Title: 三村流布石の虎の巻 (
Mimura`s Fuseki Bible)
Author: 三村智保 (Mimura Tomoyasu)
Publisher: マイコミ (MyCom/Mainichi Communications)
Published: 2012
ISBN: 978-4-8399-4319-6
This is still another excellent volume in MyCom`s series of strategy books. The author might not be quite as familiar as some of the names in the MyCom range, but he is a top-rank 9 dan with several important titles to his credit, including the 50th NHK Cup.
The books contains five chapters:
Introduction - 布石には2種類ある (There are two kinds of fuseki)
Chapter One - 主導権を握る「攻め」の布石 (Playing the fuseki to seize the initiative - an "attacking fuseki")
Chapter Two - 正しい距離感 (Sensing the correct distance)
Chapter Three - 勝負を分ける 「石を封鎖」 (Dividing defeat and victory - blockade)
Chapter Four - 弱い石から動く (Play from/near weak stones)
Chapter Five - 一段落に気をつける (To be careful about whether the situation is settled)
Throughout the book, Mimura`s focus is less on simple principles that you can apply to find a good move, and more on weighing up the situation and deciding a strategy. When you compare this book with Ishida`s fuseki book (see my other review), you will find very little overlapping material, and this goes to show how very difficult the game of go is. Ishida provides information about the characteristics of different kakari choices, and a number of principles for deciding moves, but Mimura takes a more analytical approach, and so provides an excellent companion volume to Ishida`s book.
In the introduction, Mimura briefly considers a number of possible starting moves for Black, ranging from 2-2 (!) to tengen. He dismisses 2-2 because playing on the second line so early simply isn`t good, but he considers 5-5 quite playable, even though it is not common in professional play. He likens 4-4 and the 5-5 points as plays which create a balloon. 5-5 inflates the balloon to its limit, but 6-6 goes too far and is easily burst. Starting at tengen, says Mimura, enables Black to operate over the whole board, and supports fighting. As for 5-4 and 5-3, Mimura notes that they can involve many difficult joseki, and so decides to pass over them in this book. Therefore, for Black, Mimura concentrates on fuseki based on 4-4 and 3-4 points.
As Mimura says, there are two ways to play a fuseki. One is to expand your moyo and aim to solidify it into points by attacking your opponent when they enter. The other approach is to snatch a territorial lead and then to make shinogi while razing the opponent`s moyo. If both sides play for a moyo, then this can lead to chaotic fighting on a large scale, while if both sides adopt the territorial approach, the game will often come down to the details of the endgame. How you play depends on your taste, but Mimura also points out that your opponent has a say, too!
In Chapter One, we are told that the aim of a moyo strategy is to expand your area more than the opponent`s and then, when the opponent is forced to enter, you can easily make points while attacking. Through the examples, we are led to the important insight that in such games expansion is key. Consider the following situation:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$c from Chapter One
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
If you were to follow conventional wisdom of entering the largest open area, then invading on the left with a splitting move would be good for Black. However, Mimura shows that White can attack Black quite profitably:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$c from Chapter One: Black is off-track
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . 4 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . 5 3 . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
It is not that White can attack particularly severely, but she has no weaknesses, and she can now take the initiative with the invasion at a. In the next two diagrams, White is able to hollow out Black`s area on the bottom and take sufficient profit, causing Black to become "amai" - a bit too generous.
Instead, the consistent strategy is for Black to expand his moyo and wait for White to enter, giving him chance to attack on a large scale:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$c from Chapter One: expand and attack
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 8 . |
$$ | . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . . . . . X 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . 5 4 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$c from Chapter One: continuation
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . 3 O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . X O O . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
Naturally, Mimura supplies alternative variations and examples, but the point is that expanding a moyo is good, because sooner-or-later the opponent will have to do something about it.
However, you can`t play with Black all the time, so it is necessary to consider how to approach the fuseki with White. He recommends that White plays nirensei (two 4-4 points). Ideally, Black will adopt a territorial approach, and enable you to create and expand a moyo. Mimura shows a number of examples, demonstrating that this approach is quite reasonable for both sides.
If the Black decides to play for a moyo, though, you have to change your objectives. The difficulty is avoiding falling under attack. Mimura shows how White falls behind if she tries to copy a typical moyo strategy:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$c It is dangerous to answer sanrensei with sanrensei
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O . 8 . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 . . . . . . 9 . . . . 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . 1 . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . 4 . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
If White goes to the opposite extreme, and tries to prevent Black from building his moyo, Black still comes away with an easy advantage:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$c White falls behind
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 2 . . . . . , . . . . . 1 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , 4 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 5 . . . . . , . . . . . 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
The right approach, according to Mimura, for tackling Black`s sanrensei is first to limit Black`s expansion and to avoid being attacked. If White goes in too soon, she risks being attacked severely. Therefore, the knack is to endure for as long as possible before entering the moyo. In the following diagrams, Mimura demonstrates how White is able to hold her own, and even gain the chance to build and expand her own moyo, by following this method of restricting and entering later. He also gives illustrations of how to play this way against the Chinese Opening.
It is, of course, difficult to condense everything Mimura teaches into a few paragraphs, but the basic message is that White should not panic, and remember that she has komi. If you read through this chapter, and practice his advice, you will feel much more comfortable when taking White against large-scale strategies such as sanrensei and the Chinese Opening.
It is also possible for White to take territory and to rely on shinogi, but as Mimura points out, it only takes one error for the situation to turn unpleasantly. Light play may seem amai, but as this diagram shows, Black can end up coming under a strong attack if he takes too much profit:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$c White not only avoids attack, but also turns the tables
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . O . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . 5 . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . 1 . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . a . . . 8 6 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . 7 9 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . X . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
White comes in with the gentle boshi at 2, and Black takes territory. However, White now has the opportunity to play at a, leaving Black`s stone on tengen looking decidedly unhappy.
In Chapter Two, Mimura states that go is a game about the efficiency of the stones. If you play too closely to your own strong stones, then your efficiency becomes poor, and if you play too closely to your opponent`s strong stones, then your stones become weak, which also produces less work. Therefore, he urges us to develop sensitivity to the correct distance between stones. As in the introduction, Mimura begins with very simple examples, and works up to realistic ones, which teach you to assess strength and weakness according to such factors as shape, aji, nerai and overall position. Small changes can have profoundly different implications. As a simple example, in this position, even though it is likely to be complicated, Black`s three-space extension is an interesting and active move:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$c from Chapter Two
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
But if the top left is ever so slightly stronger, then Black`s move becomes an overplay, which White can punish:
- Click Here To Show Diagram Code
[go]$$c from Chapter Two
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O , O . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 1 , . . . . . , . . . . O , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]
It can be very difficult to decide how near or far to play to a group, but Mimura supplies enough examples to help you move beyond basic principles, such as playing far from living stones and near to not-yet-alive ones, towards making subtle case-by-case judgements.