By Nam Chi-hyung

It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that the stronger a player is, the more skeptical he is also. A good player doesn't blindly follow what he has learned. He tries many moves he's never seen, or even heard of before, in order to find a better move. This of course happens with joseki variations.



Diagram 1

As the saying ``when being attached, bend" goes, it is quite natural for White to bend with A when being attached by Black 4; as a result, most josekis with the double-approach start with White A and Black B here. However, one of the privileges of being a Baduk player is that there are no limits to your imagination on the board. And, one day, a player was curious as to what would happen if White went into the corner, omitting the A-B exchange.

Diagram 2

Black can think about blocking White's connection with 2, and the sequence up to 4 is easily expected. However, this result is unquestionably worse for Black, when compared to the exchange of White A and Black B, in which Black can squeeze the white group in the corner with C.



Diagram 3

Therefore, the right direction for Black to block is obviously Black 2 shown here. The sequence up to 7 is one possible variation following this blocking. A and B are usually considered for White's next move. Black can play 6 without wedging in with 4, which will be studied later. It is not good for White to extend with C instead of connecting at 7, because it allows White to cut at 7.

Diagram 4

Black 1 here is a move focusing on the territory and influence on the left side. White 2 and 4 are customary techniques to making a knot in Black's influence. After Black 7, the sequence from 8 to 12 shows an example of a possible fight. It is not good for Black to try to capture White 4 by giving atari with 8, instead of extending at 7. Whether the ladder is valid or not is not important this time, since White will cut at 7, forcing Black to take off White 4 with B, and then cut again with A.



Diagram 5

When Black comes down with 1. White's extension with 2 is normal. Then, Black takes White's territory in the corner with 3 and a big struggle begins. Neither side has tangible territory and the outcome of the fight may decide the game. Instead of pushing with 11, it is also possible for Black to attack the white group with A.

Diagram 6

It is weak for White to answer Black 1 with 2. Black 3 is a good move for provoking a response from White, whether he directly answers it with 5 or ignores it to extend with 4. If 5, Black will go for A. Because of the exchanges Black 1-White 2, and Black 3-White 5, Black's influence on the left side becomes more powerful compared to the one in Diag.4. If White extends with 4 as shown here, then Black will block with 5 in sente, which is very satisfactory for him.

The writer is a baduk professor at Myongji University and a professional player of the game.

chihyung@mju.ac.kr