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Rectangular six in the corner
Path: BasicDeathShapes   · Prev: StraightThree   · Next:
Path: LifeAndDeath   · Prev: TwistedFourInTheCorner   · Next: TwoByFourBox

    Keywords: Life & Death

Readers are advised to study the bent four in the corner and the rectangular six (if they have not mastered them) before reading the contents of this page.


1. No outside liberties

[Diagram]
No outside liberties

If there are no outside liberties, White can kill Black unconditionally by playing at a.


[Diagram]
Main line

After W3, Black can't play at a or b because of shortage of liberties. Black is dead.



2. One outside liberty

[Diagram]
One outside liberty

When there is exactly one outside liberty, the best White can do is to make it a rogue ko. The vital point is at a.


[Diagram]
Main line

Black's throw in at B4 is necessary: if White gets to play there she makes it a bent four in the corner. W5 starts the ko. If Black wins this ko, by playing again at B4 and then playing at a capturing the two White stones, the position is settled with Black living in the corner. Should White win this ko by connecting at B4. Black captures four stones at a and White sets up another ko for life as shown in the next diagram.


[Diagram]
Continuation

After BC (Black a in the previous diagram), White sets up another ko with W1 and W3. She can finish the ko by connecting at W2, creating a bent three nakade shape. So, White has to win the ko twice to kill the corner and Black only once to live. [1]


[Diagram]
White's failure

With one outside liberty, this W1 fails. Black can play B4 because in this case he is not in atari.



3. Two or more outside liberties

[Diagram]
Two outside liberties

When there are at least two outside liberties, Black is unconditionally alive.


[Diagram]
Main line

The sequence is copied from the main line in the previous paragraph. Now Black can play the surprising move of B6 (oshitsubushi) because he still has at least two liberties. White cannot connect at B4 so Black will play there to make two eyes.



Addendum

In this diagram, Black is dead.

No, this is not a seki. Why?

[Diagram]
Explanation 1

After W1 and W3 fill up all the outside liberties, the BC stones are caught in a connect-and-die.


[Diagram]
Explanation 2

If B1 prevents the connect-and-die at any point of the game, he turns his group into a straight three big eye instead and dies in gote.



Footnote:

[1]: One could argue that, this being the case, White might as well fill the outside liberty in the main line diagram instead of connecting at B4 there; but then Black is the first to capture the second stage of the ko and here it is White (try to get first capture in a ko).


See also

Practice

Authors


WikiMasterEdited by Dieter. Previous version: Version 7



Path: BasicDeathShapes   · Prev: StraightThree   · Next:
Path: LifeAndDeath   · Prev: TwistedFourInTheCorner   · Next: TwoByFourBox

This is a copy of the living page "Rectangular six in the corner" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2004 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.