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April 1996's Go Answer of the Month

Dia 1 - Black to play and kill.

There are many attacks that don't kill white unconditionally.

Dia 2 & 3 - The hane.

The hane, unusually, doesn't work, since connecting by Black is futile after 6.

Dia 4 - Another approach.

White 2 here makes an eye in the corner and the throw-in at 4 reverts to diagram 3.

Dia 5 - But White can make mistakes too.

This is bad play by White, he fails to live against Black's wrong attack.

After 5, White can't atari from either side without putting himself into atari.
Even if he could put Black into atari, Black would connect leaving a 4-point dead-eye shape.

Dia 6 - The right White response.

Dia 7 - The correct Black attack.

And white is in atari.
Note that Black 1 is an eye-stealing tesuji and is the same vital point as White 2 in diagram 6.

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