![]() StartingPoints Referenced by
|
Geta versus Ladder
Keywords: Tactics
In general, capturing a stone in a geta is considered better than capturing it in a shicho (ladder), because a geta does not run the risk of a ladder block on the other side of the board. On the other hand, if you depend on the capture of a (group of) stones to keep your group alive, a shicho is quicker (the opponent is in atari until the end). Using a geta can be equivalent to losing a liberty. --MortenPahle
Charles Matthews There is a good example in this variation of the taisha joseki. What the books say is that
and
If this net continuation were good, White could play at 7 in the previous 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 Black 4 forces White 5. Both of these effects are there because the marked black stone is still on the board.
For comparison, the usual result from the ladder variation. White's capture in the ladder forces the square-marked black stone. (NB that the standard mistake here is White at a before capturing in the ladder: this loses sente and is an example of the 123 principle in action.) There is also an interesting tidbit in "Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go" by Kageyama. He states that when there are two ways to capture with one move, then the firmer is correct.
In this example the two white stones can be captured with a geta by playing at a. However, according to Kageyama, the correct move is b which has a firmer grip on the two stones. Tactical discussion of Kageyama's example This is a copy of the living page "Geta versus Ladder" at Sensei's Library. ![]() |