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A star-point joseki: Black "O" is on the 4-4 point, or "hoshi." White approaches with 1, B2 gives black a foothold, and this particular joseki continues as shown. If Black 6 is played elsewhere (tenuki), a white move at 7 is a move that threatens the black group's base. Black 8 is necessary to make life.
Joseki are sequences of corner moves in the game of Go for which there is a documented history, and which have been studied and deemed as the best moves for both black and white. Joseki is a japanese word (定石), where 定 means "fixed", "set" and 石 means stone(s). It thus literally means "set stones", as in "set pattern". It's sometimes also used outside of Go in this sense; In everyday speech, "This is the joseki here" may apply to just about anything.
Variations lead to different positional advantages and disadvantages for each respective player, and their study; not by rote, rather by understanding the principles behind each move; is an important part developing one's strength as a player. Knowing a particular joseki simply means that one knows a sequence of moves for both black and white that results in a balance between their positions.
"Balance" in this case is often a tradeoff between securing territory in the corner versus making good thickness toward the sides and center. But after a point, these are very dynamic, and often joseki are deviated from depending on the needs of the situation, and the opportunities available. While learning josekis is a tool to defend against a local loss, players always seek to take advantage of weaknesses in the opponent's shapes, often deviating from the joseki.
There is a go proverb that states that "learning joseki loses two stones in strength," (定石を覚えて二子弱くなり) meaning that rote learning of sequences is not advantageous. Rather learning from joseki is the goal. Each joseki is a tool, and you should pick the right tool for the job. A hammer is a bad substitute for a knife, and when your opponent wants outer strength, you shouldn't go for a joseki that takes territory and gives outer strength facing the direction your opponent wants. Sometimes no well-known tool will do, and you must adapt by deviating from joseki you know altogether. Tool zealots lose.
The joseki are not a fixed body of knowledge, but patterns that have gained acceptance in professional games. A joseki may fall out of use
for various reasons, which may often seem petty to the amateur player (e.g. "in this variation that stone is not working quite as well as in another variation, therefore this one is slightly suboptimal"). There are also no definitive
guides to what is joseki; the situation with joseki dictionaries is similar
to that of natural language dictionaries. Fashion also plays a role.
pl:Joseki
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