Showing posts tagged: sunday-problem
Sunday Problem #26
With this post, we have reached half a year’s worth of Sunday problems! In case you haven’t noticed, this page (the link is under the ‘material’ tab and also on the right-side bar) lists all the Sunday problems in easily accessible form.
This problem is from the Japanese book 達人の詰碁 (Tatsujin no tsumego), or Expert’s Tsumego. According to the book, a Japanese 2d (so perhaps a European 2k) should be able to solve this problem in 10 minutes.
Black to play.
Sunday Problem #25
To complete the set, this sample problem is from the advanced section of Maeda’s Tsumego Collection.
Black to play.
Solution
The eye-stealing placement of 1 looks like the natural starting point, but after White connects with 2, the next move is key. Only Black’s non-obvious sacrificing move of 3 will then manage to capture. After White resists with 4, black 5 connects under and the white group only has one eye.
If White instead responds to black 1 with 4, then black 3 again kills.
Sunday Problem #24
While last week’s Sunday problem was from the elementary section of Maeda’s Tsumego Collection, this week’s problem is from the intermediate section.
Black to play.
Solution
The key to this problem is the non-obvious black 5. If Black captured the two stones instead, white 5 would capture the black group whole; therefore, sacrificing the three stones to the right is the best Black can do. After black 7, Black lives with a minimal shape.
Sunday Problem #23
This week’s problem is from Maeda Nobuaki 9p’s three-part tsumego collection, titled simply 前田詰碁集 (Maeda Tsumego-Shū), or Maeda’s Tsumego Collection. The three volumes together contain 585 relatively basic life-and-death problems that make for good reading practice for players of all levels.
A shortened version of the second volume can be bought on SmartGo Books under the title ‘Life …
Sunday Problem #22
While on the topic of endgame problems, it would be remiss of me not to bring up Kanō Yoshinori 9p’s excellent ヨセ辞典 (Yose-Jiten), or Endgame Dictionary.
When I was insei, this book single-handedly had the biggest influence on my endgame improvement. The book explains how to count values of moves (by swing counting), showcases many kinds of endgame …
Sunday Problem #21
Since we got started on the topic of whole-board endgame problems with Sunday Problem #20, here is another one.
This problem is from another Japanese problem book with an untranslatable name: 勝つヨセの絶妙な手順 (Katsu-yose no zetsumyō na tejun) by Mitsunaga Junzō 6p. A rough English translation would be Exquisite game-winning move orders in the endgame – feel free …
Sunday Problem #20
This is a whole-board endgame problem from Ōhashi Hirofumi 6p’s book, 爽快！勝ち筋探し (Sōkai! Kachisuji-sagashi) or Refreshing! Searching for the winning play.
If the title sounds strange in English, it is because sōkai does not translate very well; ‘refreshing’ or ‘invigorating’ are technically correct translations, but Western go players would rarely use them for the feeling of relief …
Sunday Problem #19
The carpenter’s square or ichigō-masu (一合升, meaning a small wooden container with a volume of 0.1804 litres) is one of the more dreaded tsumego shapes, especially by kyū players, which makes it an excellent topic for a Sunday Problem.
Should Black go for the carpenter’s square, or is there a better option available?
Black to play.
Solution
Sunday Problem #18
This shape appeared in one of Oscar’s games.
Black’s task, of course, is to live, but there are several ways to do so. The real problem is in finding the best way to live.
Black to play.
Solution
Even when the task is to live, you want to live with as much territory as possible. Therefore, in …
Sunday Problem #17
This problem is also from Xuanxuan Qijing, or ‘The Gateway to All Marvels’. This problem is titled 野狐箭, or the ‘Fox-Catching Arrow’, apparently because the shape ‘looks like the arrow’s head’ – personally, however, I fail to see the resemblance.
While its name may be dubious, the problem itself is one of the most ingenious I have seen.
Black …
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