Descriptores por nivel de competencia

Model 1 Dosaku's trick play develops across the whole upper side, so getting an adversary to fall for it is not a simple matter. If others with greater practical application are sought, by all means one should restrict the scope to a single corner where the ambush is set up. When white attaches at 1, black hanes on top of the stone at 2. For white to play elsewhere at this point violates all tenets of common sense, but there one discerns a quintessential feature of trick plays.

Diagram 1 (Simplicity;

Trick Moves: Strategy

Diagram 2 (Getting set to take a fall) Black 1, aiming to completely prevent white's two marked stones from connect-ing, appears to be a natural move.

But the truth of the matter is surprising. This move sets black up to be thoroughly taken in by white's subterfuge, an utterly bewildering course of events.

The attachment of the marked white stone on the upper side is a trick move played in anticipation of taking advantage of this natural response of black's at 1. It would not occur to a weak opponent that one might be playing, to respond in such a natural manner, and the trick play would fail. Only players who have attained a substantial level of skill will be fooled.

When black plays at 1, next...

Diagram 3 (Easygoing prognosis) Black imagines that white 1 is par for the situation. Then black presses down with 2.

Black views the position created with white 3 through black 8 to be satisfactory.

Black has magnificent thickness, while white's position is flat as a pancake.

But for black to make such a prognosis, represents the ut-most in easygoing thinking. White extends to 1? Don't make me laugh! Who would play in such a way? Well then, how will white actually respond?

Diagram 4 (Artistry with a severe hane outward) White hanes outward with 1. This is severe indeed!

If the opponent plays severely, one does so oneself: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". The cut of black 2 would be played instantly, without a second thought, by players who are enamoured with their own playing strength. However, this is just what white is waiting for.

Even for those circumspect souls who do not play black 2 without thinking, the cut of 2 next leads to...

Diagram 5 (This continuation) White 1 & 3 and the moves through 7 can readily be predicted. Once this situation ap-pears on the board, one realizes that black has a problem as to how to proceed. But at the time of the cut at 2 in the last diagram, black visualized the overall characteristics of the po-sition in Diagram 5, and decided that being able to connect underneath with black 6 in sente made the variation playable.

This is an easygoing way of thinking, though.

One believes that by crossing underneath in sente, one will be able to manage things one way or another, and at that point stops reading the situation out. This is typical of amateurs.

If one can see further and read out the continuation from black 8 on, one is not just a run-of-the-mill novice.

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Diagram 6 (Annihilation) Regardless, when play gets to white 7 in Diagram 5, the position here, black does not have a viable move.

Turning at black 1 here is the worst move, and from white 2 through 3, black is annihilated. Of course, in-stead of 7, black will play at 8, but capturing four stones

with a move at white 4 gives one a feeling that is quite special in its sweetness.

Diagram 7 (White is well off) Comparing the turning move of 1 to the prior diagram, black is doing better, but white 2 through 10 is an inevitable sequence of moves, and...

Diagram 8 (Continuing from the last diagram) Following the last diagram, turning at black 1 is a bit of a crafty move, which makes black 3 a forcing move [kikashi]. After black 7, playing white a, black b, white c, and black d results in white being captured, but even so, black has to worry about other potential moves by white in the area [aji].

It is certainly clear that at the very least, white is doing well.

Diagram 9 (Black is well off) Backtracking, if white at-taches on this side at 1, and when black plays 2, cross-cuts at 3, black 4 follows the go proverb: "Answer a cross-cut by extending on one side".

White 5 through black 10 is joseki, but white is

dissatis-Trick Moves: Strategy

Diagram 12 (Black becomes overconcentrated) When black plays a good move like the marked stone, white must rise to the occasion and meet the challenge head on. Los-ing one's nerve in the face of a good move by one's oppo-nent is contemptible.

The hane of white 1 tests black's reply for the 3rd time.

When black plays 2 & 4, the feeling is that black is bailing out after waiting as long as possible, and in reality this is no good.

From white 5 through black 16, white plays forcing moves [kikashi] that push black around unmercifully. Black ends up overconcentrated [kori-gatachi] here. If one wonders the extent of this overconcentration, a comparison with the previous diagram will make that clear. The con-clusion to be drawn is that white has foisted this overconcentration upon black by means of the trick move.

Diagram 13 (Black is thick) Black answers white's marked stone on the upper side by again stoically connecting at 1. This is a thick move.

Here white probably has no choice but to play 2 & 4. Thus, with the moves to 7, black creates imposing thickness. Even so, after coming this far white must not lose heart now. The marked white stone on the right side can be used as bait in a sacrifice stone strategy, while on the upper side white can look forward to aiming at the cut of a.

Diagram 14 (Forcing overconcentration) White 1 represents high level strategy. Replying with black 2 can appear to be rather natural, but the move is not good. If one asks, "How so?" it is because after white's forcing moves from 3 through black 10, black's shape on the right side is overconcentrated [kori-gatachi]. Later, with the typical moves: white a, black b, white c, and black d, black's territory is reduced to practically nothing. By playing at 2, black completely falls, unawares, into the snare white set using that high level strategy. Being unaware of that fact will lead black to make the

same mistake repeatedly.

Diagram 15 (Black on the right track) Answering white 1 with black 2 is cor-rect. White does not relish fighting with 3 this close to black's powerful wall. But many players will think that at this point black is doing badly. The feeling seems to be that after expending so much effort to encircle white's marked stone, having it run away is bad for black.

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Model 2

Surprise Placement Attack Model 2 When white makes Strategy the side attachment at 1, ex-tending upward with black 2 is a solid reply. Striking with the placement of white 3 here is a surprise attack that will scare the daylights out of players who have but a foggy idea of how to fol-low good form to create a viable position for their stones.

Diagram 1 (White gets a lift by crossing underneath) The clearest continuation for black is to conservatively secure an anchor in the corner with 1, but white has an easy time of it, connecting underneath with 2.

Now, if black plays at a, white plays b, or similarly, if black cuts at c, white plays d; in any event, white captures the cutting stone.

This means that cutting will not go well for black.

Diagram 2 (Resolute fighting spirit) Fighting spirit impels black to play 2, resolutely preventing white from connecting un-derneath. The question is what black should do when white attaches at 3.

Diagram 3 (Black com-placency) "Hane in re-sponse to an attachment!"

advises a go proverb, so black 1 is nothing more than common sense. But white's trick play is designed to take advantage of that common sense move. The sequence in this diagram is the one that black complacently

Trick Moves: Strategy

Diagram 6 (Power play) This is no time for black to be a stickler for orthodox measures. A power play will settle mat-ters. Through 14, black is well off. Consequently, at white 7...

Diagram 7 (Black can fight on!) White plays at 2, but has a difficult time of it after the moves from black 3 through 9.

White 1 in Diagram 6 is an unreasonable move. If the oppo-nent falls for it and Diagram 5 results, white is well off. But if not, white does badly. Therefore, white is advised to avoid using this unreasonable trick move.

Diagram 8 White 5 & 7 engineer a stylish connection.

Diagram 9 If black plays 2, white does alright with 3, etc.

Diagram 10 Black takes pains to come up with the move at 2.

If white 3, black 4 through white 9 results. To understand how well black is doing here, compare this to the previous dia-gram and the one before that, and it is obvious. Hence, white is hard pressed to justify the preceding moves.

Diagram 11 (A wedging insertion finesse) White goes for broke with the wedging insertion of 1. If black connects at 2, white blocks black in with 3 and achieves a viable position.

White does nicely through 13.

Diagram 12 (Black fails) Crawling on the second line with black 7 and the following moves is bad.

Diagram 13 Black 1 & 3 are a finesse. White is okay, too.

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Diagram 14 (An unscathed resolution) Black 1 here is a variant move for 1 in the prior dia-gram, which black may have been dissatisfied with.

If white captures three black stones with 2, black also captures at 5 & 7, and both sides reach a resolution unscathed.

In the sundry preceding diagrams, one gets the strong impression that both white and black are striving mightily to turn the situation to their own advantage.

Diagram 15 (Thickness or overconcentration?) White 1 is played from distaste for the safe move of white 2 in the prior diagram. Black 2 & 4 are natural. With them, a black move at either a or b is equally good [miai]. Except that, when the ladder is in white's favor, white can capture black's three stones with 5. On the other hand, consider the situation if the ladder is not good for white. Does that mean that white's position is then untenable?

Diagram 16 Next white plays 1 and the following moves to connect underneath. Is the black position here thick or overconcentrated? [The marked stone is not mentioned in the text.]

Model 3 Finally we have the situation where white makes the side attachment of 1, and black hanes from below with 2. The reader should understand that, in general, this is bad for black.

Seeing this move, white will surely rejoice. Then white will instantly cross-cut at 3.

Model 3