Ponnuki
Ponnuki (ポン抜き ponnuki, traditional Chinese: 開花 open flower; ; pinyin: kāi hūa; Korean: 빵따냄 ppang-ttanaem or 빵때림 ppang-ttaerim) is a Japanese term in the game of Go that refers to capturing a single stone, resulting in a diamond shape. The shape of the remaining capturing stones is considered to be very strong, due to its influence in all directions. A certain Go proverb says "A Ponnuki is worth 30 points".
Ponnuki move by Black 1 |
A diamond shape (4 stones touching the same empty spot) is considered a ponnuki only when constructed by capturing the middle stone.
Depending on the context (other stones on the board), a ponnuki may be strong and thick but inefficient (overconcentrated).
Etymology
The word ponnuki (ポン抜き) breaks up into pon and nuki, in which pon is supposedly the imaginary sound of a stone being captured, while nuki means "taking out" (noun).