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Big Question Mark Problem 1
Difficulty: Advanced
Keywords: Life & Death
I'll write a question! This life problem has been bothering me ever since I found it over at the go server --FCS
Here's the initial situation, and the two moves that originally popped into my head were a and b.
If Black plays at a, White captures at 2, already giving herself one eye. No matter how Black attacks, White will get another eye.
If Black plays b, he puts the marked stone in atari. If White takes the bait and connects at 2, Black can play 3 and create a bulky five shape, killing White.
But, if White ignores the trap, and plays at 2, then Black must capture White's stone at the marked space with 3 or die. White responds with 4 and the black group is trapped. Also, since the group is four in a row, White will be able to make eyespace. Hint: Don't stop here! You will do it. Argh! I just found out the answer... Yes, there are four spaces in a row, but it's a bent four in the corner, which does strange things and in this case is dead. (No, this is not a bent four in the corner, there are however some strange things that can happen here).
Black reinforces at 5, and lets White take his stones with 6, only to play 7 and kill White. White would like to play at the marked space (and would if 3 were White), but can't because 6 is in atari. No! This is a ko! Look again.
OK, so White plays 8 and Black 9 leaving a ko. White would play a ko threat elsewhere so that she can take 9 back.
So, I'm left with this situation. Solution to QuestionMarkProblem1 This is a copy of the living page "Big Question Mark Problem 1" at Sensei's Library. (C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0. |