We all have our favorite players, professional that we're always in the mood to watch. Maybe the player is known for their fighting, ability to develop large frameworks, or can just reduce anything their opponent develops. But were they always known for that? Is their style one which they've had from the moment became a professional?
In this game I take a look at the earliest Lee Sedol game that I can get my hands on. Here he was a professional 1Dan battling it out way back in 1997 against then professional 8dan Chang Hao. And I have to say, despite all the games of Lee Sedol's that I've studied over the years, it amazes me that his play can still surprise me. We've always known him to be an aggressive fighter, however seeing the origins of it made me see some of my opponents in a different way.
It should be mentioned, if you are not already aware, that Chang Hao is not your average player. At the time of this game he was at the top of his game as China's top player, winning almost every title he could get his hands on. Despite his many victories, it wouldn't be for another two years that he finally received professional 9dan.
This is a first recording with a new camera. Settings aren't quite right yet
Nice one. Yeah, Lee Sedol had a rough start to his pro career in the first couple of years… Only after that did he manage to break ahead of the pack and start destroying everyone. It’s a nice reminder to people who think that if someone is the best (or one of the best…), he must have always been that way, and of course it tends to not work quite that way…
Also – Filling in some useful (and amusing, considering your comments) information about the 2 space high pincer:
It’s one of those moves which most professionals don’t consider a mistake at all but really don’t like stylistically.
Go Seigen liked it, and from time to time you can see it used by some other pro. But the funny thing comes when comparing the common treatments of it with your comments, and seeing that…well… apparently pros have even less respect for certain types of influence than even you thought 🙂
The knight’s move played here is actually one of the most common responses to this move. EVEN with no black stone on that edge, which leads me to believe they’re not really worried about white building a wall there even without help in reducing it.
The second part is that the two most played continuations to that by white are
1) Tenuki (one of the main reasons for the two space high approach in the first place)
2) now or later (after the tenuki) – extending on the fourth line covering the black stone as played here.
Which means, building that wall was usually not considered good at all 🙂
In conclusion – in most situations it was estimated that black’s best reply is to draw back which gave white the decision of whether to bend and revert to the simple joseki, or attach to the corner for play in the other direction, or tenuki until a decision can be made between the two.
Pros really don’t like that sort of influence…for some strange and mysterious reason 😛