Lesson 127: Opening Evolution (3)
By Nam Chi-hyung
People often think that an opening does not belong to the realm of reading, but rather a skill to memorize. They choose an opening formation without any specific reason, and follow a joseki sequence automatically. However, as in all other phases of a Baduk game, there is logic to follow, also in the opening. Let's see how an opening develops according to logic with a simple example.
Diagram 1
The opening with Black 1, 3, and 5 is the well-known 1-3-5 opening of Shusaku. It is said that Shusaku never lost a game with this opening. At that time, White approached at 7 as a rule, and Black answered with A, the famous Shusaku's diagonal. Times have changed, and in the modern games, White usually approaches with the one-space high approach, and the joseki sequence up to 8 is most common. The question is where should White's next move be?
Diagram 2
When this opening was first introduced, the most often played move by White was White 1 here. After the joseki sequence of Black 2 and White 3, Black 4 is a good move to extend his framework in sente, and to go to the left side with 6.
Diagram 3
It is true that the result of Diagram 2 isn't unfavorable at all for White, and the overall situation is well balanced, but Black got what he originally intended anyway and occupied many important positions with quick moves. Therefore, White might want not to defend the right side with 5 as in Dia.2 but to develop the left side as shown here. Then, however, Black will come in with 6.
Diagram 4
The sequence Black 1 to 19 is the most commonly played one. Again, this is not so bad for White. However, again this is exactly as Black originally planned, and his framework in the upper right corner and the upper side is quite huge and powerful.
Diagram 5
As players came to realize that they could not frustrate Black's intention with the tiger's mouth shown before, they started connecting solidly with 1 here. The difference between this connection and the tiger's mouth is that White can play the high extension with 3. Owing to this high extension, now White can answer with 5 against Black 4, even in sente, and develop the left side with 7. Although it is not easy to say that this result is better for White than the other two shown in Diagram 2 and Diagram 4, one thing is certain; White position looks more active here.
Diagram 6
It is also not easy to say that the result in Diagram 5 is bad for Black, but Black cannot stay content with it. If Black divides the left side with 1 instead, it is good for White to extend with 2. This is another advantage of White's solid connection with 1 and high extension with 3 in Diagram 5. After this, White can expand the right side with A.
The writer is a baduk professor at Myongji University and a professional player of the game.