Life In 19x19

I was playing a game as white against a player one rank lower than me and I was thinking about approaching on the 3rd move when it hit me that this was practically a no komi game and that in pre-komi go it was considered appropriate and almost necessary for white to approach instead of taking the other corner in order to play a more aggressive game.

Is it just me or is it uncommon to approach on the 3rd move nowadays even when players are playing .5 komi games? How aggressive does white have to play to win an even game? Does taking the 4th corner give white a considerably harder time?

I sometimes approach a 3-4 at 5-3 or 5-4 for my third move. I figure that if he ignores and takes the empty corner, it is no different than if he had played in the other corner to start, I made my fifth-line move, and he approached. I also think that at most levels of amateur play, white does not need to be any more aggressive than normal in 0.5 komi handicap games. After all, if the player is one rank weaker than you, the extra 6 points should come about naturally.

I would suggest going over Cho Hunhyun's games in the 90s; not only does he play 3rd move approach as White, he plays it frequently - in fact, he is most fond of such an opening. It is admittedly uncommon, but it only really (maybe) makes a difference at the pro level - and even then you still see 3rd move approaches today every once in a while. For us amateurs, it boils down to just opening preference/style, komi or no komi.

I've been doing this since my teacher told me that I could. What he says is that one stone vs one stone is "no problem", and that I can do that and move on to play in another corner if B takes a third corner. Initially I felt it was weak, and thought that B taking the third corner was bigger for B. But I see, now, that this is not the case. Half the time, my opponent responds to my approach, which lets me either respond or take the other corner. I find this works quite well at my level, and I've been winning far more of my games as white than before.

I also approach on the third move, if taking the empty corner might mean the opponent would make a good enclosure, or be able to approach me and get a too good result.

I tend to always approach one Komoku, if Black decides to play two of them as an opening. If he ignores, then I try to figure out, what would be best for me: Playing a Kakari against the other Komoku or attacking the corner, I already approached.

So far I can't say, that I lost a game simple because of this opening-strategy.