Go Skills - Part One: Driving


by Charles Matthews


Atari ... atari ... atari ... Must be a ladder. Everyone knows that chasing the other guy just for the hell of it is all wrong. Or is it?

Figure 1 Figure 2

Does Black 7 in the left-hand diagram seem to you to be insufficiently joined up to the other Black stones? If that's the case, look a bit more closely. When White tries to cut there could be a ladder leading off south-west. But Black's sleeve conceals something more deceptive than that.

The right-hand diagram is a classic driving manoeuvre by Black. The two White stones with triangles on them end up very painfully placed.

Figure 3 Figure 4

If White tries the cut outside, Black savages the corner (left). The chances are that White can't make up the loss on the outside (at least 25 points, since the corner used to be White's).

In the right-hand diagram the connection White 1 is a typically 'heavy' play trying to hold it all together. Black need only connect at 2. White can't connect under on the right edge. As shown Black makes good shape in the centre with 8, and waits for later chances at A and B. White attacked prematurely, should have solidified the top.

Figure 6 Figure 6

This is perhaps the most common pattern underlying driving. The left one of the two triangle White stones looks handily placed as a ladder-breaker, if the other one is attacked. But that can turn out to be at considerable personal cost when Black remembers to play 5 as shown, rather than the ladder attempt at 6.

Figure 7 Figure 8

This is another fundamental shape. A little more subtle, in that Black makes do without atari plays after the first. The right-hand diagram shows how Black can build strength by sacrificing one stone.


Copyright by Charles Matthews 1999
Published in: Cambridge Go Society Newsletter 'Tesuji'
Date published: October 1999
Source file: 01-10-99-go-skills1.doc

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