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In response to my request for problems which are other than "life and death", Tim Hunt sent me this from one of his games in the 1999 Candidates tournament. Tim (as White) says he got it badly wrong and it seemed quite obvious to him when discussed afterwards.
My opening is poor, so I have no answer to this one and am relying on Tim to provide suitable information in time for the answer to be published.
It is an even game with White to play. Hints in the form of big points A to K are provided to reduce your options a bit.
This diagram shows how the problem position was reached, the hint points and a few extra points referred to below.
I think that the answer to this problem is, to some extent, a matter of style and opinion and that there is no absolutely correct move as the solution. To that end, this offered answer is mostly in the form of a discussion.
My feeling is that the top left is sorted out. The top right is awkward (A white play at A or B seems likely to live in the corner and to encourage Black to make an enormous central moyo). The bottom left looks approachable from a variety of directions, and being unsure which is best I'd leave it for the moment. The bottom right is crying out for a shimari, so I (SGB) would play G.
Tim Hunt played A which black answered with the knight's move at W to continue with a centre oriented strategy. Then they got the tricky 'hane on the inside' joseki which actually Tim knew the main line of - ever since he messed it up at last summer's Norwich Tournament. So it ended up with Dia 3.
After which they played white 1 (not a good move Tim thinks) to black 4. In this position Tim really wants to be black.
After the game Tim went through it with Francis Roads who reckoned that, playing in the top right corner was not so important because even if black makes a shimari there, the top is still open at the edge.
Francis recommended the extension to the bottom star point (I in Dia 2). This seems to be enough to limit black's scope for making enourmous moyos in the middle. After this both making the shimari and the knight's move approach to the bottom left corner seem to be good follow-ups for white.
Matthew had no instant answers, but here are a few brief comments from him:
All of black's stones face the centre in some way. There are possibilities of a really big moyo appearing, for example if white G, then black X or Y might make a good Takemiya style game. Starting at A or B makes this sort of development more likely.
Whether or not to give your opponent a 150 point central moyo is a
matter of taste (certainly is at an amateur level).
a) Some players think central territory doesn't exist - you just hack
about a bit in the usual way and several random things happen, if one of
them is favourable for white then the centre is gone.
b) Other players feel hopelessly outgunned when they see opposing stones
in all directions, and try to do something really silly.
Approaching at J will certainly get pincered given the open skirt on black's left side. White may prefer I, K (or Z, a personal favourite of mine).
The normal move is a shimari, I can imaging people wanting to play E,F,G or X. One idea is to try to predict which of the side extensions who is going to get and then play the shimari which fits best. Probably the main ideas I would work on are G, inviting black to demonstrate that he is not Takemiya, and X, inviting black to abandon the centre by invading.
I am not frightened by black A. That only makes a corner the same size as white already has (and black already deserved something for having a stone there) and it gives white a good excuse for one more 2nd line push at the top, creating a side which black can not easily make territory of, but which black has invested stones in.
My thanks to all those who have contributed to this solution.
An sgf file of this game with some comments in exists. I am not posting it here at present, but if requested I could email it on an individual basis.
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British Go Association
Last updated 2004-08-10
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