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Net versus ladder
Keywords: Tactics
In general, capturing a stone in a net is considered better than capturing it in a ladder, because a net does not run the risk of a ladder block on the other side of the board. On the other hand, if you depend on the capture of some stones to keep your group alive, a ladder is quicker (the opponent is in atari until the end). Using a net can be equivalent to losing a liberty. --MortenPahle
Charles Matthews There is a good example in this variation of the taisha joseki. What the books say is that
and
If this net continuation were good, White could play at
For comparison, the usual result from the ladder variation. White's capture in the ladder forces the square-marked black stone. (NB that the standard mistake here is White at a before capturing in the ladder: this loses sente and is an example of the 123 principle in action.) There is also an interesting tidbit in "Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go" by Kageyama. He states that when there are two ways to capture with one move, then the firmer is correct (choose the firmer capture).
In this example the two white stones can be captured with a geta by playing at a. However, according to Kageyama, the correct move is b which has a firmer grip on the two stones. Tactical discussion of Kageyama's example This is a copy of the living page "Net versus ladder" at Sensei's Library. ![]() |