Empty Board

The Power of the Wall
January 20, 2003
by William Cobb

Language shapes the way we perceive the world, and nothing has a bigger impact in this regard than metaphors. This is as true in go as it is in love, politics, and war. A striking example of this is a metaphor that James Kerwin often uses. In discussing styles of play, he likes to speak of "the power game".

Kerwin is referring to the phenomenon often called "thickness". This, of course, is a group of stones that do not have a base on the edge but are well connected and face an open area in the center of the board. This sort of pattern is usually achieved by allowing/encouraging your opponent to take territory on the edge while you take "influence" toward the center. The resulting structure of your stones is often called a "wall". Kerwin wants to call this "wall" "power". What difference does it make?

How do we choose metaphors? A "wall" is a strong structure, nearly invulnerable to attack, but this is a static image. It is easy to think of a wall as the side for a building--of territory. However, that attitude is universally condemned by strong players: "don't use thickness to make territory."

What happens if we refer to this structure as "power"? This is a dynamic term. Power is something you use to act more effectively, more assertively, and that's the point: use thickness to attack. With "power" you easily think about pounding on the other player's positions, exploiting weaknesses, and invading more deeply because you have such powerful back-up. This attitude makes for much more efficient and much more exciting go.

So, quit building walls, go for POWER.

Past columns by William Cobb are archived at http://www.slateandshell.com/billcobb.asp

Back to Columns