Cutting Point
A cutting point is an empty point between two chains of stones. If the opponent plays at that point, the two chains are cut.
![[Diagram]](diagrams/42/762c37ae06b1d354c6e0d11b9c1ed812.png)
If the cutting stone can be captured immediately, there is no cutting point.
![[Diagram]](diagrams/42/9126d404a21bd83b4da2689c7780cd97.png)
In this position, a white move at the marked point puts itself in atari. Black's stones are in fact connected by a hanging connection.
![[Diagram]](diagrams/39/00fddeb7a9317885ef9f4287d1551fd5.png)
White can of course threaten to cut. After White 1, there is again a cutting point at a, so Black now has to connect there. White 1 is called peep.
It is important to defend your cutting points.
There is a general question about how to defend. It is one of the simpler issues about good shape.
![[Diagram]](diagrams/30/16279ec17cb6f088d68b9cb22d796c12.png)
In this diagram, the marked black stone protects the cutting point in a fancy way (see keima protecting the cutting point). If White cuts, her cutting stone will be captured in a ladder towards the bottom, or in a loose ladder towards the left. So in a broader sense, there is no cutting point, yet this position still contains some aji.
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