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
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Facing komoku (also sometimes known as opposed komoku) means that two komoku are played in adjacent corners, "facing" one another, as shown by the black (X) stones in the diagram below (the white (O) stones are in asymmetric komoku fuseki formation). If a player plays such komoku early on, it's known as a facing komoku fuseki. This fuseki was, I believe, well liked by Go Seigen (please correct me if I'm wrong, someone... it may have been another famous player who liked this). It is playable as either colour.
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
16 . . . + . . . . . + . . . . . + O . . 16
15 . . a b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
14 . . b b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
10 . . . + . . . . . + . . . . . + . . . 10
09 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08
07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
06 . . b b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06
05 . . a b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05
04 . . . + . . . . . + . . . . . + . . . 04
03 . . . X . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . 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 territorial point (less so than san-san, but definitely more than hoshi), so a player playing any kind of opening with two komoku is aiming for territory more than influence.
Facing komoku have an important difference from other komoku-based openings, however. Generally, the goal in playing komoku is to get a chance to play a shimari (corner enclosure), often a keima shimari (one of the points labelled "a"), as soon as possible. This is not the case in this opening, however.
The reason making shimari is not a good idea with this opening is that one generally wants to develop "in front of" a shimari, that is, in the direction of its longer side. Due to the fact that, were shimaris to be made in both corners here, they're pointing to the right, along the top and bottom sides of the board, they are not coordinating well with one another. If enclosure is the goal, an asymmetric komoku fuseki would be better, as one shimari would then be pointing towards the other.
So, if shimari is a bad idea, or at least less than ideal, what is the purpose of this fuseki? Well, if the player playing the komoku refuses to enclose the corners, sooner or later, the opponent will have to play a kakari, that is, an approach to the komoku stone, generally at one of the points labelled "a" or "b" in the diagram above. The idea is to get the opponent to play such an approach, and then play a pincer near the middle of the left side (although not directly in the middle). The trouble with a pincer attack is that the pincer stone often comes under attack later on. With this opening, however, if the opponent eventually approaches both komoku, the two pincer stones will coordinate well with each other and help in a strong attack against the kakari stones.
This, then, is inherently a fighting opening. As was said before, it also favors territory over influence. It should then be used by players whose style emphasises territory, and who prefer complicated fighting to a calmer game.