From: Larry Kaufman WIZARD NET> Date: 28 may 1998 Subject: Gold is better than silver, part II. The climbing gold strategy at four piece handicap. The basic plan for black can be outlined as follows: 1: Advance the rook's pawn twice. 2: Open the bishop's diagonal. 3. Exchange off the rook's pawn, then retreat the rook to its original square. 4. Climb the right gold to 3f via G-3h-2g-3f, and move it to 2e when and if white puts a general on 3c. 5. Push the lance pawn to 1e. 6. Defend the pawns in front of the king by S-4h unless white is attacking your left flank, in which case defend by S-7h. 7. Play P-1d. 8. Play G-2e if it is not already there. 9. Dangle a pawn on 1b, the key move in the joseki. 10. Recapture the pawn you sacrificed on 1d. At this point, play divides depending on whether white has a general on 3c. If not, black retreats his gold to 1e if it is attacked, and next plays P-2d, answering Px2d Gx2d P*2c by P-1a+, with subsequent moves being rather obvious. If white does have a gold on 3c, answer ...P*1c by promoting your pawn on 1a, then sacking on 1c if the promoted pawn is taken, or simply recapturing on 1d if the gold is taken. A good alternative plan is to retreat the gold, play N-1g, and exchange golds via P-2d answering an eventual G*2c and P*2d by G*1e and if necessary P*2e. A word about move order. Note that the key to the above plan is the dangle of the pawn on 1b, which is only possible if white defends the edge with a silver on 2b rather than a gold. If he plays an early G-2b (which a few pros do occasionally) we must use another plan which I will discuss at the end of my series. Because of this possibility I advocate pushing the rook's pawn twice before opening the bishop's diagonal, as this order tends to force white to reveal his defense strategy early. Note that if white tries to prevent the exchange of the rook's pawn by opening with ...G-3b (or ...S-2b) followed by ...P-3d, black should not push the rook's pawn again (since ...G or S-3c would prevent its exchange), but should simply open the bishop's diagonal and attack immediately by P-1f-1e and N-1g-2e, as white cannot block the bishop's diagonal quickly enough to survive. Let's start by looking at a classical way of playing by white, in which he simply develops his pieces to good squares and blocks the long diagonal. 1...S-6b (The convention is to consider that black's first move of the game was to remove white's handicap pieces) 2 P-2f G-3b 3 P-2e S-2b (note that 3...P-5d? loses a pawn to 4 P-2d) 4 P-7f P-5d 5 P-2d Px2d 6 Rx2d S-5c 7 R-2h P*2c (not actually necessary yet, but normally inevitable). At this point the books all advocate S-3h-2g-3f, but I advocate using the gold instead. 8 G-3h K-5b (the king is rarely safe on the back rank, as it has three less squares of mobility on the edge.) 9 G-2g P-4d 10 G-3f P-3d (gives G,S, and N access to 3c) 11 P-1f K-4c (the pawn on 3d will need protection) 12 P-1e (note that black defers G-2e since it could be chased back by ...N-3c). 12... S-6d 13 S-4h (if omitted, white's coming ...P-5e will later threaten ...P-5f Px5f piece drops on 5g) G-5b (13...N-3c to keep the gold out of 2e is met simply by L-1f, R-1h, and P-1d) 14 P-1d Px1d 15 G-2e P-5e (at least white has hemmed in the bishop, but the rook, gold, and lance achieve a break-in) 16 P*1b (this is like a bomb that can go off whenever black chooses) G-5c 17 Gx1d P*1c 18 G-1e (This move, impossible if it were a silver, is probably stronger than the joseki moves in the climbing silver, namely 18 P-1a+ or 18 G or Sx2c, Actually they all win rather easily in this position, but these other break-ins are much less convincing if white has already exchanged or taken the 7 pawn, as many pros do.) P-7d 19 P*2d Px2d 20 Gx2d P*2c 21 P-1a+! Px2d (or 21 ...Sx1a 22 Gx2c P*2b 23 P*1b! winning material)22 +Px2a S-3c (22...G*2c 23 +Px2b G3x2b is probably better, but black has won a knight and can continue his attack by 24 S*1e)23 Lx1c+. Black has regained his sacrificed material, broken thru, and can continue his attack by either P*2c and P-2b+ or by R-1h and a quick rook's promotion, in either case with an easy win. (to be continued)