Showing posts tagged: tsumego
Sunday Problem #52
Celebrating one year of Sunday Problems!
This problem is from Kōno Rin 9p’s Twitter.
Black to play.
Solution
If White gets to play at 1, no combination of two black moves can kill his group, and so we can quickly figure out that black 1 is the only possible starting move.
If White challenges Black with 2, …
Sunday Problem #51
This is technically an original problem by me, inspired by the recent ngd league game between Sandmann and le_4TC. However, the shape quickly develops into something that also exists in classical tsumego collections.
Black to play.
Hint
Try to avoid kō.
Solution
Black’s block of 1 is obvious, and so the question is what to do after white …
Sunday Problem #50
This is a variant of the infamous carpenter’s square that comes up from time to time in games.
This is a problem for high dan amateur players, so for everybody else I have added a small spoiler that tells the end status of the problem, without actually showing any moves.
Black to play.
Spoiler
Black can kill unconditionally.
Solution
Sunday Problem #49
This is an original problem by me, based on a shape that occurred in a league game between Soeren and Lebertran. Subscribers of the 2021 April league can view the game here.
Black to play.
Solution
This problem is mainly about how to turn ‘a’ and ‘b’ into two eyes for Black. Normally, both of they …
Sunday Problem #48
Like Problem #12, this is from the Collection of Tsumego Masterpieces by Sekiyamas Riichi, Toshio, and Toshimichi. This time, Black has to try to make life in a very cramped corner setting.
Black to play.
Solution
Black’s connection of 1 creates a challenging subproblem, but ultimately it is wrong. White’s sharp attack of 2–10 kills Black unconditionally. …
Sunday Problem #47
It looks like this white corner group is difficult to capture unconditionally, but there is a surprisingly clean sequence hiding in plain sight.
Black to play.
Solution
Simply turning with black 1 is not enough. White claims the key point of 2, and then for example black 3 and 5 get refuted by White’s 4 and 6. White …
Sunday Problem #46
Like last week’s problem, this is also a classic tesuji problem.
Black to play.
Solution
Black does not have much choice but to start with 1, but in response to this White launches the attachment of 2. After this, the rest of the problem is about how Black can avoid having to fight a kō.
Black’s 3, 5, and 7 are the key tesuji combination. Following, even though White can capture two stones with 8–
–Black recaptures with 9, and wins the capturing race directly.
Sunday Problem #45
This is a classic tesuji problem. I unfortunately don’t know the origin; my source material is a tsumego printout from a dōjō I used to go to when I was insei.
Black to play.
Solution
Black’s first-line peep of 1 is correct. To keep attacking, White has to connect with 2, but then 3 ensures Black’s group has four liberties and so she wins the capturing race.
Sunday Problem #44
This problem is from Nihon Ki-In’s 七段合格の死活150題, or 150 Graded Life-and-Death Problems for 7-Dan Players.
Although this shape is hardly anything that could occur in a real game, personally I like this problem because of its straightforward and yet extremely non-obvious solution.
Black to play.
Solution
For Black’s first moves, there is nothing else to …
Sunday Problem #43
This problem is from Guanzi Pu. Black needs to think of an unconventional response to White’s second-line peep on the right side.
Black to play.
Solution
Black’s unlikely jump of 1 is correct, and the only choice for the first move. If White cuts with 5 in response, Black can form life in the corner and capture White that way.
However, our reading should not end after black 1, as White still has a resistance available. White 2–6 manage to create a two-step kō for life that Black cannot prevent.
Instead of 3, Black can also pick the move order of 5-6-3-4.
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