Concepts of Igo

7/31/2019 Concepts of Igo

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3. Play away from strength

Playing near enemys strong position is ineffective and dangerous.

Playing near owns strong position is inefficient.

4. Thickness and Walls

Play away from thickness. Take full advantage of own wall by extending from it at a distance that does full justice to

the walls power (about three to five points away).

5. Open at the bottom

Dont defend at the area facing enemy position that has an open bottom.

Dont make territory in the area where the enemy can easily slip into.

Playing in areas with open bottoms are inefficient during fuseki.

6. Third and Fourth Lines

The third line invites pressure from above, while the fourth line invites invasion below.

During fuseki, it is not good to string all stones along the third line.

7. Reverse strategy

If you want to play on the right, push first on the left.

Strengthen the weak position on the left first before attacking to the right.

Move in the reverse direction, and when the enemy follows, shot ahead towards your real

aim.

8. Light and Heavy

Heavy is a stubborn slow-witted play that makes a group of weak stones bigger without

strengthening it or counterattacking in any significant way.

Light is a fast and slippery style that gives the enemy no big targets to hit.

When the enemy is strong, play lightly.

Reduce large areas the enemy is building up by playing lightly.

Make the enemy heavy by forcing him into a bad shape.

9. Attack and Defense

Making corner territory and living shapes are extremely important defensive strategies.

Katatsugi (solid connection) is one of the most basic defensive maneuvers.

Urgent points before big points.

If one group is weak, do not create another weak group.

Do not confront strong stones.

Do not invade when the enemy have a strong and solid position.

Forming territory while attacking is profitable and efficient.

Putting cutting points in the enemy position to aim at in future fighting is one of theattacking techniques of the opening.


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ATTACKING trying to capture stones and kill groups, but not always true,

since the destruction of enemy stones is not the solepurpose of midgame fighting.

a much more correct meaning would be to gain territory

and/or power.

ATTACKING STRATEGIES

1. Attacking to Gain Territory the idea is not to kill enemy stones, but to expandones own area by threatening the enemy group.

Keeping the enemy from getting two eyes when there is no real chance of capturing him

may lead to the destruction of ones own territorial potential.

The ability to see in two directions at once is all it takes to master the technique of

building up a territorial framework in one part of the board by attacking a group that lies

in another part.

2. Attacking to Gain Power crucial in a running battle between two weak groups.

This strategy can be used to maintain the balance of territory by creating a power base for

invasions and running battles.

A running battle is a struggle for supremacy between two opposing groups, and do not

always have to be waged by running into the center, but rather is basically a struggle for

eye space.

Territory tends to fall naturally to the side who holds the balance of power.

3. Leaning Attack leaning against an enemy group to reinforce onesown group in preparation for an attack on another

enemy group.

The technique is not to attack directly, but rather to circle around or away from an enemy

group, and to force the enemy to concede stones and territory while trying to protect it.

Two common leaning moves are contact moves (tsuke), and shoulder hits (katatsuki).

4. Splitting Attack playing between two enemy groups, and keeping

them divided.

The divide and conquer strategy is one of the most devastating attack maneuver since itmay create two weak groups for the enemy, but it does not guarantee the capture of the

enemy groups; rather, by playing this way, one can easily keep the initiative and controlthe game.

When the two enemy groups are farther apart that one stone can no longer attack them

both, the trick is to chase them toward each other, and split between them when the gap

has sufficiently narrowed.

Leaning moves can also be a severe splitting attack when the two enemy groups are

farther apart.

5. Cut (kiri) the ultimate form of splitting attack, when the two enemy


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By peeping at cutting points, this can be used to spoil the enemys eye shape.

When the enemy has the three-stone formation consisting of a two-space extension and a

one-space jump, this attack can be used as a probe to see how the enemy connects.

Another common form of attack is a combination in which the first move is a peep and

the second is something else, like peeping to contain the enemy first before extending and

attacking to build a territorial framework.

Concepts of Igo

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