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.

_________________
Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here:

Thanks, Tami!

(Part two of the review here: viewtopic.php?f=57&t=7148)

_________________
“The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.” — Salvador Dali ★ Play a slooooow correspondence game with me on OGS?

Thanks for the review!



I would like to ask the author: How is its influence easily burst?



Why does he choose to discuss only these two (and their combinations)?



Does this mean that he does not provide an intermediate step of finer principles in between the general principles and a case-by-case study?

Why don`t you learn some Japanese and read the book yourself? This is only a review, not a translation

_________________
Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here:

@Tami: Your fifth diagram contains twice and no

This shall be a joke? Sigh.

No, it`s not a joke. I spent, I think, two hours writing the original review. I don`t want to spend any more time on it. There`s nothing stopping you buying the book yourself if you want to find the answers to your questions, but I am not willing to keep answering you.

_________________
Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here:

Tami, Thank you for your review.

trying to understand professionals persepctive will make you and everyone stronger.
i am sure SDKs will improve their fuseki skills after reading this.

Cho Chihoon once said that fuseki is not really important. Middle game will determine the winning and losing.
in someways it is true but IMO fuseki is very important and hard to learn even at my level.

_________________
"The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown"
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson

I have better things to do than to learn Japanese, Chinese and Korean. Learning foreign languages is very tough for me (you guess why:) ). I would read the book's diagrams if the book were suitable for me, but it appears to be below my level, and I do not buy just every book to see exactly which (diagram) contents it has.

If it`s "below your level", then why do you even bother asking questions about it? Indeed, why do you get so deeply involved in all these threads concerning books you can't read and which, you think, have nothing worthwhile to say to you? If you`re not interested in the books, then please don`t keep asking me for more and more detail about them. You`re not the only busy person around here, and your time is not more important than mine.

Why can`t you just let me review a book and talk about it with people who have a genuine interest in it?

_________________
Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here:

Such as me .

Thanks for the review

_________________
"The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown"
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson

Because I am curious regardless of whether a book is worth buying for me and regardless of whether you understand such curiosity. Discussion about the contents can help others to decide better if they want to buy the book.



Having not enough worthwhile for me to buy the book is different from having not enough worthwhile for me to learn a bit more about the book.



See above.



Why can't you just tolerate also those having an only limited but still existing interest?

No book gets proper credit if all discussion is limited to unconditional praise while all those daring to ask for details would be required to remain silent.

If you want to publish reviews but do not want to discuss the books or their reviews or allow others to discuss them, then you could publish on your own webpage.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Dear Robert,

Perhaps it might be advisable to restrict yourself to ask questions about something that has been really written ?

Please compare …



… with …



B o l d and italic (inserted by me) formatting has been done by me.

It should be evident from the (con)text that the 6-6-balloon is bigger than the 5-5-balloon, which is bigger than the 4-4-balloon. So „balloon“ must be related to the corner, not to the outside.

So there is no outside „influence“ to burst, but an area of interest, directed to the corner.

This too large 6-6-balloon might be similar to an over-extended Hiraki. There is nothing you can claim to be your's, because it is easy for the opponent to play in-between.

_________________
The really most difficult Go problem ever: https://igohatsuyoron120.de/index.htm
Igo Hatsuyōron #120 (really solved by KataGo)

And exactly this I want to find out: does the book really ignore about (more than) half a (6-6) stone's value by considering only its corner territory but not its outside influence? And no, OC I do not ignore the influence aspect just to possibly hide it if the book should ignore it.

Mimura doesn`t say very much at all about the 6-6 point, only that it`s easy for the other player to take away all the territory by playing at 4-4 and that it`s better than starting at the 2-2 point.

I`m surprised that this bothered you more than the fact Mimura does not cover fuseki with 5-4 points and 5-3 points.

So, there`s a little bit more about the book for you. But, there has to be a limit. If I review a book, my intention is only to give my opinion about it and to give a flavour of it. I have to set limits somewhere, otherwise I`d end up translating it or paraphrasing it.

From now on, I will gladly answer your (Robert's) questions about Japanese books I review if a) I feel like it and b) I have time and c) I feel able to answer. If I can't, then I will simply let your questions hang in the air. It`s not that I wish to be rude, but I can't go on as I have been. Ultimately, if you really want to know, you might have to spend a bit of money to find out. Sometimes you might be disappointed, but that`s too bad.

_________________
Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here:

Robert, Mimura has written three sentences about one diagram on the 6-6-point in the introduction to his book. This is as much text as he has written there about the 2-2-, 3-3-, 4-4, and 5-5-, points each.

It is part of a brief explanation why he concentrates on the 4-4-, and 3-4-, points in this book.

Mimura does neither "ignore" a special, potential, value of the 6-6-point that you especially seem to be interested in, nor does he "ignore" the specific values of playing at the 3-3-, 5-3-, 5-4-, or 5-5-points first. These starting points are simply no topics that are covered in (t)his book, that's all.

_________________
The really most difficult Go problem ever: https://igohatsuyoron120.de/index.htm
Igo Hatsuyōron #120 (really solved by KataGo)

That is correct, of course.



I am well aware that those points require a lot of specialised knowledge, which can easily cover another book. So, for a book intending to explain the basics, omitting those two points is a very pragmatic approach. (A reader must read other literature on also the other first corner moves, but this duty of the reader does not make the author's choice of sticking to the basics bad.)



Of course.



Uh, I am in internet forums since 1995:)

Never forget that what you reply to is entirely up to you. My approach is, "When in doubt, tune it out!" Life is too short, etc.

_________________
Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

Yes, I agree. It`s only that it can be easier said than done, and it doesn`t feel nice to ignore somebody, especially when they ask a question, but I`m going to have to learn to walk away from some kinds of discussions at an early stage.

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Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here: