Ladder-breaker

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    Keywords: Tactics, Go term

Chinese: 引征 (yǐn zhēng)
Japanese: シチョウ当り (shichō-atari)
Korean: 축머리

A ladder-breaker is a stone that prevents a successful ladder.

It may be an existing stone on the board. Or it may be a play made after the ladder has been set up - in the latter case, the player who has the ladder must decide whether to complete the ladder capture, or answer the ladder-breaker. This can be a serious dilemma.

See ladder for more basic information.


There are certain plays that are a long way from being part of joseki, and which are expected only in the context that they are ko threats or ladder-breakers.

[Diagram]

Ladder breaker or ko threat

For example W1 here is much too violent to be useful as an approach move: the W1 stone will suffer from a local disadvantage if Black answers here.



On the other hand if Black has to ignore W1 for tactical reasons, and White can play hane next at a or b, White will have the upper hand locally here.

There is an overlap between plays that make good ladder-breakers and those that are good ko threats, therefore. And if these plays are ignored, the same sorts of local follow-ups will apply. In general fighting a ko is much more complex in its implications.

There is a difference, though, when one considers what the other side (Black in this case) can do to resist. In the case of ko fights, answering is just what the opponent counts on.

[Diagram]

Resistance - successful or not

Here it would depend on the actual ladder whether B1 made the ladder good again for Black. If White continued at c in another attempt to break the ladder, the game will undoubtedly become difficult. These resistance fights are hardly mentioned in books: probably they are an aspect of pure strength.

Charles Matthews


See also:


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This is a copy of the living page "Ladder-breaker" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2007 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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