(;B[jj]SZ[19]DT[1929-07-03]PB[Go Seigen]BR[3dan]PW[Kitani Minoru]WR[4dan]TM[8 hours]RE[W+3]US[tasuki]C[Game 7 (of 7) of "Young Go Seigen's Progress" series sponsored by Jiji Shinpo  Played in the Nihon Kiin, Akasaka, Tokyo, and published 3-25 Jun 1929.];W[cd];B[qp]C[ The start of a famous mimic game which caught everyone by surprise. At the time Go, then 15, never revealed, even to his teacher Segoe, why he played this way. But much later he said it was because he felt he had to try something different to have any chance against a player who then appeared so strong.  He said, "Two days before the game I consulted Hashimoto (Utaro 4d). Try it, he said, so I played the first stone on the centre point, and afterwards mimicked whatever White played up to move 63. ];W[dq]C[ Kitani was completely thrown, and several times rushed out into the corridor from where he could be heard complaining to the sponsor: "This won't do". ];B[pc];W[oq]
;B[ec];W[qe];B[co];W[qm];B[cg];W[ed];B[op];W[dc];B[pq];W[qj];B[cj];W[mc];B[gq]
;W[ep];B[od];W[fo];B[ne];W[hp];B[ld];W[pg];B[dm];W[kq];B[ic];W[cp];B[qd];W[re]
;B[bo];W[gc];B[mq];W[kc];B[iq];W[kd];B[ip];W[bp];B[rd];W[dg];B[pm];W[pl];B[dh]
;W[eh];B[ol];W[di];B[pk];W[ch];B[ql];W[dj];B[pj];W[qi];B[ck];W[io];B[ke];W[jo]
;B[je];W[ib];B[kr];W[id];B[kp];W[jh];B[gp]C[ At last Go breaks the symmetry, although in a problematical way. He is trying to defend against White A in sente. But Kitani then reckoned on Black B, White C, Black D, White 65, which is gote for White and leaves Black with interesting endgames moves. 65 is bad because it induces White's next move and so makes the centre stone thin. Kitani thought a better move was to probe at E.  What would have happened if Go had continued mimicking to the very end? He said, "You can't mimic forever. If White plays close to the centre stone and you mimic that, the black stones will end up being captured.  "My intention was to get my opponent to play in the centre early and then I would start a fight with different moves. But White spent some time reinforcing himself on the edges so the mimicking continued longer than I had anticipated." ];W[go];B[ie];W[ko]C[ Now White has a little revenge - he mimics Black!  The game now moves rapidly into the the large endgame stage. ];B[lp];W[hh]
;B[bi];W[rk]C[ Standard endgame trading technique - not A because of Black 72. ];B[rl];W[bh];B[ap];W[aq];B[ao];W[br];B[lm];W[kl];B[lj];W[lk]C[ Critical moves, said Kitani. ]

(;B[km]C[ A natural riposte. If A... ];W[lo];B[jl];W[mj];B[li];W[jp];B[jq];W[jk];B[ik];W[kk];B[mk];W[il];B[kj]
;W[jm];B[ll];W[jl];B[ml]C[ The game is now too close to call. ];W[mp];B[lq];W[sd];B[sc];W[se];B[hd]C[ Threatening A. ];W[md];B[le]C[ If Black had defended at A, White intended to cut at B. ]
;W[jb];B[rb];W[lh];B[mh];W[lg];B[nb]C[ An unfortunate mistake. He was trying to get in a forcing move before connecting at A. ]
(;W[mi]C[ Black had expected A but Kitani always had a strong chance of never playing the obvious move when a better one was available. That was precisely why he used so much of his time. He saw the obvious moves as quickly as any other top player, but regularly then settled down, in the time available, to look at all other moves, starting with the least obvious.  Go, in contrast, played very quickly because, as he said, once he found "a move that would do," he played it. ]
(;B[nh]C[ Now Black cannot profitably play A, and White gets sente. ];W[ij];B[ni];W[mb];B[me];W[sl];B[sm];W[sk];B[qn];W[el]C[ This nice territory-making move is the direct result of Black's wasted move \\t, which gave White \\s. Suddenly the game is in the bag for White. ];B[hc];W[hb]
;B[fe];W[mo];B[fd];W[fc];B[ee];W[dd];B[ii]C[ Confirms White's unexpected bonus of a centre territory. ];W[hj];B[ji];W[ih];B[de];W[np];B[nq]
;W[oo];B[pp];W[ce];B[er];W[dr];B[en];W[do];B[cn];W[bm];B[dk];W[ek];B[cm];W[em]
;B[pe];W[qf];B[qk];W[rj];B[hi];W[gi];B[nj];W[gg];B[dn];W[hf];B[he];W[fn];B[nn]
;W[no];B[fq];W[ai];B[aj];W[ah];B[al];W[ob];B[nc];W[na];B[df];W[cf];B[eg];W[bg]
;B[fg];W[fh];B[lc];W[lb];B[pb];W[on];B[if];W[gf];B[oc];W[oa];B[kh];W[kg];B[jg]C[ A last-ditch effort. But White is ready to trade. ]
;W[ki];B[ph];W[qh];B[kh];W[ig];B[jf];W[ki];B[rg];W[qg];B[kh];W[mi];B[mj];W[ki]
;B[gj];W[hk];B[kh];W[bj];B[bk];W[ki];B[fi];W[gh];B[kh];W[ci];B[ki];W[bj]C[ White's profit from this ko will make the trade more or less even. ];B[bq]
;W[cq];B[bi];W[bl];B[bj];W[am];B[og];W[pi];B[oi];W[nm];B[cl];W[eo];B[hq];W[ho]
;B[ma];W[la];B[mn];W[om];B[jc];W[kb];B[pa];W[ma];B[si];W[rh];B[sh];W[sg];B[sf]
;W[rf];B[sg];W[sj];B[pf];W[ri];B[gd];W[ak];B[ar];W[as];B[al];W[ff];B[bn];W[ak]
;B[sg];W[sh];B[al];W[rc];B[qc];W[ak];B[gb];W[eb];B[al];W[es];B[an];W[gs];B[hs]
;W[ef];B[gr];W[fs];B[kn];W[jn];B[jd];W[nl];B[nk];W[po];B[qo];W[pn];B[rm];W[oh]C[White wins the half-point ko.  White won by 3 points.  Go later said, "Mimic go is really not a very profitable strategy. The opponent gets the initiative and he can choose the opening he prefers. At that time there was no komi but in the end Kitani played a beautiful move and I lost.  "A long time ago in China they often played on the centre point. Since it is acting on all four quarters of the board it is by no means a bad strategy. It is a way of playing derived from the Book of Changes. But if you are not very strong you cannot use it successfully."  Just after the game, he also said, "Lao Zi opened on the centre point. Confucius began in the corners. Both men were aiming at the same thing but Lao Zi's teaching is a broad philosophy and not so easy to understand. Confucius's teaching on the other hand, is easy to understand, and so it is generally understood. It is like that in go too."  W: 5h 59; B: 5h 26.]
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(;B[ni];W[mg];B[nh];W[me];B[lc];W[lb]))
(;W[mb];B[me];W[mi];B[ni]))
(;B[mj];W[lo];B[mo];W[mn];B[ln];W[no];B[mp];W[mm]))