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Is white 17 a ladder breaker? Can White play 19 at A?
If the ladder is favourable, the descent to 3 is a great move.
What ladder? And if Black plays 3 with an unfavourable ladder, where should white play 4?
First deal with the A problem...
If Dia A2 is what you expect, then you need to study your ladders a bit more. Dia A3 is the correct reading, capturing the white stones. Thus 17 is not a ladder breaker.
Let us start the B problem with a digression...
8 at 
If you though the ladder was the one shown in Dia B2, then you are mistaken for two reasons. Firstly it doesn't work for black as shown because of the white stone although Black is playing it wrongly here, see Dia B3. Secondly this is the wrong ladder anyway.
To continue the digression with Dia B3, in this situation, Black should bend the ladder round as shown with a net & ladder.
Black should only have played 3 when the ladder in Dia B4 works for him, that is when there is a ladder breaker in the lower-left corner.
If that wasn't the case, then Black should have connected with 3' at 4 here.
When Black has a ladder breaker, making 3 ok, the best White 4' is to atari at 5.
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Last updated 2004-08-10
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