(b) Stones which, while not actually surrounded can inevitably be surrounded, are dead, and can be taken from the board at the end of the game without further play.
(c) Taken or dead stones are used to fill up the adversary’s territory.
4. The game is at an end when the opposing groups of stones are in absolute contact (the case of “Seki” being the single exception).
It is not possible to imagine a game with simpler rules, or the elements of which are easier to acquire.
We will now turn our attention to a few considerations as to the best methods of play, and of certain moves and formations which occur in every game, and also to the names which in Japanese are used to designate these things. [[57]]
IV
GENERAL METHODS OF PLAY AND TERMINOLOGY OF THE GAME
As will be shown more in detail in the chapter on Openings or “Joseki,” the game is commenced by playing in the corners of the board, and generally on one of the squares adjacent to the handicap point. The reason for this is that the corners of the board are natural fortresses, and can be more readily defended against attack. It is also easier to form territory in the corners of the board. Next to the corners of the board the sides of the board are easiest to defend, and territory is more easily formed along the sides than in the center, and in an ordinary game the play generally proceeds from the corners and edges to the center. The importance which the Japanese attach to the corners is shown by their saying “Yo sumi torarete go wo utsu na,” or, “if the four corners are taken, cease playing.” Against a good player it is next to impossible to form territory in the center of the board, unless it is based on one of the sides or corners.
There is, however, an old rule of etiquette which is not consistent with this theory of the opening; it used to be regarded as exceedingly impolite and insulting to play the first stone on the handicap point in the center of the board, called “Ten gen.” It has been explained to me that the reason for this rule is that such a move was supposed to [[58]]assure the victory to the first player, and it is related that when on one occasion Murase Shuho had defeated a rival many times in succession, the latter, becoming desperate, apologized for his rudeness and placed his stone on this spot, and Murase, nevertheless, succeeded in winning the game, which was regarded as evidence of his great skill. It has, however, been shown by Honinbo Dosaku that this move gives the first player no decisive advantage, and I have been also told by some Japanese that the reason that this move is regarded as impolite is because it is a wasted move, and implies a disrespect for the adversary’s skill, and from what experience I have had in the game I think the latter explanation is more plausible. At all events, such a move is most unusual and can only be utilized by a player of the highest skill.