Sunday Problem #77

Published 21 Nov 2021 by antti (last edited 28 Nov 2021)

tags: tsumego, sunday-problem

This problem came up when I was doing reading practice on BadukPop. As far as I have seen, BadukPop has a really low ratio of mistakes in its solutions, but here is an exception that tests the rule.

Black to play.

Solution

White fails
This is the solution provided by BadukPop. Black’s atari of 1 is pretty much the only move that stands a chance of capturing White, but white 2 is wrong: following, black 3 captures the white group unconditionally.

Solution
In response to 1, White should directly block with 2. After Black captures two stones with 3, White further falls back with 4, and after this a kō fight results with 5. This is the best outcome for both players.