Yose tesuji
Any skilful play that gains extra points in the endgame, in comparison with more normal moves, may deserve to be called tesuji. It is also interesting to play in such a way as to take sente rather than end in gote.
Example 1
Here Black makes use of to jump further into White's territory; now White cannot answer at a. Black might miss this chance by playing
at a.
Question: Can 2 and 4 be reversed in this 'correct' diagram? - Adam
Rich: As long as drawing out at is not viable. However, in this case, white definitely has gote;
must be played. In the 'correct play' diagram, white could choose not to play
depending on the rest of the board.
Dieter: If here, White still has gote but more aji remains. I think in general this is better than forcing the sente by
at
.
already is small. If
takes sente, it will not be for something much bigger than what it is preventing here.
Example 2
is sente. If White plays
elsewhere, Black has a 3 point sente at a, as in the first example. If
is played as the hane at
, then White blocks at a, and Black connects at
, then Black loses sente.
Doesn't white gain an extra point, though? - Stan
Bill: That's the point. The difference between sente and gote is only one point. As a rule, when Black plays with sente, there will be plays worth 2 or more points elsewhere. Giving up 1 point locally to gain 2 points elsewhere is a good deal.
See also: