Rectangular Eight In The Corner

    Keywords: Life & Death

Table of contents

1. No outside liberties

[Diagram]

No outside liberties

This position is hyperactive. Its value and play depends upon the ko threat situation. If White is komaster she can often make seki with sente.

[Diagram]

Sente seki

W1 is the strongest attack. B2 is the point to avoid ko. B6 is necessary or White plays there (or to the right of it) to capture the corner. B2 at W5 or B6 will also make a seki, but white would get an extra ko threat.

Nikok34 (KGS) : Can't in this position white can make a bent four in the corner with 1-1?

willemien : No not all bent fours are bent four in the corner if White plays 1-1 and black captures you get the "Not corner bent four 3" on the bent four in the corner page and Black is alive

Nikok34 : Now I see why... thanks

[Diagram]

Variation at 4

If B4 here, W5 makes a ten thousand year ko. This result is generally worse for Black than a seki.

[Diagram]

Variation at 2

B2 at the 2-2 point invites an approach ko.

If after White 5, white gets to play square, (the approach move) the ko becomes direct.

[Diagram]

Variation at 2 - White's mistake

W5 in this variation invites a seki. Without B6 either player can make a throw-in ko.

The Count: This isn't necessarily a mistake, is it? If White has one big ko threat and no others then White can't win the approach ko above, but can win the throw-in ko, and so Black will play B6 and White will make seki which is better than nothing.


2. Outside liberties

[Diagram]

Outside liberties

If there is at least one outside liberty, Black is alive with seven points.

[Diagram]

Main line

Now B2 works. The throw in at B4 and B6 are oiotoshi. (If there were no outside liberty, B6 would be self-atari.)


Conclusion for the endgame

[Diagram]

Outside liberties

W1 threatens to destroy seven points in sente. B2 makes seven points in reverse sente. So,



W1 is a typical ko-threat - but it is a bad one. In case of a ko the previous diagram supplies four ko-threats: that's one more than here.


See also


Willemien (temporarely remark) if there are no ko threats and no outside liberties is Black alive in seki or with territory? And if in seki what is the best place to make it an alive group with territory. feel free to remove remark after editing .


Nikok34 : In the second example black is dead in seki if white goes on the 1-1 point, making the bent four in the corner no?

No. -JH


This is a copy of the living page "Rectangular Eight In The Corner" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2012 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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