Go World calls the opening the 臨戦中国流 where 臨戦 means "being present at a battle" - not a specially familiar term. It is obviously contrived as a pun on Kono Rin's name, 河野臨. But even allowing for that, the implication that it is a fighting fuseki is still there. Fighting and no Koreans? Maybe they couldn't bear to borrow the Chinese from the Japanese.
There is an old skipping jingle "Chinese Japanese don't forget to wash your knees!" Since this version of the opening is quite clearly a Japanese invention and they have dibs on it, it might be styled instead the Japanese Chinese, but perhaps that is a bit childish, too. Given the obvious split between Kono Rin using it as Black and Cho U as White, perhaps the respective versions might be styled the Rin Chinese and the Cho Chinese (Rin Chinese rather than Kono Chinese keeps more of a hint of the Japanese name).
For all that it is a Chinese fuseki, it appears to be quite different in feel from the standard fuseki. There are two salient points. One is that White now has room to play on the upper right side, and the other is that the lower right corner is considered much bigger than in the standard fuseki.
Kono suggests there are seven possible plays for White 6 when Black uses the Kono Chinese. These are given below.
It is early days yet in this version, but compare the 18 plays given for White in a similar situation in the standard fuseki in item #56. Note that there are no immediate approaches into Black's lower right corner. Kono says that A might seem the most obvious move, by analogy with the standard fuseki, but "surprisingly" Black will welcome that. He thinks the move Black would fear most is White B, the sanrensei. The approach at C is powerful, and that brings us into new realms.
D and E would be worth experimenting with, Kono thought, but F and G require great care, not because - which might be one's first impression - they would be too much like catching a tiger by the tail, but because Black can too easily make a simple reply and leave White's stone looking foolish. The nearer presence of Black's right centre stone has to make White more circumspect about any move in the lower right.
As to why Black would welcome White A, Kono gives this line:
He says that White 1, which is a splendid move for White in the standard fuseki where Black plays A on the right, is poor here because Black can choose the simple sente-taking joseki of 2 and 4 and then turn to staking out territory below with 6 and 8. White's usual approach at 9 then fails because White's usual compensation for the nice Black 10, in which White settles himself with the sequence B to F, is no longer available.
The sanerensei with White 1 is possibly White's best strategy, as in the example below. White is matching Black's territory mapping with mapping of his own. However, the problem of what to do with Black's lower right corner hasn't gone away, and a play at A remains difficult for White. Fresh ideas are needed. It is a case, in more sense than one, of "watch this space."
There is much more even in the issue of Go World we are referring to. The subsequent issues will not only expand on Kono's ideas and discuss the version played by White, but will apparently also include the insights of Takao Shinji on this fascinating new opening.
Isn't go marvellous?! After thousands and thousands of games, one new move as early as move 5 can still bring a whole new perspective. The joy makes you want to skip again. Don't forget to wash your knees!
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