Re: Teaching beginners oldschool or new AI joseki?
Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 8:56 pm
I wouldn't go crazy over whether to teach new AI joseki or old-time joseki. It depends on what is most used within a group of players. Some like AI style, while others like the 20th Century stuff. Not everyone will understand enough technique to be able to play AI-style (the last frontier). I would sooner have a group of players replay Honinbo Dosaku's games and play freely in their own games, applying what they learned from Dosaku's games. AI style is a very deep rabbit hole, so I wouldn't touch it until I'm 2D or stronger, at least without professional commentary to explain it.
Understanding joseki requires two things. One, a solid understanding of life & death and tesuji to know how the sequences arise in the first place and, two, a working understanding of opening theory to know how the choice of joseki impacts the strategic outlook of a game. Last Saturday I attended a micro-gathering with Christopher Sagner 6D on opening theory and direction of play. He told us that there are situations in which playing out a joseki to completion is actually counterproductive.
Understanding joseki requires two things. One, a solid understanding of life & death and tesuji to know how the sequences arise in the first place and, two, a working understanding of opening theory to know how the choice of joseki impacts the strategic outlook of a game. Last Saturday I attended a micro-gathering with Christopher Sagner 6D on opening theory and direction of play. He told us that there are situations in which playing out a joseki to completion is actually counterproductive.