Re: A basic strategy question.
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 2:59 pm
The position bothers me more as white before the extra stone. If I ignore the right too long, black might surround it on a larger scale, making it important to invade but harder to do profitably (or even in a way that doesn't die). Or black could play the marked stone eventually, taking the points, but at a later stage where it's harder to find moves that keep up.Joelnelsonb wrote:As I said in the original post, there's a particular concept that I'm driving at here. I realize that the example given may not be that great but try to read between the lines a little. Take the following example. Without thinking of the urgency of moves throughout the rest of the board, the marked black stone doesn't look like such a bad move. Why is it that it would be discouraged to defend against the marked invasion points rather than seal them off and settle fourth line points?
On the other hand, if I jump into the right black can pincer so I don't have room for a two space extension. Now I'm liable to end up with a weak group surrounded by two strong ones. Or black can just tenuki. Do I then extend to form a safe base and risk giving black sente yet again? Do I tenuki as well, and risk having played on the right in gote and still ended up pincered? There's just a lot of strategic exchanges that are possible on the right, and black mostly gets to make the choice between them.
After the 6th stone on the right by black, though, he's taken gote in exchange for points. The exchange has been made, as white I know I have to play something elsewhere to keep up. The question on the right has gone from "what's going to happen here?" to "how many points can black maintain on the right." My strategic choices as white are now much more active: do I build up thickness towards the right and invade, or do I reduce the right to get thickness towards the center?"
At some point the surrounding stones will have settled the question anyways, and it will be clearly advantageous for white to jump in. At that point the marked stone may very well be an excellent move. When we have multiple strategic options, one may become preferable and at that point your opponent will force you into the other, given the chance. But up until that point, you want to keep the options open if you can. It forces your opponent to defend against both possibilities, because if they play a more forceful defense against one, you'll just take the other.