Can you show the variations for this poking?

For such a large dragon and such a big loss giving up any side, I feel a human would almost certainly opt to take the ko. And for black to invest so many moves setting up a kill, I also feel black can not afford to back off either.

The question is how would the ko progress? I seriously have no idea. There are quite a bit of local threats as well as the whole right side for white, and quite a bit of local threats for black and some on the lower left. It’s really up in the air and hard to judge (and their value also quite hard to judge). White can not afford to lose this ko though, but it can possibly switch to other ko as well.

That much I gather, dig and clamp (K8 H8) what is the main line from the AI (bK8 wK7 bH8 wG8 bG10, it leads to a ko right?) AI doesn’t always find ko variations easily and often not that good when the winrate is far from even (although the point difference might still within human, especially amateurs range, like ± 10 points going into yose)

The thing is that if it becomes a ko, white doesn’t actually have to save both sides, but can leverage that and make an exchange for the whole upper right black group. I haven’t counted, but feels like roughly an even trade. And we are back to count the ko threats if black didn’t want to sacrifice the upper right and continue the ko. (or if it is not an even trade? and we are up to yose)

From the last black move, I assume it has something to do with the whole center white group’s life and death. I haven’t read it out, but looks like it might eventually be a ko in the center (very big ko)

Hmm, from I remember, black seems to be able to play bN8 after the bO8 bO7 (if white choose to play wL11 bK11, wK12 to cut off the black (or if white doesn’t respond locally, black can just easily connect back, and white is already too far behind), And L11 is where AI seems to be blind to life and death, and shorten its own group’s liberties.

If white doesn’t choose to take the 3 black stones after the bO8, bO7, bN8, and choose to continue to push P8, black can just block with P9. White has to connect M8, and black can play L10, and white cannot connect M9 (or black connect N5 the whole white group dies). And white would have to capture with N5, black can throw in M9, wN9 capture, bO9, white again cannot connect M9, or bO4 kills all. Hence, the only option for white is to play O4, and black would be able to kill all the M10 white group stones. (this is effectively connect and die problem, and the commentator that day, along with Fujisawa I think, all read these out)

Hence, the best option to keep that M10 group and minimize the lost is to play N5 to capture 3 black stones first right after black K14, and let black to cut off the two K15 K16 white stones (Fujisawa had the chance to save those two stones before, and the game might go into yose, but she played H15 and allow Ueno to push and cut)

When teaching fundamental classes, we would use 9x9 for those who just got introduced, easier to show life and death and simple local situations (even ladder doesn’t need to run far). And most simple tsumego can fit on 9x9 easy.

But we would switch to 13x13 by the time of beginner’s class (30k) where more concepts can be easier introduced and understand it is not just about fighting but positions, and then 15x15 to more “advanced” starter classes (starting kyu 初級, about tdk 21kyu to 25kyu) for practice which whole board situations would start to make sense. And finally switch to 19x19 when they are about ddk (16k to 20k).

Mind you thought this is for kids’ Go class, not for adults. There is something can be said about teaching adults starting from a larger board, like 13x13. Or just starting from one corner (one quarter) of the 19x19 board, without switching to different boards. And they would get a more intuitive concept of local and whole board positions (like they are playing four 9x9 games on a 19x19, just open toward the center, and you don’t have to win them all to win a game, losing a battle can still win you a war)

Family traditions, My grandfather played Go, my father, my brother, and now my niece and nephew.