Absolutely Vital Points in Fuseki that Amateurs Don`t Know
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 7:01 pm
Title: アマの知らない布石・絶対の急所 (Absolutely Vital Points in Fuseki that Amateurs Don`t Know)
Author: 石田芳夫 (Ishida Yoshio)
Publisher: 毎日コミュニケーションズ (MyCom), 2011
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%9E%E3%82 ... 869&sr=8-2
This is not a first-stage book about how to play fuseki. You won`t find the usual advice about corners-sides-centre and the like. Instead, Ishida jumps straight into his agenda, which concerns the transition from opening into middlegame. After all, as Mimura Tomoyasu points out in another book, anybody can play the first few moves just like a pro, but the problem is knowing what to do after that! I believe Ishida`s book provides some useful instruction on how to make some of the more difficult decisions that arise in the later fuseki.
There are four sections, each following the pattern of explanation followed by problems.
Chapter 1: 「かかり方」にも意味がある (The choice of approach moves also has meaning)
Chapter 2: 「地の接点」が勝負を決める (The meeting point of territories can decide victory and defeat)
Chapter 3: 「模様の碁の急所」(Vital points of moyo go)
Chapter 4: 一番大きいのは「根拠の手」(The biggest move concerns a base)
Chapter 1 was very interesting for me, because it explains the characteristics of four different ways to approach a 3-4 point, namely the low one-space approach, the high one-space approach, the low two-space approach and the high two-space approach. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses, and which to choose will depend on the whole-board situation. For example, according to Ishida the virtues of the high one-space approach are that it increases influence, provides some relief against a pincer, is flexible and is good for whole-board balance; its downside is that it is a bit "amai", which means a touch generous from the territorial viewpoint. The examples illustrate different situations in which the right or wrong choice of approach move can lead to favourable or unfavourable consequences.
Chapter 2 shows how big it to join territories together, or to play in a mutually big place.
Chapter 3 concerns moyo play, and provides two main principles: "Don`t miss the meeting point of two moyo" and "When you cannot win by surrounding territory, erase!".
What I found particularly instructive was the way Ishida`s problems do not always have an obvious answer. In many books, it`s easy to spot the answer without thinking, simply by looking at the chapter title. That approach won`t work here. You have to read. For instance, you might think you are playing at 天王山 (tenouzan), but really be missing the chance to rip the opponent`s moyo to shreds, or be leaving yourself open to a similar attack.
Ishida describes the theme of Chapters 2 and 3 as "vital points" (急所), but in Chapter 4 he says that more important still, what may be called "urgent points" (急場), are moves which make or break a base. Again, the answers to the problems are not always obvious. What may appear to be a weak group in need of a base might turn out to have plentiful resources, while a seemingly stable group turns out to be quite vulnerable.
In short, you get some useful general principles to remember when trying to find a good late-fuseki move. Through the problems you are shown a range of tactical techniques applicable to commonly occurring shapes, and you are made to realise the importance of reading instead of simply attempting to follow principles blindly.
Of the MyCom books, I think this one might not be so useful to non-readers of Japanese. In the failure diagrams, for instance, the "fail" move is not always bad; indeed, it can often be a perfectly good move if the opponent also misses the vital point, or can simply be a good move that is just not quite as good as the solution.
Sample Problem:
I`m not telling you from which chapter this problem comes. Before you look at the solution, ask yourself whether the crucial issue is to a) stablise a group b) play the meeting point of two moyos c) play the meeting point of Black`s territorial prospects.
SOLUTION
ONE FAILURE
My rating: B+ (interesting and thought-provoking)
Summary: contains valuable advice on late-fuseki play, and highlights the importance of reading carefully, and also presents quite a lot of technique en passant. However, understanding the solutions and failures requires Japanese ability, as the reasoning is often not obvious.
Author: 石田芳夫 (Ishida Yoshio)
Publisher: 毎日コミュニケーションズ (MyCom), 2011
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%9E%E3%82 ... 869&sr=8-2
This is not a first-stage book about how to play fuseki. You won`t find the usual advice about corners-sides-centre and the like. Instead, Ishida jumps straight into his agenda, which concerns the transition from opening into middlegame. After all, as Mimura Tomoyasu points out in another book, anybody can play the first few moves just like a pro, but the problem is knowing what to do after that! I believe Ishida`s book provides some useful instruction on how to make some of the more difficult decisions that arise in the later fuseki.
There are four sections, each following the pattern of explanation followed by problems.
Chapter 1: 「かかり方」にも意味がある (The choice of approach moves also has meaning)
Chapter 2: 「地の接点」が勝負を決める (The meeting point of territories can decide victory and defeat)
Chapter 3: 「模様の碁の急所」(Vital points of moyo go)
Chapter 4: 一番大きいのは「根拠の手」(The biggest move concerns a base)
Chapter 1 was very interesting for me, because it explains the characteristics of four different ways to approach a 3-4 point, namely the low one-space approach, the high one-space approach, the low two-space approach and the high two-space approach. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses, and which to choose will depend on the whole-board situation. For example, according to Ishida the virtues of the high one-space approach are that it increases influence, provides some relief against a pincer, is flexible and is good for whole-board balance; its downside is that it is a bit "amai", which means a touch generous from the territorial viewpoint. The examples illustrate different situations in which the right or wrong choice of approach move can lead to favourable or unfavourable consequences.
Chapter 2 shows how big it to join territories together, or to play in a mutually big place.
Chapter 3 concerns moyo play, and provides two main principles: "Don`t miss the meeting point of two moyo" and "When you cannot win by surrounding territory, erase!".
What I found particularly instructive was the way Ishida`s problems do not always have an obvious answer. In many books, it`s easy to spot the answer without thinking, simply by looking at the chapter title. That approach won`t work here. You have to read. For instance, you might think you are playing at 天王山 (tenouzan), but really be missing the chance to rip the opponent`s moyo to shreds, or be leaving yourself open to a similar attack.
Ishida describes the theme of Chapters 2 and 3 as "vital points" (急所), but in Chapter 4 he says that more important still, what may be called "urgent points" (急場), are moves which make or break a base. Again, the answers to the problems are not always obvious. What may appear to be a weak group in need of a base might turn out to have plentiful resources, while a seemingly stable group turns out to be quite vulnerable.
In short, you get some useful general principles to remember when trying to find a good late-fuseki move. Through the problems you are shown a range of tactical techniques applicable to commonly occurring shapes, and you are made to realise the importance of reading instead of simply attempting to follow principles blindly.
Of the MyCom books, I think this one might not be so useful to non-readers of Japanese. In the failure diagrams, for instance, the "fail" move is not always bad; indeed, it can often be a perfectly good move if the opponent also misses the vital point, or can simply be a good move that is just not quite as good as the solution.
Sample Problem:
I`m not telling you from which chapter this problem comes. Before you look at the solution, ask yourself whether the crucial issue is to a) stablise a group b) play the meeting point of two moyos c) play the meeting point of Black`s territorial prospects.
SOLUTION
ONE FAILURE
My rating: B+ (interesting and thought-provoking)
Summary: contains valuable advice on late-fuseki play, and highlights the importance of reading carefully, and also presents quite a lot of technique en passant. However, understanding the solutions and failures requires Japanese ability, as the reasoning is often not obvious.
