Points Or Ko Threats Discussion
In the following position, Black can live in two ways. One way he gets more points, the other leaves fewer ko threats.
This variation makes five points but leaves two ko threats. White can play at a first, and later at b.
Now White has only one ko threat, namely a. Having played the ko-threat, either White has to leave a stone in atari or take gote to protect it.
I think variation 2 is better. What is your opinion ? And how do we trade off in general ? --DieterVerhofstadt
BillSpight: If we make the reasonable assumption that the area just above the corner is White territory, then the count of the two ways of living is the same. (White has a HaneTsugi at a, Black has one at b.) Which is better depends on the circumstances, but usually variation 2 will be better. It is hard to evaluate ko threats in the abstract, but my guess is that they are worth maybe 1/6 point, on average.
TakeNGive (11k): Unless I feel unusually safe from ko (because I have more, better, threats already, or I can't see any ko on the horizon), I'll tend to take variation 2. I guess I still have the weak kyu "fear of ko" to some degree. My games usually aren't close enough to be decided by 1 point, so I get more peace of mind from denying the opponent such a juicy threat. (It interests me to note that Black had better not play 1 at b in var.2 ...)