Kokomi: some probes are played this early, most are not. So the question is why this one, and whether it's a new idea.

I did a search on eidogo, and the pattern for the first four stones on top seems to be new.

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Occupy Babel!

Well, the idea behind testing move is quite clear. In the begining of the game, there are many place one can play. If this move isn't that wierd, say (2,2), then it's not uncommon. It's not a new joseki, it's just a testing move.

I am reading the books of Sakata sensei recently. In one of them, he had this move in very early stage of the game. And the idea behind it was well explained. If the concept behind it isn't new, then i don't think that's something new. Maybe you have a different view of new on your side.


what other probe can you play on this corner?


I don't follow pro games much often neither, and as a 7kyu, this is only my oppinion.

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长考出臭棋.

Perhaps you're thinking of the probe used after white has approached on the right, as discussed here: http://senseis.xmp.net/?EnclosureOpening.

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Occupy Babel!

And the second game in each semifinal was a repeat of the first. Gu Li and Heo Yeongho will play the finals on Dec 7th, 9th and then the 10th if necessary.

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Occupy Babel!

kokomi, I can't quite tell if you're talking about the probe itself being uncommon or playing the probe right here and now in this fuseki. The probe itself is very common indeed, however, I have never seen it played quite this early in the game before. It's something I might try when my opponents play this fuseki on me.

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We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

Gu Li won the Samsung Cup after beating Heo Yongho 2-1 in the final.

and here's the final

Summry of pro comments on the final game:

and are overplays.

is questionable. By , it is clear that is a wasted move, trying to rescue two white stones in an area dominated by black thickness.

and are overplays. By , the game is practically over.

In the end, black is alive in the lower-left corner.

A few data points (all apparently involving the number 7):

By winning the Samsung Cup, Gu Li has extended his impeccable record at tournament finals to 7, winning all 7 finals he has entered (not counting the team events). By comparison, Lee Sedol has a longer winning streak (9) at finals, but he lost at least twice, once to Lee Changho in his early career and once to Gu Li at LG Cup, right before his sabbatical.

With the Samsung title in hand, Gu Li just needs to win the Ing Cup to complete the Grand Slam of 7 major titles (Samsung, LG, BCCard, Ing, Chunlan, Fujitsu and the now-defunct Toyota Oza). Lee Changho is the first and the only person so far to complete the Grand Slam (with the now-defunct Tong Yang Securities in place of the new BCCard title, which wasn't available during his prime time).

Before entering the Samsung final, Gu Li was in a lousy state, having just lost his last domestic title, Chinese Mingren, to a 19-year-old upstarter Jian Weijie 5p, failing to extend his reign in this event for the 7th year. Coincidentally, last year he lost his second-to-last domestic title, Chinese Tianyuan, to 19-year-old (then) Chen Yaoye 9p, also stopping short of holding the title for 7 years. That led to some speculation that he might have trouble winning his 7th title at Samsung.

Now that Toyota-Oza is defunct, will people call it a grand slam if someone wins the 6? Seems like thing Ing is a hard one to take, since it's only every 4 years. Only BC Card, Samsung, LG, and Fujitsu are every year, and BC Card has only been going for 2 years. Gu Li, Kong Jie, Yi Setol, Yi Changho, and Yu Changhyeok have each won the 3 annual titles, maybe the "hat trick" of go?