Old sea captain's trick

  Difficulty: Beginner   Keywords: EndGame, Tesuji
[Diagram]

Endgame mistake

The old sea captain's trick is a term coined at SL, for this situation where Black mistakenly responds to W1 with the counter hane of B2, expecting White to block at B4, then connect at W3.

Instead, White cuts back at W3, allowing Black to capture at B4, then ataris on top with W5.

If Black now connects at W1, a white move at a will seal the fate of all the black stones involved in the skirmish.

The only thing Black can do is cut back again at b, and a picnic ko is the result, which is favorable for White.

[Diagram]

Correct move

Instead, Black should extend at B2. Now, if White continues at a, Black can hane at b and stop White's intrusion.

Note that the marked White stone makes a difference:

[Diagram]

Different conditions

If white+circle is here, and White tries the old sea captain's trick, then B6 captures through and White is put on the spot (White could choose another variation, leading to ko, but that remains unfavorable)


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