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Van Zon-Freeling
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Game 1
Game 3
Game 4


Havannah Games

Christian Freeling - Ed van Zon january 1997

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1. j10h6
2. o15d10
3. i15k13
4. o16o10
5. k16m16
6. g10k6
7. p11White now places a block at p11 to keep black from the top left side. This move is sente, that is, requiring a local answer.
p10Both players are now in gote, that is, forced to answer locally, up to and including white 10 at s11. Black 10 is sente.
8. q11q10
9. r11r10
10. s11q18White must cut...
11. n17...but he does so in sente.
m17
12. g6White leaves the top left side and makes a block to contain black on the left and bottom left.
g11
13. j13i12Strategies have been more or less laid out, and now the tactical fight is flaring up in the center. This is a critical phase...
14. j12i11
15. h9l15
16. k14l14
17. j11l18
18. m12White cannot secure the top right side at k18 because black, starting at k17, can cut using a ring threat. As long as the black group is dead, white doesn't mind its access to the right side. Therefore white plays sente at m12, threatening to kill and connect simultaneously.
n13
19. m11Black 18 threatens to connect to the top left side, with an eye on the four black stones on the diagonal. White cannot (at this moment) connect m12 to the three top stones so he plays an anchor at m11.
l12
20. o12p14White 20 cuts off the four black stones on the diagonal, pushing the black escape towards the center. Black goes for the top left side, forcing white to defend the rightmost side.
21. j17k19
22. i18k10
23. l9j8
24. j9k9
25. i8m13The game is now a race in which players will employ ring threats (requiring local answers) to make speed.
26. h7e2Black judges white to be faster, but doubts whether he actually has a frame! So he defends the lower left side...
27. i10h8
28. f7g8
29. e7f9
30. d3c1
31. c3b1
32. f4d5Parrying the threat to frame a ring.
33. g3White secures the side, proving he had a frame after all. The question of course is: has black succeeded in actually lengthening white's route? Please note that black 33 at a2 will actually shorten white's route because white 34 at b4 requires black to once again parry a ring threat.
m14
34. k12n16The race is on...
35. n15o17
36. k15p17
37. q16q19
38. o18r18
39. k17i14
40. e3k8
41. k18l19k18 is sente: white threatens to bring in the top right side instead of the bottom left, winning a move. Black defends, but now white 42 is sente.
42. j18i16Black must defend because white can frame a ring at h16. Since j18 is a necessary connection in white's forkframe, the move wins a crucial tempo. In retrospect j18 might better have been moved before k18: black could have taken it for 'just a necessary connection' and consequently have played sente at l8, towards the four black stones at the top left corner, that are part of his shortest route. This would have made k18 an instant win.
43. f5l18
44. e5
d4
White makes two unnecessary sente moves. The idea is that d5 becomes a 'ring in 2' threat. It's not a frame however, and d5 is not part of the fork route.
45. e6g7
46. b3m9
47. f3m10
48. l10n11 WHITE RESIGNS.
This is the one white overlooked! We'll play on a few moves to show why he resigns. Of course defense at n12 is necessary.
49. n12o11Here's the crucial tempo!
50. n9r9Black connects in 2 and white is out of threats in 1.