Hurt mukai komoku
Heal small chinese
Heal Chinese
Hurt Jabberwocks
Hurt: Jabberwocks
Heal: Orthodox
Hurt Chinese
Heal Kobayashi
Hurt Kenka Komoku
Heal Chinese
+chinese
-kobayashi
hurt chinese
heal kobayashi
Hurt: Chinese
heal Orthodox
Hurt: Chinese
Heal: Kobayashi
Hurt Kobayashi
Heal Micro Chinese
+chinese
-kobayashi
Iām donāt really understand the people endorsing the Kobayashi, especially given the lack of explanation. I oppose it because it is an inferior opening strategy, and because itās kind of boring given that it frequently plays out with the same joseki every time, which hasnāt lost its popularity because again, itās an inferior opening for Black and the low distant approach works against it just fine. The Kobayashi is an opening that tried to get around some basic fuseki principles by relying on a joseki mechanism to maintain the right to enclose the corner, but it turns out that White can just be a little bit forgiving when preventing the enclosure and Whiteās directional advantage is more than compensatory. Itās not impossible to lose as White, even in a professional setting, but the opening is favorable for White in my opinion and in the opinion of many who are far more capable in Go than I am.
Meanwhile I see some serious letās-eliminate-it type votes against things like kenka komuku, prior to the elimination of the Kobayashi. I donāt really understand this. Opposing komoku is actually a very classic, contemporary, and useful widget for dealing with cross openings as Black, while the Kobayashi is simply unfavorable and gathering dust in the professional world.
2 Likes
I think youāre looking at it a bit too deeply. First off, only seigler and I have been consistently voting for the Kobayashi opening, so itās not really much of a competition between the Kobayashi opening vs. the Low Chinese opening. Due to the larger numbers of supporters of the Low Chinese opening, over time it will surpass the Kobayashi opening regardless.
Secondly, I know that the Kobayashi opening is inferior among pros. However, Iām not a pro, and Iām in essence voting for the opening that helped me become the player I am today. It was my exclusive opening of choice up until I was 1d. Since then, Iāve diversified my opening choices quite a bit, because as you said it can get boring playing the same variations again and again. But, the Kobayashi opening is still quite memorable for me, and even now when I use it in my games with other dans, it pays off. Personally, I donāt have anything against the Low Chinese Opening (I use it along with the Mini and Micro Chinese openings quite often nowadays). Itās simply that when it comes to which I value more the Kobayashi opening places higher than the Chinese openings for me.
2 Likes
Updated to severenceās post.
Hurt orthodox
Heal small Chinese
+chinese
-kenka
I just relized this is the topic with the most replies by far
Heal Chinese
Hurt Mukai Komoku
Hurt: Chinese
Heal: Kobayashi
Heal Chinese
Hurt Kobayashi
If anything, I think the Kobayashi is even less good for Black in amateur dan-level play. I certainly donāt think that the general experience of it for upper and mid dans will be be wholly dissimilar from that of pros, especially since itās an opening characterized by a lot of forcing moves and thick positions without too much subtlety to them. The player who plays the opening repeatedly for many years will probably have the advantage of familiarity, but Iām not sure that means indicates much merit to the opening. The thing about stubbornly voting for the same subjective ticket every time is that it will inspire stubborn opposition, too.
+chinese
-kobayashi