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Snap Back
  Difficulty: Beginner   Keywords: Go term

[Diagram]
Diag.: A snapback

A snap-back is a play which captures stones in a special way. It is one of the first tesujis aspiring go players learn and employ with satisfaction.

White 1 in the diagram captures the marked black stones in a snap-back.


[Diagram]
Diag.: If B captures

This means that black can capture the white stone just played with 2, but it puts the group into Atari. Thus white can capture the stones by playing at 'a' next.

So, White 1 above effectively captures the two black stones in a snap-back although White 1 itself can be captured.

Black should not play 2, it is not to his advantage. Black 2 can be used as ko threat though.



[Diagram]
Diag.:

It is possible to set up a snapback of two stones, like in this diagram. :)

--unkx80



Threating to capture stones in a snap-back is an effective tesuji, as in this joseki:

[Diagram]
Diag.: A common joseki

This diagram shows the result of a common joseki where white invaded at the 3-3 point under blacks 4-4 point. Usually this joseki ends with black playing where white's marked stone is. But if taking sente has priority it is not uncommon to omit this move.

So in this diagram white played at this point. If Black now plays around 'a' or extends along the upper side he is in for a nasty surprise: white plays 1. This threatens a snap-back at 2 and is tesuji. In order to avoid his stones being captured, black plays 2. But white follows with 3 and captures the whole group. There is no way out for black (black 'b' is answered with white 'c').

--ArnoHollosi



The japanese word for snap back is utte-gaeshi

--AlainWettach


A snap back could be seen as a basic kind of UnderTheStones play.

--DougRidgway?



This is a copy of the living page "Snap Back" at Sensei's Library.
(C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.