In the game of
Go (
Wei Qi/
Badouk), the word
fuseki refers to the first few moves of the game, similar to
openings in chess. Not many openings have specific names, but a few do.
Komoku is the Japanese name for the 3-4 point; that is, the point on the board that is three steps in and four steps over, counting from the corner of the goban. Clearly, there are eight such points, shown here by exes (the plus signs are the hoshi, markers present on all goban for reference).
a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t
19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
17 . . . x . . . . . . . . . . . x . . . 17
16 . . x + . . . . . + . . . . . + x . . 16
15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
10 . . . + . . . . . + . . . . . + . . . 10
09 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08
07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06
05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05
04 . . x + . . . . . + . . . . . + x . . 04
03 . . . x . . . . . . . . . . . x . . . 03
02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02
01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01
a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t
Asymmetric komoku means that a player plays two of them for his first two moves, in adjacent corners, facing ortogonally to one another. In the diagram below, Black (X) has played asymmetric komoku, while White (O) has not (notice that White's are facing each other, hence not asymmetric). White's komoku, facing one another, is an opening that has no official name, but was frequently played by Go Seigen (I think... correct me if I'm wrong, someone). I'll make a node for that fuseki at facing komoku fuseki.
a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t
19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
17 . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . 17
16 . . e + . . . . . + . . . . . + . . . 16
15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c . . 15
14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
10 . . . + . . . . . + . . . . . d . . . 10
09 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08
07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06
05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05
04 . . . + . . . . . + . . . . a + X . . 04
03 . . . O . . . . . . . . . c b . . . . 03
02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02
01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01
a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t
Komoku is a very territorial move, although less so than san-san (the 3-3 point), as opposed to 3-5, 4-4 and 4-5 which are all influence-oriented opening moves. Therefore, playing two of them is an opening that is very biased towards taking territory early on. This is commonly played by both sides, but probably more often by Black, especially in games without komi. It is not advised to play two komoku facing the same way (e.g. the Black top right stone at R16 instead of Q17) because it leaves one too flat along just one side of the board, hence the choice of asymmetry (the facing White komoku on the right have another purpose altogether).
Generally, the idea of playing komoku is to make a shimari (corner enclosure), for instance at "a," "b," or "c" in the diagram ("b" being the keima shimari, which is the most popular). To prevent this, the opponent will often approach the komoku stone at one of those points (this is called "kakari"). The advantage of having played two komoku is that, if one feels inclined to make a shimari, the opponent cannot simultaneously play a kakari on both komoku, so you are guaranteed to get at least one.
Additionally, if the opponent fails to kakari one of your komoku, you can make the shimari at "b" in the diagram. This simultaneously threatens to make a second shimari at "c" (generally considered too good to allow; there is a proverb "Don't allow the opponent to make two shimari.") and to make the perfect extension from the first shimari at "d" (also generally considered too good to allow). The opponent can't stop you from doing both, so you're guaranteed to get one of those two good points.
Note: I've also heard this pattern referred to as rotating komoku, especially in the case where White's second move is played as a kakari and Black takes the opportunity to play a third komoku at "e," or at the place of the White stone in the bottom left. This pattern was played quite often by Honinbo Shusaku.