Endgame Tesuji 1
Any skilful play that gains extra points in the endgame, in comparison with more normal moves, may deserve to be called tesuji. It is also interesting to play in such a way as to take sente rather than end in gote.
Example 1
Here Black makes use of to jump further into White's territory; now White cannot answer at a. Black might miss this chance by playing
at a.
Question: Can 2 and 4 be reversed in this 'correct' diagram? - Adam
Rich: As long as drawing out at is not viable. However, in this case, white definitely has gote;
must be played. In the 'correct play' diagram, white could choose not to play
depending on the rest of the board.
Dieter: If here, White still has gote but more aji remains. I think in general this is better than forcing the sente by
at
.
already is small. If
takes sente, it will not be for something much bigger than what it is preventing here.
Example 2
is sente. If White plays
elsewhere, Black has a 3 point sente at a, as in the first example. If
is played as the hane at
, then White blocks at a, and Black connects at
, then Black loses sente.
Doesn't white gain an extra point, though? - Stan
Bill: That's the point. The difference between sente and gote is only one point. As a rule, when Black plays with sente, there will be plays worth 2 or more points elsewhere. Giving up 1 point locally to gain 2 points elsewhere is a good deal.