Life In 19x19

Janice Kim (Learn to Play Go Series - very, very good for beginners) calls a stone that prevents an opponent from forming a tigers mouth (in this case, when two stones are already diagonal) the "pivot."

I am wondering whether there is another term (English, Japanese, Korean, or whatever) for it, because "pivot" doesn't seem common. It may have just been a useful way for Kim to describe what a vital point often looks like, but I don't know. Not really a big deal-just curious.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B Pivot
$$ ------------------
$$ . . . . . O . . .|
$$ . . . X O . . B .|
$$ . . X . X O O . .|
$$ . . . . X X X O .|
$$ . . . . . . . X .|
$$ . . . . . . . X .|
$$ . . . . . . . . .|
$$ . . . . . . . . .|
$$ . . . . . . . . .|[/go]

I'm not sure about the exact situation you describe (blocking a tiger's mouth), but you could use 急所（きゅうしょ） in Japanese or 급소 in Korean to mean "vital point".

You'll see these words a lot in go problem books (if the answer involves hitting what looks to be a vital point).

Gotcha, but she uses the term to describe disallowing the tiger's mouth to form, and not just in life & death problems (she also uses "vital point," -- in the illustrated problem, it just happens to be both).

Dunno, we may just say "prevent the tiger's mouth."

There's probably a word for it, but I'm not great at go terms.

I believe I've heard 'point of symmetry', too. Pivot's short and intuitive, though.

I would describe the move as a peep, but that is a wider term than pivot, I guess.

I'm pretty sure there isn't another way of expressing a move that fits such a description precisely. Though depending on the context, a pivot could also be called a tower peep or a vital point (as seen in your particular example).

In 'Attack and Defense' it is the Angle Tesuji.

I haven't seen the term used before, but for some reason, for a non-english speaker, the usage seems very natural. The position kind of "pivots" around that stone.

I don't think pivot is a very good word for that move. I'd use "pivot" to describe a change of direction. In my mind, a second approach after a pincer would be an example of a move I'd call a "pivot".

Actually "pivot" is something like "axis", but in the context with go I'd rather call it "key point". Here it is a special kind of key point though.

fwiffo wrote:I don't think pivot is a very good word for that move. I'd use "pivot" to describe a change of direction. In my mind, a second approach after a pincer would be an example of a move I'd call a "pivot".

Agreed - this is the first time I have heard the term "pivot" and when I read this thread title I thought it had meant something else.

Sorry I do not know a better term for the move you showed... I suppose we could say it is a kind of peep.

Nik

The onomatopoeia I would use for that move is "poke", but that would fit any shape poking move.

judicata wrote:Janice Kim (Learn to Play Go Series - very, very good for beginners) calls a stone that prevents an opponent from forming a tigers mouth (in this case, when two stones are already diagonal) the "pivot."

I am wondering whether there is another term (English, Japanese, Korean, or whatever) for it, because "pivot" doesn't seem common. It may have just been a useful way for Kim to describe what a vital point often looks like, but I don't know. Not really a big deal-just curious.

$$B Pivot
$$ ------------------
$$ . . . . . O . . .|
$$ . . . X O . . B .|
$$ . . X . X O O . .|
$$ . . . . X X X O .|
$$ . . . . . . . X .|
$$ . . . . . . . X .|
$$ . . . . . . . . .|
$$ . . . . . . . . .|
$$ . . . . . . . . .|

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B Pivot
$$ ------------------
$$ . . . . . O . . .|
$$ . . . X O . . B .|
$$ . . X . X O O . .|
$$ . . . . X X X O .|
$$ . . . . . . . X .|
$$ . . . . . . . X .|
$$ . . . . . . . . .|
$$ . . . . . . . . .|
$$ . . . . . . . . .|[/go]

I would call this play a peek.

But see http://senseis.xmp.net/?Jaw

The Japanese term is ago wo tsuku = " to strike the chin", though the real meaning behind that is " to deliver an uppercut". In some cases you can use kado (corner angle). It is most definitely not a peep or a poke, and I think pivot has usually been reserved in English for a Tennozan move, a vantage point between two opposing positions,