THE FAVOURABLEST FUSEKI STRATEGIC #3 SERIES

sup folks, today im writing about diagonal fuseki, in particular the specifc one shown above. some player may fear diagonal fuseki, but if u read ths article i hope u wont fear this one anymore! white 2 tempt black to play diagonal corner. if he play 4-4, then white may play 3-3 to give basic good opening. its a 68% winrate in my database of pro! i'll highlite basic good play of wihte, and also give a few good strategy for black.

first off, the worset strategy for black. now one may think, i have play two 4-4. i should emphasize influence. however, this is wrong attitued! diagonal fuseki makes it hard to develop framework - the focus shouold be, as far as i can tell, on breaking up baord into smaller territories & fighting. white gladly banks the profit, as black cannot reasonably expect to make much in center. since white have profit, he can happily focus on positional play using the 4-4 to prevent b from developing.

this is the variation i analyze most, and is most common in my experience (and pro db too). the direction of 10 is natural - it can be seen as move to probe b reply and restrict the top.

here is simplst answer for b, _completely absent_ from prro games, but common in ama. ive read that the top half fo board is inefficnet for black, so this may be why a pro wont play it. (a pro played move 1 once, but he tenukid from 2). note tho that whites stance is low on the right, so i doubt white has a hueg edge.

lots of player like 1 space pincer inthis shape. not common in pro game for this fuseki, but its bbeen tried. w goes for 3-3, to emphasize profit - after he has 3 solid corners, and since blacks 4-4 is in diagonal, b wont be able to synthezsize a framework. it seems a solid strategy for white.

here is pro game example. i like whjites steady development. black too is patient, it should yield a close game.

of course, to block other side is nonsjnse. the shoulder hit of 6 futilizes black.

a high pnicer is probably weaker move than low pincer, as it is similar to pervious diagrams but gote. imo, w has a very solid lead on this opening. move 12 builds the territory lead, and destroys black use of move 1

now we come to the possible best move of black. move 1, tehn 3 to emphasize teritory profit seems to be quite powerful. w is forced to take influence, but it faces a 3-3! in this sense, b plays a negative strategy, but quite effective. the top formation is conservative, but w has no way to make a similar formation on right. the diagram is from pro game- black won. my idea for white would be to play 6 at 8, in an attempt to take sente to approach bottom left or make shiamri on bottom right. i will try it as soon as b makes this play gaginst me.

another idea i like for b, is to try move 1. the above diagram id from pro. by conservatively making simple, good formation on top to carve up board is in line w/ diagonal fuseki. white played basic good direction move 2, wher eboth end up with solid shape, and black plays virtuous move of 7 - totally consistent patience. the extension 8 seem in error, as the hit of 9 very effectively crushes the white hope of develolpment. 9 thru 16, white has submitted utterly, yet he never had room for variation. b was guaranteed to end in sente, where he secured the corner of 17. the territory in black corner, comparable to bottom side for white. but, top right formation of black has great future hope, whereas 6 faces the bludgeoning reduction of black. wjhat a lovely strategy!

finally, there is super san ren sei. white patiently face it off with move 2, to slowly infringe on development hopes of black. a fuseki method to emulate, for sure!!

next update will be crushing of the fearsome tnengen, so dont change that channel!!