 Dia. 1. Correct |
Dia. 1. Atekomi Playing on the vertex of the diagonally placed stones is the tesuji (atekomi) that enables Black to link up his stones below with those above. |
 Dia. 2 |
Dia. 2. Short of liberties If White ataries at 2, Black descends to 3 and White can't atari at 'a' because he is short of liberties. All of Black's stones are now linked up. |
 Dia. 3 |
Dia. 3. The throw-in tesuji If White answers Black 1 by descending to 2, White throws in a stone with 3. After White captures with 4 — |
 Dia. 4 |
Dia. 4. White's eye disappears. Black ataries with 5, forcng White to connect at 6, and White's two-space eye has disappeared. Next, Black connects at 7. The focus now shifts to the bottom, but there is no way that White can make two eyes. If he descends to 8, Black descends to 9, leaving White with a dead eye space. If White 8 at 9, Black plays at 8. Again, White's group is dead |
 Dia. 5 |
Dia. 5. Failure Turning with Black 1 lacks a plan. White simply plays on the key point of 2 and his group is alive. |
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Recommended reading For the novice player who aspires to reach dan-level strength, the best book for studying tesujis is A Survey of the Basic Tesujis. It presents 38 tesujis, each one introduced with a simple example, followed by a number of straightforward, uncomplicated, kyu-level problems. Of course the atekomi tesuji is included, with one example followed by six problems. If you are a kyu-level player, diligent study of this book will increase your fighting strength in the middle game by two or more handicap stones. |