Hanging connection

  Difficulty: Introductory   Keywords: Shape, Go term

Chinese:
Japanese: 掛け継ぎ/カケツギ (kaketsugi)
Korean:

Table of contents Table of diagrams
Hanging connection
The other hanging connection
Double hanging connection
Avoid two peeps
A raw peep
Black to play
Black Failure
Black Success

Black to play

The hanging connection serves at least two distinct purposes: an indirect way of defending a cutting point, and a way of blocking along the side of the board.

Defending a Cutting Point

[Diagram]

Hanging connection

Black has a cutting point at a. Playing BC enables Black to defend it - now a white stone played at a is in atari. In this case it is better shape for Black to play BC than the direct connection at a.


[Diagram]

The other hanging connection

Black has this other choice of hanging connection, but that is certainly worse. The White peep at W1 is embarrassing.

[Diagram]

Double hanging connection

In this case B1 covers two cutting points.


[Diagram]

Avoid two peeps

Because a double hanging connection allows two peeps, it should often be avoided. Here B1 might be better.


[Diagram]

A raw peep

In this case W1 may be criticised as a raw peep: a peep at a cutting point that still might be useful as a cut.

Charles Matthews

Blocking Along the Side of the Board [1]

[Diagram]

Black to play

Black seeks to block White from entering the top side of the board where Black's position suffers from an open skirt.

[Diagram]

Black Failure

While B1, a hanging connection, blocks White from entering the top side from the corner, White is able to use the forcing move of W2 to establish a foothold on the top side. The two Whites stones (W2 and W4) do not have a base at this time as there is not enough eyespace. Nonetheless, depending upon the surrounding positions, these stones may be able to escape to the center.

[Diagram]

Black Success

By playing this hanging connection, Black succeeds in blocking White. (Based upon Cho Hun-hyeon Weiqi Sucheng volume 2, problem 80, page 163)

Bill: B1 is not a hanging connection. What does it connect? The BC stones are already connected.


[Diagram]

Thad: It should be noted that the hanging connection changes the yose hane-connect W1 from sente ( if BC at a instead, then Black must play b) to gote.

So when is the Hanging connection better than the direct connection? (And vice-versa of course. )


See also


[1]

Bill: Calling this move a hanging connection is problematical. A turn forms a solid connection, but we would not say in the next diagram that we use a solid connection to block the opponent on the side.

[Diagram]

Black to play


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