This is a position from a game I played on GoQuest:
My opponent just connected at D1. How should I continue?
If I play the reverse sente at C4, my opponent gets the reverse sente at F9, and the result is a draw (GoQuest uses Chinese rules with 7.0 komi).
If I try to play the sente at F9, my opponent will ignore and counter with the sente at C4. Black’s follow-up is bigger than mine so I have to respond at B4. The result is again a draw.
Can you find the endgame tesuji that allows white to win the game?
White to play and win.
Click to reveal solution
The solution is to cut at H8! This move is harder to ignore for black, because the follow-up is bigger.
If black ignores directly, this trade follows and white wins by 4 points.
The strongest resistance for black is to exchange 2 and 4 before ignoring 5.
The resulting position is not straightforward to evaluate, but white is in fact winning here. White is threatening to jump all the way to H4, and black cannot prevent this in sente (H5 is met by J5).
Conclusion
To win the game, white needs the move at A to be sente. It is not sente if white plays it immediately, but white can make it sente by cutting at B first!
White wins by 2 points.