Non standard 9 or 10 stones handicap placement

[skydyr]

I feelt like in the first game, very not easy for me to use the handicap stones...
The first move that I missed was black 27... I think the joseki is more to atari the other stone by playing R2 instead of P4...

The closer the stones are to the center, the more you need to know about using influence to wield them effectively. On the other hand, when you have stones on the third line, you don't have influence, really, and may as well just have reverse komi. I think that the star points are one of the easiest points to learn to use influence from, because you concede the least amount of space underneath them for white to work with while still being high enough to be influential. If they were 5th line stones, for example, white is more able to afford to scoop out territory underneath and trust that the remainder won't be enough for black.

Edit:
Also, the big square feels slightly overconcentrated to me. Is tengen really necessary with it, for example?

[shapenaji]

$$B
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$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . X , X . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
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$$ +---------------------------------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ +---------------------------------------+
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$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . X , X . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
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$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

I will now mirror every move, how does white win?

[skydyr]

$$B
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$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . X , X . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
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$$ +---------------------------------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ +---------------------------------------+
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$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . X , X . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
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$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

I will now mirror every move, how does white win?

White sets up ladders that bounce around the sides and intersect so as to avoid the center and capture first when they collide. Don't ask me to do this in a game. It also gets really ugly if/when black deviates, so white had better be strong enough to control the game after that deviation with much of the board relatively settled.

[shapenaji]

White sets up ladders that bounce around the sides and intersect so as to avoid the center and capture first when they collide. Don't ask me to do this in a game. It also gets really ugly if/when black deviates, so white had better be strong enough to control the game after that deviation with much of the board relatively settled.

In theory, I sort've see it, if white sets up a capture, he will be the first to capture, but I can't visualize a situation where that capture would also break the capture of an opposing group if there isn't any center asymmetry to exploit. I know I probably wouldn't be able to beat this in a real game.

[cyclops]

$$B
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$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . X , X . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
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$$ +---------------------------------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
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$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . X , X . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X X . . . . . . . . |
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$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

I will now mirror every move, how does white win?

You have a mathematical proof that black wins? If so, how many initial stones in the center will do?

[lightvector]

If there is a superko rule in effect (positional and situational are both fine), it's possible to break symmetry by setting up two independent kos which Black will mirror to make four kos in total. Then if White begins capturing in the kos, Black will be the first player forced to deviate (I think).

Without a superko rule, two ladders that circle the board is another way. Here's a proof of concept:

$$Wc Initial position
$$ +---------------------------------------+
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$$ | . . . . . X . . O O X X X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X O O . . . X . . . |
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$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O X . . . X X X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . X , X . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . X X X . . . O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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$$ | . . . O . . . X X O . . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O O O X X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc Initial position
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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$$ | . . . . . X . . O O X X X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X O O . . . X . . . |
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$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O X . . . X X X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . X , X . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . X X X . . . O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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$$ | . . . O . . . X X O . . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O O O X X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

$$Wc The ladders begin
$$ +---------------------------------------+
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$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . O O X X X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X O O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . |
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$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O X . . . X X X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . X , X . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . X X X . . . O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . X X O 3 . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O O O X X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc The ladders begin
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$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . O O X X X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . X O O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . . . . . . . . . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O X . . . X X X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . X , X . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . X X X . . . O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . . . . . . . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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$$ | . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . X X O 3 . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O O O X X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

$$Wc By this point, black is doomed.
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . O O X X X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . O X X O O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O X X O . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X X O . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . 4 1 . . . . . . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O X 5 . . X X X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . X , X . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . X X X . . . O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . . . . 2 3 . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . X O O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O O X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X O O X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . X X O O X . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O O O X X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc By this point, black is doomed.
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . O O X X X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . O X X O O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O X X O . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X X O . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . O O . 4 1 . . . . . . O . X . . . |
$$ | . . X O X 5 . . X X X . . . . X O . . |
$$ | . O O X X . . . X , X . . . O O X X . |
$$ | . . X O . . . . X X X . . . O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O . X . . . . . . 2 3 . X X . . |
$$ | . . . . O . . . . . . X O O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O O X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . X O O X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . X X O O X . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O O O X X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

$$Wc The end position
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . O O X X X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . O X X O O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O X X O . O X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X O . X O O X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X X O . . . X O O X . . . . |
$$ | . . O O X X O . . . . . X O O X . . . |
$$ | . . X O X O . . X X X . . X O X O . . |
$$ | . O O X X O . . X , X . . X O O X X . |
$$ | . . X O X O . . X X X . . X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O X X O . . . . . X O O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . O X X O . . . X O O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X O . X O O X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O X . X O O X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . 1 X X O O X . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O O O X X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Wc The end position
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$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . X . . O O X X X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . O X X O O . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O X X O . O X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X O . X O O X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . O X X O . . . X O O X . . . . |
$$ | . . O O X X O . . . . . X O O X . . . |
$$ | . . X O X O . . X X X . . X O X O . . |
$$ | . O O X X O . . X , X . . X O O X X . |
$$ | . . X O X O . . X X X . . X O X O . . |
$$ | . . . O X X O . . . . . X O O X X . . |
$$ | . . . . O X X O . . . X O O X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . O X X O . X O O X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O X . X O O X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . 1 X X O O X . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O O O X X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

I tried to carefully set up the configurations at the ends of the ladders so that once the ladders get started, even if Black deviates such as by playing out the ladder faster on one side than the other, White can ensure both that his or her own stones escape and that Black's stones are captured (I think).

Specifically, until White's stones manage to link up to L16 (so that capturing Black's stones also gains liberties for White's own stones), White's strategy is to run from the right ladder if in atari, otherwise capture Black's stones if Black failed to run on the left, otherwise play the next atari if Black did run on the left.

In practice, if Black is willing to deviate at a good moment, setting either of these things up is not easy and probably takes careful planning to make sure Black's deviation isn't too damaging. Especially if White hasn't prepared what to do ahead of time.

[shapenaji]

I tried to carefully set up the configurations at the ends of the ladders so that once the ladders get started, even if Black deviates such as by playing out the ladder faster on one side than the other, White can ensure both that his or her own stones escape and that Black's stones are captured (I think).

Specifically, until White's stones manage to link up to L16 (so that capturing Black's stones also gains liberties for White's own stones), White's strategy is to run from the right ladder if in atari, otherwise capture Black's stones if Black failed to run on the left, otherwise play the next atari if Black did run on the left.[/hide]

In practice, if Black is willing to deviate at a good moment, setting either of these things up is not easy and probably takes careful planning to make sure Black's deviation isn't too damaging. Especially if White hasn't prepared what to do ahead of time.

That's a beautiful demo, not just because it illustrates the concept well, but also because all of the initial positions look perfectly reasonable.

Thanks for this! I hadn't thought about using superko either.

[illluck]

@Lightvector: I have shamelessly used your diagram on Baidu Tieba, on which a similar position came up

http://tieba.baidu.com/p/3059051406

[oca]

New idea : The 12 stones "Fibonacci shell (and slate?)"

$$B Not sure white will play like this (and black seems to pass several times)...
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . . . O O X O O O O . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . O O . . . . , . . O O . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . X . . . X O X . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . O . , . O . O . , . . . . . , . O . |
$$ | . O . . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . X . O O X O X . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B Not sure white will play like this (and black seems to pass several times)...
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . X . . . O O X O O O O . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . O O . . . . , . . O O . , . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . |
$$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . |
$$ | . X . . . X O X . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . O . , . O . O . , . . . . . , . O . |
$$ | . O . . . X . X . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . . O . . . . O . . . . . . . . . O . |
$$ | . X . O O X O X . . . . . . . . . X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

please be indulgeant, hand drawn...

[topazg]

$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . X , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I seem to remember a pro saying that this is quite a lot harder to play against than the traditional placement stones, but that it was missing the point: High handicap games are typically learning/teaching games, not winning games, and that this placement defeats the purpose of a handicap game.

[Mike Novack]

I seem to remember a pro saying that this is quite a lot harder to play against than the traditional placement stones, but that it was missing the point: High handicap games are typically learning/teaching games, not winning games, and that this placement defeats the purpose of a handicap game.

We could be even more precise in the sense of that. The traditional placement doesn't give a handicap in terms of defined territory in addition to influence. It is influence only and there is a reason for that (in terms of learning). Instead of this alternative arrangement if more than the effect of a standard nine stone handicap, adding some reverse komi would be a better way of giving some territory (in effect).

[drmwc]

I somtimes play Go against CrazyStone on my tablet when I commute in. On a 19x19 board, I give it 4 stones since this generally results in me winning about 80% of the time. (I prefer winning against bots, but like to give them a fighting chance).

I've taken to playing a Great Wall strategy as white. It's surprisingly effective - over a sample of around 10 games, my winning record has jumped up to 100%.

For example:

$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , 5 . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . 1 . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 2 . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . 3 , 8 . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , 5 . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . 1 . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 2 . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . 3 , 8 . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I reckon white's already caught up half a stone here.

[skydyr]

I somtimes play Go against CrazyStone on my tablet when I commute in. On a 19x19 board, I give it 4 stones since this generally results in me winning about 80% of the time. (I prefer winning against bots, but like to give them a fighting chance).

I've taken to playing a Great Wall strategy as white. It's surprisingly effective - over a sample of around 10 games, my winning record has jumped up to 100%.

For example:

$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , 5 . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . 1 . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 2 . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . 3 , 8 . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , 5 . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . 1 . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . 2 . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . 3 , 8 . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I reckon white's already caught up half a stone here.

As black, how would you play instead to prevent that?

[drmwc]

To prevent it, plop a stone somewhere in the formation before White completes it. This is pretty easy to achieve in a 4-stone game. For example:

$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . 2 . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . 1 . . . . . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$W
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . 2 . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . 1 . . . . . 4 . . . |
$$ | . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . X . . . . . , . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I'm not keen on Crazy Stone's shimari strategy.Handicap go as balck, with standard stone placement, works best with bold play in the opening.

[oca]

finally, just this one...

$$Bc
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ +---------------------------------------+[/go]

IfYouHaveLostFourCornersResign, so Thanks you for the game