From: Larry Kaufman <lkaufman <at> WIZARD <dot> NET>
Date: 27 may 1998
Subject: Re: Gold is better than silver.

-----Original Message-----
From: Rogalski, Timothy [mailto:Timothy.Rogalski <at> CWI <dot> CABLEW <dot> COM]
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 1998 5:55 PM
To: SHOGI-L <at> techunix <dot> technion <dot> ac <dot> il; 'Larry Kaufman'
Subject: RE: Gold is better than silver.


Larry,

I really loved your article!  It's true, a Bokin (climbing gold), as
opposed to a Bogin (climbing silver) makes all published material on
4-piece handicap rubbish, just like Nada said.  Like you, I have a
fondness for the 4-piece handicap, and I'm still kicking myself for
losing against you at 4-piece last year, when years before I beat you at
2-piece.  Go figure!?  If we were to play a handicap match, I'd rather
that it be 2-piece instead of 4-piece.  I don't fear 2-piece, but I do
fear 4-piece, especially against you.  So please, show me how to beat
you at 4-piece by climbing my gold.  This I really want to see!

But, wasn't there a fourth main strategy (P-9f and B-9g) where the
bishop is threatening to exchange itself for the silver on 5c, bypassing
the traditional Nada setup (K on 3b, S on 2b, G on 3c)?  Or was this
just a variant of one of the three main strategies?

     This is a variation on the climbing silver.  It does work very well
against the Nada, but is perhaps less effective against some of the other
strategies, such as Iida's line in which white plays an early p-6d instead
of p-5d.
 I thought that you
said at one time that this was a bust of the Nada, and that Nada himself
considered white's 4-piece play to be smoke-and-mirrors because no one
knew the best josecki for black, including the professionals?
     Yes, of course Nada would admit that black should win easily at four
piece if the true Josekis were published.  The problem has been to find a
method that does not require black to memorize reams of analysis.  I wanted
to find one plan that works against all white systems.
     Also, although I did not mention this, I always hoped to find a method
that worked even with a white lance on 9a, so that it could also be
considered the Joseki of three piece left handicap (admittedly a handicap
that is very rarely used).  Any system with B-9g does not meet this criteria
as white could attack it by p-9f-9e.
     Larry