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I don't think it's that the joseki move is forcing, it's more that the joseki move is better. 5 here is pretty sad for White. For 4 to be joseki, you would need a response to this move that turns out better than the accepted sequence for White. $$ ---------- $$ ..........| $$ ..........| $$ ..3.2.....| $$ ..54..1...| $$ ..........|

@shujaa ok let me try... btw, how to mark steps larger than 9? The idea of hane is to exposure white's vulnerable parts: $$W Separate black's corner and pincer $$ ------------ $$ ...........- $$ ...........- $$ .....87....- $$ ...3..251..- $$ .......64..- $$ ...........- $$ ...........- $$ ...........- $$ ...........- $$ .......,...- $$ ...........- Now ...

1 and 2 are "honte" moves. They result in solid positions as they remove all aji from the marked stones, but are not mandatory. $$cm1 $$ +---------------------------------------+ $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . O O X X Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . B O X 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . | ...

Black's pincer is too close to White's stone (it should be at least one space lower). (This variation is not in the joseki books because it is not joseki.) That means that White can "lean on it while indirectly attacking Black's corner stone. White should play Q15,Black plays p15, White cuts with P14, threatening to make a ladder to capture stone 3, Black ...

I have never seen Black 5 in any joseki book, but I'm sure I've seen it in my games. Probably a typical amateur mistake :) However, I have no idea why it would be bad - it looks like a reasonable move to me, given the right circumstances. I will first comment on the sequence you gave, then I will show which alternatives I would consider, and finally I'll ...

In your shoes, I'd play e16 (atari), Black pulls out to d17, White, e17, threatening to capture two stones, Black c17, you f15 to "capture" the Black stone on f16. But that assumes that the top is the most important part of the board. If, in fact, the left side is more important, the way you outline is better.

Take a look at Kogo's Joseki Dictionary. It has several variations for this move - too many to show them here.

W1 should be N11, then black dies, I'd claim from memory. W1 at R13 is probably not a complete disaster in itself, but O12 should then be O11, or maybe P10 should be O10. That would force black to capture and white would at least build some influence -- not thickness, as she can't protect all cuts. Even before that, white should probably descend at T13 and ...

9 looks like a severe mistake to me. White may simply capture the single stone and be satisfied, like this: $$B Simple punishment $$ ........- $$ ....Ob..- $$ ....XO..- $$ ..1.XO..- $$ ...XOX2.- $$ ...cOa..- $$ ........- $$ --------- After this, if black c, white may answer at a, or may tenuki. Tenuki is reasonable, because the black followup does not ...

The problem with W4 is that it is a "slow," non-forcing move that gives Black many options. Some of those have been covered by other answers, but one good move is P17 (one right of 2) that gives Black the corner, while leaving White very cramped. If you play a sequence that gives your opponent so many good options, the sequence is probably to your opponent'...

White 4 gives black another chance to reinforce the corner (at a or b), as it doesn't put much pressure on 3: $$ ---------- $$ ..........| $$ ..........| $$ ..3.2.....| $$ ...4..1...| $$ ..........| $$ ......ab..| For example: $$ ---------- $$ ..........| $$ ..........| $$ 7.3.2.....| $$ ..64..1...| $$ ..........| $$ ......5...|

NOTE: I am stupid and misread your diagram as komoko (3-4) instead of hoshi (4-4) in the corner. The following applies to komoku only! I was going to delete this answer, but then decided to leave it up, because the question would probably be interesting for komoku, too. W4 is actually joseki, but it is very, very rarely played. I have never witnessed it in ...