>> BAD MOVES

This is an example of a thank-you move. It is unusual for such a strong pro but the main reason we latched on to it is because of the poetic way it was criticised.

White was no less than Kogishi Soji 5-dan, on the verge of becoming heir to Honinbo Shusai before his untimely death from typhoid. He was playing Taoki Hideko.

Honinbo Shusai criticised White 1, which gains next to nothing but allows Black to defend her weak group, as a move like "getting a boom without banging a drum" 不打餘韻. The correct move was A, which Kogishi did play next.

The full game is 1923-07-00b in the GoGoD database.

© John Fairbairn & T Mark Hall (GoGoD), London 2008.