Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, ...
By Rob Van Zeijst
Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, said nothing could take the place of persistence. According to Coolidge, nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent, with unrewarded genius almost a given. In addition, he said the world was full of educated derelicts, so education was not the answer. He maintained that the slogan "Press On" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
This is true for the world's strongest go players. Of course, they all have very specialized knowledge about the most bizarre corner variations and newest opening patterns. They can all read complex sequences and engage in one-upmanship against each other in spectacular battles. But even after an unfavorable start, a disastrous middle game and lost battles, a true go champion battles on until the very last point in an effort to decide the game in his favor by the minimum difference of 0.5 points.
Diagram 1 (Black 7 connects where the marked stone was captured): Challenger Shinji Takao is trying to take the Meijin title from Cho U and is leading 3 games to 2. Let us look at how he pulls off a half-point victory playing White. After black 1, White must make the 2 for 3 exchange before the sequence 4 through 10. Although these moves lose points at the top, it does allow White to play at 14. Black 11 and 13 have a meaning as they enable black 17 (see Reference 1). Black then builds influence with 21 through 25 before switching to 27, which White seemingly has to answer.
Reference 1: Without the A through D exchange in the game, after black 1--a move that greatly reduces White's eye-shape--White can capture with 2. Black 5 and 7 form a strong combination, but white 8 and 10 capture Black's group, because black A and C are not in place.
Diagram 2: The moves 11 through 19 and 27 in Diagram 1 and 29 through 34 in this diagram do not accomplish anything. In the end, White connects his group at the top and makes his group on the right alive while cutting at 28 as well. Capturing the two marked white stones only highlights that Black used the two marked stones to live. Black gets an inferior result. Black 39 aims at attaching at A so White defends with 40. Black then starts a new fight with 41 through 45, which leads to a large-scale battle for the center.
Diagram 3: Last week, we discussed the basics of the Shusaku opening and learned the kosumi (diagonal play) formation of 2 and 6 was good for Black in the days before komi. Answering 5 with 6 for White has long been considered too slow. However, after the komi increased to 6.5 points, strategies hitherto thought too passive widened White's range of options. In this game played in the LG cup in 2004 against Choi Cheol Han, Kong Jie responds with 6, setting up an interesting framework strategy at the bottom, and goes on to win the game comfortably.
Solutions to last week's problems
A word of advice: Play the solutions out on the board to understand them fully.
Solution 1: Black 1 is the correct move. White 4 is the vital point and Black can make a ko with 5. In fact, since this is a ko threat, White should play 2 after starting the ko.
Reference 2: Black 1 is incorrect. White 2 is the vital point forcing Black to connect at 3. Next, White can start reducing Black's eye-space. Note, white 4 is not always the best solution, because after 6, Black can play at 7. There are two kos now, so White can play at A or B. This is called a double ko and kills Black's group. The drawback is that it gives Black an infinite number of ko threats if there is a ko elsewhere on the board.
Reference 3: Sometimes, after black 3, White 4 is the correct move. This leads to a long sequence. After 8, Black captures two stones with 9.
Reference 4: After Black captures at A, White recaptures with 10. This formation is dead according to the Japanese rules. However, complications arise if White's marked stones are ever attacked. Then, he will have to connect at A and play B. After his four stones are captured with black B, White comes back at 10. Black then starts a ko with A, but White captures the ko first.
Solution 2: After black 1, White should play 2 and 4. Black's only hope to keep his group alive is by making a ko with 3 and 5. However, White can play A to start one ko. If Black makes a ko threat and recaptures the ko, White plays at B to start the next ko. Black can never win this double ko, so he dies.
New Problem
After 52 in Diagram 2, can White avoid being cut off? Can Black take the center? Ponder these questions before we continue the game next week.
Van Zeijst is a four-time European go champion and European representative at the Fujitsu World Championship.