Widely expected to be a showcase of profit versus influence, this game is of interest because of the furious battles that broke out right away, with the first one leading to large-scale sacrifice. Asked about the result, both players appeared unhappy: Hane (White), who likes profit, ended up with influence, while Yamashita profited.

A wild cut

Diagram 1 (1-45): Since Yamashita was Black, he was expected to make a large moyo (framework), while Hane would content himself with territory. Both players tried to upset the other's strategy, which led to the moves through 12. Black 13 is a declaration of war, leading to a battle royal. White picks up the gauntlet with 14. Instead of 12 or 14, White could have followed the variation of Reference 1. After black 15, the moves through 21 are unavoidable. Hane regretted 22. He said he should have followed Reference 2. After white 26, black 27 attempts to capture the corner, which White allows by playing 28. Before surrendering his stones by exchanging 44 for black 45, White first forces Black into a low position with 36 through 43. However, during the game, both players thought they were left with the short end of the stick. Apparently, Yamashita's dissatisfaction was greater, and with good reason--he was completely sealed in with barely 30 points of profit, while White's influence extended throughout the whole board, which came into play in the next round of fighting. In addition, having a huge number of large ko threats in this area proves useful for White later.

Reference 1: After the moves through 14, if Black cuts with 15, White can play 16 through 20, offering Black three stones while building influence in sente. In the game, however, the moves 8 through 14 are not present and instead there is only a single stone at A, making White's position flimsy. However, instead of exchanging 20 for 21, White can exchange B for C, then proceed to block off the left side.

Reference 2: Instead of 22 in the game, white 1 is a strong move. Black has little choice but to submit with 2, which would be followed by white 3, putting Black in a poor position. If he can exchange A for white B, black C is reasonable as it prepares for a black cut at D. Unfortunately, black A will likely be answered with white E. It won't be easy for Black to capture the white corner as in the actual game.

Diagram 2 (46-64): (Black 61 plays at 55, white 62 captures at 57, black 67 captures two stones at 55.) Exchanging black 49 for A and drawing back with 50 is a normal maneuver to settle the corner for Black, but since he is so strong on the left, White launches a battle with 50. This leads to an unlikely situation in the corner when Black plays at 61 (where 55 is shown on this diagram), White captures that stone by placing one at the location of 57, and Black puts two stones in atari--the situation in Reference 3. In the actual game, Black chooses the outside with 65 through 73. On the other hand, White keeps up the attack with 74, 76 and 78. In the end, Black has to ensure that he lives with 83. Next week, we will play out the rest of this game.

Reference 3: Putting the two marked stones in atari, black 1 is the situation when Black plays 63 in the actual game, White cannot connect at 3 to save his marked stones--if he does, black 2 will put him on the spot--and has to submit with 2. Yamashita commented he should have captured with 3 right away. White would likely extend to 4. After exchanging 5 for 6, Black's group is alive and he has sente to invade the right side.

Problem 1: In this game, White is strong on the left (marked stones), so Black's marked stone is weak. It is Black's move, so how does he handle this situation? Find a couple of plausible solutions.

Want to find out more? Come to Ben's Cafe in Takadanobaba, Tokyo (03-3202-2445 or www.benscafe.com), where the English speaking go community congregates every Sunday. You can enjoy free lessons, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Van Zeijst is a four-time European go champion and European representative at the Fujitsu World Championship.