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Non Local Move Versus A Local Move
  Difficulty: Beginner   Keywords: Tactics

Compare the following two situations (grossly oversimplified):


[Diagram]
Diag.: Black tries a ladder

and


[Diagram]
Diag.: Black tries a net

The way I see it (25-20 kyu), the second move is better because Black does not have to worry as much about the rest of the board.

The Ladder depends on the absence of white stones in the ladder-breaking-area (marked points - possibly I'm a few lines off here :-) ) while the Net nearly always works.



Correct. Kageyama writes:

  1. Check if you can capture a stone in geta.
  2. Check if you capture it in shicho.

I would like to comment on you diagram though. In the position on the diagram both moves are small, because white stone is not important. If you capture it you'll spend a move for 2 points, which is too small with so much empty space. As soon as the black group is alive, everything in this corner is yose.

I believe that one of the reasons low kyu players lose their games is because they make too many small moves. Get rid of the moves that capture a single not important stone and your strength will grow considerably.

To illustrate the same principle I would suggest a following diagram that is logical


[Diagram]
Diag.: Geta

Here, marked stone may run away splitting black in two groups. Each of them will have to live separately. Now Black 1 not only captures a stone, but also connects two groups and is likely to form an eye, which makes it a very good move.



Kageyama also says: if you can capture a stone firmly, don't capture it loosely.

Applied to your diagrams this means:


[Diagram]
Diag.: The net

The net leaves forcing moves at 'a' and 'b'.


[Diagram]
Diag.: The "ladder"

The ladder captures the stone more firmly, and actually it's no ladder at all, because after w2 black can play geta with 3.

I'm not saying that this is the optimal move, I'd play the geta move at 1 myself, but one should always think about options and (gasp) think some moves ahead :o)

--ArnoHollosi



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