The star point
The 4-4 point — hoshi, the star point — is the most played opening move in both professional and AI Go. Its virtue is balance: on the fourth line from both edges it stands too far out to own the corner outright, yet close enough to contest it, so it keeps both futures open — an enclosure toward territory, or an extension toward thickness. Compare the 3-3, which takes the corner but surrenders the outside, and the 3-4, which leans territorial (11.3). The star point's openness is also its warning: an early approach can force choices, so a stone here is often followed by a shimari — an enclosure one step along an edge. Make one now.
Make a corner enclosure (shimari) around the star point.
Play one of the marked points to finish this lesson.