Here are the weekly Go problems for week 47.
Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun!
Easy Go problem
You have two options. It’s all in the first move.
Intermediate Go problem
Black’s four stones look paralyzed, but there’s a clever tesuji.
Hard Go problem
Obviously you need to capture some white stones to live, but how will you make two eyes?
Still want more Go problems?
You can find Go books packed full of life and death problems, tesuji problems and other valuable Go knowledge at the Go Game Shop.
Discuss other possible moves
If you have any questions or want to discuss any of these problems, please leave a comment below at any time. You can use the coordinates on the problem images to discuss a move or sequence of moves.
You can also download the solutions as a PDF or SGF file by clicking the links below each problem.
About David Ormerod
I find the answer but i have some issue. What if white play M1 after black first move ? How can you punish it and capture stone to live ?
It concerns the hard problem of course.
for coup N1 M1 O1 L1 T1 O2 P1 Q1 R1
to mucephei: thx
Thanks mucephei. Extending to O1 is the key move in that sequence.
Nice problems David. The intermediate one is easy… but I kept on thinking how to save the four stones and never got the correct solution.
No worries jangalf, it happens to all of us
. And it’s useful to be reminded that we can give up some stones…
Well, this time, I had no problem with easy and intermediate. But the hard one was really hard and wonderfull.
I think I’ll never discover this kind of sequences in a real game. But solve this problems are a game itself.
Thanks a lot.
I used to think that too Damián, but if you keep solving problems regularly, you’ll start to see the potential for all sorts of things in your games. Of course, some positions are too artificial and very unlikely to ever arise, but most tesuji can still be used in games somehow. Often seeing the potential of a certain sequence is what lets you stretch your stones to full effectiveness.
In the intermediate solution the result may look modest but the consequences for w are drastic. He has been cut in half and needs to live in the corner, giving B sente to attack the stones in the centre which have very flawed shape. This is a very good example of determining exactly which stones are important.
Thanks Tony, I agree. Small things that matter in Go.
S2 seems to be an acceptable final move on the easy problem as well.
Yes, it is. I just showed S2 as the final move because it’s the more common, and better, continuation in normal play. This problem is highly constructed, so both moves work in this case. Maybe I should have given white an extra liberty
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S2 is correct in this instance but also gives B approach problems. If later in the game the B o2 group is separated and comes under attack s2 may become a source of regret
I solved the intermediate problem but how do I continue the play after that?
After that, white has to live in the corner and black gets sente. What you do next depends on the whole board (so it’s hard to give a precise answer), but locally black N6 and N8 are vital points. Again, depending on the situation, attacking there might be too much. Black could just jump to N10 instead, for example.
I would never work out this hard problem myself…Good one, David!
Thanks Ken,
You can learn, it’s just a matter of time. Unfortunately we all have a lot less of that these days… Right?
The intermediate problem looks familiar… Is it from Gu Li – Kim Jiseok game?
That’s right Erick, I was looking for a realistic position that demonstrated that tesuji and I remembered their game.
I moved some stones around though to make the solution less ambiguous, so it’s not exactly the same.
Nice problems. For coup and mucephei: after white M1, L1 is the best response and you go for the whole group
White has 2 eyes after N1 M1 L1 O1. Please do not deceive people like that. Correct sequence is N1 M1 O1 L3 T1 O2 P1 Q1 R1.
lol, so dumb, sorry
You may have misread, but you had a point Luca. If white defends at O2 after N1 M1 O1, then L1 is indeed the move
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On first reading of your comment, I thought that’s what you were saying. And personally, I find following or typing out long sequences of moves a bit confusing sometimes…