can Black do? Well - there are at least two methods to confront White's folly. The simplest thing is to just ignore White's '3' (in Fig.5) and just use the move to jump to 'a' and strengthen his separated stone. Two possible continuations are given in Fig.6.
| Position 1 | Position 2 |
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The sequence in Position 1 of Fig.6 gives White two eyes in the corner and maybe creates some bad aji around the point 'c'. The funny thing is that I see it often that White in his zeal to make "forcing" moves exchanges 'a' for 'b' before connecting at '4', thus shooting himself in the foot again and fixing the defect in Black's position.
So - what did Black get out of this sequence? Simple. Black got to play on both sides (on the bottom and on the right) to strengthes both his groups, and he finished in sente - which is very important at this stage of the game! In exchange, White got a two-points life in the corner. Who thinks White got a better result - raise your hand, hehe...
Another, more devious way for Black to play the position is given in Position 2 of Fig.6. It assumes that Black gets some support along the right side, or else there might be trouble, though.
This sequence makes White very heavy - and still without eyes. He can make one eye along the edge, but it will cost sente, so its not very good. In other words - White has one eye in Gote and is almost fully surrounded by Blacks. Provided the two separate Black stones have some support along the right side, White group will have to run for a long time till it gets to safety, hehe... One way for Black to use his advantage in this figth would be to solidify the bottom side into his teritorry and get a few stones in the center for influence. Again - who thinks White is better off - raise your hand!
A good question here is - where does the idea of White slide came from??
Lets look at the position in Fig.7, where White makes the slide also.
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This is a standard joseki which includes the slide - so what is different, why is the slide good in this case while being bad in Fig.1? The answer is simple - in the position in Fig.7 White can extend to '3', and thus the slide does help him to build a solid base along the right edge. Its a joseki - both sides get more or less stable groups. We can say that the price White has to pay for the stability of his stones (initiated by the slide) is that he had to allow Black to secure the corner. And the price Black had to pay to secure the corner was to allow White to stabilize himself by extending along the right side with '3'. And, of course, Black gets the sente - which balances the fact that White stones are a little more stable than Black and that White can still jump into the corner in the endgame.
If Black does not like the idea of White extending along the right side to '3', he can omit playing '2' and play at 'a' or 'b' instead - both can lead to some complicated sequences, but basically White will be prevented from having his way on the right.... the price for that will be, of course, that Black will have to give up the corner to White. Go is all about choices.
Another popular joseki which involves the slide is given in Fig.8.
| Position 1 | Position 2 |
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Now - this is a little more like the slide in Fig.1 since it also involve a pincer (at '1'). The crucial difference is, however, that this time the pincer is further away and higher, so White does have a chance to make another slide (at '7') to secure a base along the right edge. In this respect - the initial slide at '4' helped establish such base. The sequence in Position 1 of Fig.8 is a joseki - which means it is locally equal.
This kind of reasoning is entirely missing in Fig.1.
One possible continuation Black can choose after the joseki in Position 1 of Fig.8 is to exchange 'a' for 'b' and then start trouble with 'c'. He cannot really harm White much - all this accomplish is to restrict White to the edge and give Black some kind of shape on the right. A possible continuation of such exchange is given in Position 2. As we can see, the White stones are perfectly safe, white Black managed to build a more resilient shape on the right side. This is one of the standard sequences in this shape.
Lets now look at Fig.1 again, and try to review in our minds why the slide of White '1' is so bad.
And that's all folks. Tada!....