Beginner Exercise 13 / Solution

It's easiest to make eyes in the corner  

takes the corner for eye space. Now the best White can do is to minimize the eye space available, but the available space is sufficient to ensure life. a and b are miai, separating two eyes.

A kill for white?  

What's wrong with white trying here? Immediate capture is a serious mistake - it just produces a false eye.

Thanks for the present  

here is simple and effective. White's stone can't escape.

Inside attack fails too  

here doesn't help - after the sequence in the diagram, a and b are miai for life with points. (It's a seki even after White plays both a and b.)

Failure 1: Extending in the wrong direction  

Black, in his attempt to take more of the side, dies after and : on the second line, six die but eight live.

Failure 2: Greedy hane  

is greedy - throw-in reduces Black eyespace and kills.