Semeai 101
Recently on the ngd Discord server there has been some discussion about how to precisely read out capturing races, so I thought to write a post on them. As the topic is broad, it is of course impossible for a single post to cover even nearly all of it, but hopefully this will at least get the reader started.
Sunday Problem #62
Similarly to Sunday problem #61, this is a classic life-and-death shape.
Black to play.
Solution
Black 1 is the only move that prevents the three white stones from escaping while also improving Black’s eye shape. After 2–4, Black’s throw-in of 5 and the subsequent oiotoshi squeeze ensure two eyes for her group.
Sunday Problem #61
This is a classic corner problem.
Black to play.
Solution
The diagonal move of black 1 is a tesuji in this shape. If White resists with 2, Black cuts the white shape with 3–6 and finally wins a local capturing race with 7.
White’s connection of 2 here is an alternate resistance, but it fails to Black’s 3–7. In both solution diagrams, black 1 is a key point for the local capturing race.
Sunday Problem #60
This problem is based on a shape that appeared in a recent ngd league game between Sanderbaduk and irglbriz; July league subscribers can view the game here.
Black to play.
Solution
Black cannot form two eyes locally, so she has to depend on White’s outer shape problems. 1–2 is a useful preparation, after which black 3 attempts …
Contemporary Go Terms: Airport and Toothpaste
Learning new go terms has a bigger impact on one’s improvement than many players give credit for. While the terms themselves are mere placeholders, they refer to shapes and strategical concepts in the game that are usually worth learning. For instance, imagine not having a term for ‘hane’ or ‘one-space jump’; besides the terms allowing for smooth communication between players, …
Sunday Problem #59
This is a classic life-and-death problem which most readers are probably familiar with. From an endgame point of view, however, the status of the resulting corner shape is quite interesting and worth thinking about.
Black to play.
‘Solution’
Most people know the attachment of black 1, here, but the follow-up with 3 and 5 is wrong: White lives …
Commented Game: Oscar v. Calvin Sun 1p (Transatlantic Professional Go League)
Our own Oscar Vazquez scored big in the Transatlantic Professional Go League yesterday, getting 2:0 over Calvin Sun of the American Go Association and therefore securing at least the 4th place in his league, ahead of Andrii Kravets 1p (egf). On July 25, Oscar will match off with Artem Kachanovskyi 2p, and, if he gets 2:0 there, too, he will enter the playoffs.
In celebration of Oscar’s win, I am publishing a free commentary of the first game against Calvin. Enjoy!
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