KyuExercise63/Attempts

Alternately it becomes a ladder, probably with the same Oiotoshi at the end.  

RiffRaff: Actually the more I look at it the less sure I am that the group on the side can take care of itself. Perhaps the way is to sacrifice the upper group in the center, and use the threat of rescuing it to get the other two groups connected.

Alex: I'm not sure we have enough information to answer the problem, unless there's a surefire way of connecting all three groups that I'm not seeing.

Connect two groups and then what?  

Alex: Seems to me that the fate of the group on the left will be determined by the efficacity or lack thereof of and , which may or may not be affected by the presence of stones of either colour in the bottom left. The top left is important too, as a may be able to make an eye or connect, and b has some potential to connect to a White stone in the top left too.
aib: I think Alex is on the right track. I'm a beginner, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but this is my analysis:

White lives?  

aib: Looks like is the vital spot. While black a robs white of any possibility of making an eye on the upper side, b is an escape route for the lower side. It may be pointless to discuss this problem further without seeing the rest of the board; but as it currently stands, white is alive. (Note how black cannot approach b without connecting.)