Shen Guoson (7 dan) writes in his book, Beauty and The Beast,

The ancient Chinese masters historically stressed the opening. It’s a pity that in ancient go they did not abolish “placement;” that is, placing two stones of each color on the board [on diagonally opposite star points] prior to starting the game. This practice limited variations in the corner, which in turn limited variations in the opening.

Go spread to Japan during the Sui-Tang period (around the 6th or 7th century, AD). Eventually the Japanese abolished the practice of “placement.” There was more room to twist about in the opening. Add to that the many variations in the corners, and all sorts of openings develop, unfolding on a magnificent scale. Following actual practice, they accumulated all sorts of knowledge and produced a new theory of the opening. But China of those times was still stuck in the old ways. “Placement” was still in use, and the opening was fairly simple. Through “placement” black and white were mutually split apart. This type of position is beneficial for fighting. Although China’s masters often brought up good deployment in their books and talks, it’s a pity that in actuality it was their nature to put all their effort into being good at fighting.

In comparison to Japanese masters of the time, the great champions of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) could be said to be “sword fighting” masters (in an age of guns and cannons). Later generations brought the game records of the great champion of the early Qing, Huang Longshi, to Japan. [available from
Mindzine] Some of the members of the Japanese go world said that Huang Longshi was 11 dan, but others said he was no more than 3 or 4 dan. Although these two appraisals are different, actually very different, they seem to both have merit. It is just that their bases are different. One is estimated based on his fighting strength, and the other is estimated based on his method of deployment.

In 1960, under the instigation of vice-premier Chen Yi and Mr. Matsumura Kensan, China and Japan began a go exchange. By that time, “placement” had been abolished from the board (in China). But there was a tremendous gap in knowledge between the Chinese and Japanese masters as far as the opening was concerned. This was because the older generation of Chinese masters not only had teachers who carried forward the art of play from masters of the later Qing dynasty, but also had learned to play go using “placement.” Furthermore, the newer generation of masters were obviously the students of the older generation. To catch up with the Japanese in opening play was not something that could be accomplished in one or two years. But how important is the opening to the whole game?

This competition was to continue annually. Chen Yi set a target of surpassing the Japanese within ten years. At the beginning, the difference in strength between the Chines and Japanese players was close to two stones. After a couple ofo years, a group of young players had matured, and at the same time the older masters had improved. In 1963, Sugiuchi Masao, 9 dan, captained a touring group visiting China. Under the condition of receiving the first move, Shanghai’s Chen Zude achieved an excellent score of five wins in five games. At that time, Chen Zude was only 19 years old, and was a representative of the first group of masters raised up after the liberation (1949). His play was very bold, strong and resilient. You could say he was good at fighting. His victories were gained through tactics.
Was it true that the Chinese players opening play was without a single redeeming feature?

No, having played with “placement” for so many years, there had to be something to it. The consummate master of the go world, Wu Qingyuan (known professionally as Go Seigen) developed his singular style from the study of ancient Chinese games. He dominated Japanese go circles for decades, and he had the greatest number of innovations in the opening. Since boyhood, Chen Zude had played over hundreds of ancient games, and studied many of Wu Qingyuan’s games as well. Wu Qingyuan is good at using the “star points,” such as “three stars in a row” (in Japanese, sanrensei) and “opposite corner stars” [in Japanese, tasuki-hoshi]. Chen Zude especially likes “opposite corner stars.”

Look at the diagram where each side has two “placement” stones. Isn’t this “opposite corner stars?” If play follows this pattern, can’t all the techniques in the old books be applied? Chen Zude was nurtured on this sort of play. A long time ago these techniques were ingrained in his mind until they became his techniques. We might say that the Japanese masters have produced volume after volume of opening theory. They can recognize all sorts of positional arrangements on sight. But when it comes to this sort, they may still lag behind the Chinese. This way, doesn’t strength and weakness in the opening take a sudden reversal?

The majority of Chen Zude’s wins were gained by adopting this approach. His command of the “opposite corner stars” was getting stronger and stronger.

According to Japanese custom, black’s first move should be played in the upper right corner, as in the following diagram:

This leaves the upper left corner for the opponent. Then, white can play in his lower right corner, expending the least amount of effort, like white 2. This way, black 3 can always make “opposite corner stars.” But Chen Zude’s “opposite corner stars” (opening) was very strong. The Japanese players understood this secret. Thus, by expending a little energy, extending their right hand further forward, white 2 can occupy the corner where black 3 stands. With just one move’s work, the “opposite corner stars” is foiled. So the “opposite corner stars” is too vulnerable.

There should be another opening pattern to supplement the “opposite corner stars.” Furthermore, this supplemental opening should not be vulnerable to being foiled.