Killing the Invader - the old style!

As an aside remark, related to the previous article, I want to share with you one of the most exciting games I know played by professionals. If you recall, I stated that usually we cannot see huge groups being captured in pro games. The games where that does happen are, by and large, really fun to watch.

The reader is probably familiar with Kitani Minoru - he was one of the pioneers of the New Fuseki Era, a rival of Go Seigen (even though they were friends) and a great teacher, founder of the Kitani Dojo.  He has a very solid Go style.

Fujisawa Hosai, who was in his early years compared to Shusaku (he was almost invincible when he took Black), is perhaps most well-known for using mirror-go when he took White. He was also 'the first player to reach 9-dan under the Oteai system'. His Go style is also solid, and he likes to get territory (cash) in early fuseki.

They were both very good at invading. Oddly enough, in this game Fujisawa played for a huge moyo in the center, and he got all the key points there - White 32, 36, 38 and 42. Nowadays it is very rare to find such games where there is no balance of territory and thickness!

Black was forced to invade (Black 43) and that is when the fun part began. White's attack was overwhelming and in the end Black's entire group was captured - I added a few notes in the game file.

When I first saw this game, I was very impressed. I hope you will like it too!