Miai (Go)
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| Examples of simple local Miai situations. Black saves his stone in the middle / is connected on the left (bamboo) / is connected on the right / lives above / dies below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Schematic Miai situation in Fuseki |
Miai ( Japanese 見 合 い ) describes a situation in the Japanese board game Go in which a player has two fields of equal value to place a stone. If the opponent occupies one of them, you can bet on the other without being at a disadvantage. So there are two different, but ultimately equivalent, ways in which the situation can develop.
Delimitation of the term
Often situations arise that deviate from the ideal case, but still have the characteristics of a meiai. Examples:
- One (or both) of the possibilities is not defined by a specific point on the board, but describes a somewhat more general action (e.g. expanding or connecting certain groups).
- With one option, the responding player does not bet exactly where the first player would have bet with the other option. For example, if it creates a connection with a stone that would otherwise have been separated by a stone that was not placed exactly there.
- The two options have different effects on other parts of the board. However, if one of them is recognizably better for one side than the other, one no longer speaks of meiai.
If A and B are meiai under one aspect and B and C under another aspect, there is no more meiai overall, because the opponent cannot answer A and C at the same time to a move on B.
For the designation, on the other hand, it does not matter whether the abstract symmetry of the Miai is represented on the board in a symmetrical position or not.
Impact on game practice
For at least one side (often equally for both) the Miai offers a possibility to play forehand ( sente ). On the other hand, it means that the situation can be left open for the time being, since the value of the result is already established for both sides.
Using a forehand at the right time is a good reason to keep the opportunity to do so openly for as long as possible (avoiding aji-keshi , holding up kō threats). Therefore, Miai considerations in high-class games often lead to a large number of partial decisions being kept in suspension on the board, so that the viewer can get the impression that those involved are ignoring dramatic dangers and enormous opportunities in various positions and are instead ignoring each other deliver with trivialities. Later, however, the situations are resolved in one way or another, and each side (if planned correctly) gets an acceptable outcome.