Daily Pro Go

Weekly-themed professional Go/Baduk/Weiqi game records

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Week 14: The High Chinese Opening (Yamashita Keigo v. Uchida Shuhei)

While the Chinese Opening is fresh in your mind, it is worth spending a brief bit of time also examining the High Chinese Opening, which looks like this:

As you can see, this opening is very similar to the standard (aka low) Chinese opening. The fact that Black’s third move is on the fourth line, however, changes a few things about how play will develop. Most obviously, it makes it somewhat easier for White to settle an invading group. In exchange, Black is preparing to develop more influence than with the low Chinese, which can impact middle game fighting.

As our first example, here is a game between Yamashita Keigo (9P) and Uchida Shuhei (7P). Pay particular attention to how White’s invasion (at move 12) develops.

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Week 13: Kong Jie v. Choi Cheolhan

Finally, it’s worth once again being reminded that Black isn’t the only player who can play the Chinese opening. To be sure, Kong Jie (9P), playing as Black, does choose the Chinese opening in today’s game. But then, Choi Cheolhan (9P) chooses to also play the Chinese opening! Black then approaches in much the same way we’ve seen White approach this week, and the game becomes a great example of how the Chinese opening can develop. GoGameGuru’s commentary on the game is here.

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Week 13: Yamashita Keigo v. Lee Sedol

Today’s game might remind of you of Sunday’s game, as Black, this time Yamashita Keigo (9P) again takes the initiative after White’s approach to try to stake out a position on White’s side of the board. Of course, in today’s game, Lee Sedol (9P) chose a low approach instead of the high approach we previously saw, and also chooses to pincer Black’s second approach, instead of protecting the corner. GoGameGuru’s comments on these decisions and more are here.

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Week 13: Choi Cheolhan v. Park Jungwhan

As we begin to close in on the end of our initial tour of the Chinese Opening, let’s finish up with some more helpful commentaries from GoGameGuru. First up is this game between Choi Cheolhan (9P) and Park Jungwhan (9P), where Park Jungwhan also elects to low approach. The commentary is here.

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Week 13: Tang Weixing v. Chen Yaoye

Today’s game starts off much like yesterday’s, with a low approach by White (Chen Yaoye, 9P) to the Chinese opening. Then, however, Black (Tang Weixing, 3P), plays a more restrained move along the top side. This rather peaceful opening still leads to some intense middle game fighting, as you can see:

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Week 13: Iyama Yuuta v. Kono Rin

While the White high approach in the previous games is more common, White can also play a low approach to the Chinese opening. Take a look at how the game develops after Kono Rin (9P) does so against Iyama Yuuta (9P).

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Week 13: Cho Chikun v. Cho U

In yesterday’s game, Black calmly responded to White’s play by enclosing the corner. However, Black has other options as well, including launching a powerful attack by pincering White’s stone. Today’s game features Cho Chikun (9P) playing just such a pincer in response to an approach by Cho U (7P).

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Week 13: More Chinese Opening (Iyama Yuuta v. Takao Shinji)

Hopefully last week’s games gave you more of an appreciation for how the Chinese Opening can develop when White chooses to emphasize the bottom. This week, we’re going to look further at that idea, but focusing on other ways White might claim the bottom side of the Chinese opening. This is generally done with a play closer to the Black stones, such as at one of the marked spots here:

Oftentimes, Black will then finish the enclosure of the corner, which means that white no longer has to worry about the question of how to invade (as we saw in Week 8 and Week 9). Instead, White will develop the bottom, but Black will have sente to develop the top or to invade the White side.

Here is Iyama Yuuta (9P), playing as Black, and Takao Shinji (9P), playing as White, showing us one example of how this strategy can develop.

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Week 12: Kim Jiseok v. Gu Li

I hope you’ve enjoyed the slight twist this week as we continue studying the Chinese Opening. Of course, it’s important to note that Gu Li is far from the only professional to play this move, and you can find many other games showcasing this approach. That said, here is one final example of Gu Li using this response to the Chinese opening, again with commentary from GoGameGuru.  Kim Jiseok (9P) is playing Black.

Are there any other professionals you’d like to see be the subject of a week’s theme? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.

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Week 12: Kong Jie v. Gu Li

In today’s game, Gu Li is playing against a Chinese framework set up by Kong Jie (9P), and the result is quite a battle of frameworks.  Each player continues to play several moves developing their own framework, daring the other to invade. Of course, once the invasions start, some intense fighting results. I hope you enjoy it, even if it is a short game:

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Week 12: Sun Tengyu v. Gu Li

Against both Lee Sedol and Wang Xi, Gu Li responded to Black’s knight’s move with another knight’s move of his own. In this game, against Sun Tengyu (7P), Gu Li instead decides to establish a bit of a framework between his stones instead. Take a look.

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Week 12: Wang Xi v. Gu Li

Black doesn’t necessarily need to be as ambitious in expanding along the top as we saw in the previous two games. Instead, as we saw in Sunday’s game, Black can also play a knight’s move to expand the corner. That’s the strategy that Wang Xi (9P) chose in today’s game as well.

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Week 12: Yu Ping v. Gu Li

In today’s game, Gu Li’s opponent is Yu Ping (6P), but this doesn’t change the way the game initially develops. Black again extends from the Chinese framework along the top, while Gu Li invades before that framework has a chance to become overwhelming.

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Week 12: Kobayashi Koichi v. Gu Li

As I mentioned yesterday, because White’s third move reduces Black’s potential along the bottom, the focus turns to the top side. In today’s game, Kobayashi Koichi (9P) expands his framework in that direction, but leaves Gu Li time to invade the wider portion of the Chinese fuseki. Note that this game is from 2005, much earlier in Gu Li's career, but he was already trying this idea out.

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Week 12: Gu Li and the Chinese Opening (Lee Sedol v. Gu Li)

This week, we’re going to continue our look at the Chinese opening, but with a bit of a twist. Gu Li (9P) is one of the most popular professionals playing today, and if you review enough of his games, you’ll notice a trend in how he plays against the Chinese opening. Oftentimes, as White, Gu Li will play the marked stone as his third move:

It isn’t terribly hard to understand the idea behind this play.  Black often wants to develop the bottom in the Chinese opening, and this move strikes a dagger into those plans (not unlike a traditional shimari, which current theory suggests creates a position that is favorable for White). Predictably, Black will instead begin to develop the top, as we’ll see this week.

For the first game, here is the 5th game of the widely-covered jubango between Gu Li and Lee Sedol (9P).  GoGameGuru has commentary for all of the jubango, including this game.

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Week 11: Mi Yuting v. Gu Li

To round out this week, we have another game with helpful commentary from GoGameGuru.  This time, Mi Yuting (9P) is the one playing Black with the Chinese opening, while Gu Li (9P), has White with the Kobayashi. 

How did you end up doing with this week’s refresher? Did you find it useful?

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Week 11: An Joyeong v. Yun Junsang

Today’s game offers something a little different. Even though it initially looks like it will develop along similar lines to the rest of the week’s games, Yun Junsang (9P) makes an interesting choice at move 10. Instead of continuing to develop his Kobayashi framework, he decides to come back and invade the hoshi stone of the Chinese framework that An Joyeong (9P) built. This sends the game in a completely different direction.