Net versus ladder

In general, capturing a stone in a net is considered better than capturing it in a ladder, because a net does not run the risk of a ladder block on the other side of the board.

There are exceptions to this rule, mostly when the extra liberty that a net gives is detrimental, in which case a ladder is quicker (the opponent is in atari until the end).

Table of contents Example Example of exception See also

Table of diagrams White cuts Net continuation Ladder continuation Taisha variation Net continuation Ladder continuation

Example

White cuts  

When white cuts at , black can capture this stone in a ladder or in a net.

Net continuation

[problem- can't this net be defeated by the sequence c-d-e-f-g? sorry for poor notation.] No, see here "White can't cut...". Black plays at g instead of f. White has no choice but to capture at f; B at h forces white to fill in at and a couple more black moves capture the whole thing. Ladder continuation

The net is better, because the ladder variation allows white to play a ladder block somewhere along the path of the ladder

Tapir: Even if there is no ladder breaker played by White, Black needs to capture at a time just in case. That is what I took from Kageyama: to capture with a ladder you need two moves, to capture with a net only one.

Example of exception

Taisha variation  

In this variation of the taisha joseki. What the books say is that is only playable when the ladder at a is good for White, capturing the stone with the net White b and c isn't enough.

Net continuation

Ladder continuation

If the net continuation were good, White could play at in the setup diagram independent of the ladder, thereby avoiding the most difficult variations.

After these plays, however, Black has a good result, and the possibility of a black peep at d remains. Also forces . Both of these effects are there because the marked black stone is still on the board.

For comparison, see the usual result from the ladder variation. White's capture in the ladder forces .

(Note that the standard mistake here is White at a before : this loses sente and is an example of ignoring the 123 principle. However: checking with Lizzie shows that LZ prefers that mistake.)

See also

• choose the firmer capture