Showing posts tagged: sunday-problem


Sunday Problem #81

This is an original problem inspired by a training game.

Black to play.

Solution
Solution (1)
The unconventional first-line jump of black 1 is correct. White is unable to draw out his stone with 2 and on; up to 7, White is captured in an oi-otoshi.
Solution (2)
White’s resistance with 2–4 is arguably more difficult to refute. Here, Black unleashes a second first-line jump with 5, and then the best White can do is turn the shape into a seki.

Sunday Problem #80

This is an endgame problem composed from one of Lukaš’s games.

Black to play.

Solution
Failure (1)
If this were a life-and-death problem, Black’s simple hanging connection of 1 would be enough.
Black 1 is however suboptimal because White can keep attacking Black with 2 and 4. Black 5 is sufficient to form two eyes, but White gets to make …

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Sunday Problem #79

This is an original problem arranged from a training game.

Black to play. Fighting the kō with Q19 can be a valid choice, but what if Black prefers to live unconditionally?

Solution
Solution (1)
Black 1, increasing the group’s eye space while threatening to connect towards the left, is the correct starting move. White intercepts with 2, and black 3 …

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Sunday Problem #78

I arranged this problem from a discussion that came up on the Go (Weiqi, Baduk) Players on Facebook group.

Japanese rules, no komi or captures, Black to play.

Spoiler

The correct solution results in a black one-point win.

Solutions
Solution
Forming an eye with black 1 is the correct starting move. After 2–3, white 4 presents Black with the other …

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Sunday Problem #77

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 …

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Sunday Problem #76

Like Sunday Problem #75, this is a relatively simpler classic problem.

Black to play.

Solution
Solution (1)
Black’s group in this problem has no clean way of forming two eyes. This leaves her only with the hard-working atekomi of 1; if White responds passively with 2, then Black lives cleanly with 3–5.
Solution (2)
White, of course, will however fight back with the cut of 2. Here Black unleashes the corner kō tesuji of 3, and after 4–5 a two-step kō fight is created. This is the best result for both players.

Sunday Problem #75

This is a relatively simpler classic problem.

Black to play.

Solution
Solution (1)
Black’s task in this problem is to prevent 2 and
a from becoming two eyes for White. Since the eye at a is already secure, this means Black needs to prevent the eye at 2; for this, the throw in of 1 is the key move. If …

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Sunday Problem #74

I arranged this problem from a shape that appeared in my training game with KataGo. Because there is a lot of empty space within the white group, the reading gets rather complicated.

Black to play.

Solution
Failure (1)
It’s a good idea to consider the hane of black 1 first, but this time it’s not enough to capture White. After …

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Sunday Problem #73

I arranged this problem from a shape that came up in the league game between Zdzieli and Ethelor.

Black to play.

Solution
Failure (1)
The attachment of black 1 looks like a tesuji, but is not quite enough to kill. White is able to form two eyes with his response of 2–6.
Failure (2)
Following, Black might consider cutting …

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Sunday Problem #72

This is a common corner shape that all dan players should know by heart.

Black to play.

Solution
Solution
If there is something in the corner, it has to start from Black’s placement of 1. After this, White has two eye-forming bumping moves to choose from; generally, forming the farmer’s hat with white 2 here is best. After 3–6, it …

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