Just so I’ve understood, if this were a game, both would pass and white wins due to two living groups. So Black’s best option might be to initiate something and hope for white to make a mistake. White would never initiate as they are in a winning position anyway (although if White were strong enough to work this out then presumably White also would not make a mistake if black tried something…)
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I strongly disagree. Hoping for the opponent to make a mistake is never a “best” option. Being able to read the full sequence and resign is very honorable.
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A mistake here, 4 should be at 8. If 4 at L1 then black plays 5 at L3 and now white doesn’t have liberties to kill black group (and it turns into “black starts and wins”).
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@S_Alexander, thank you for pointing out that error. I have fixed my analysis post to reflect your correction.
@teapoweredrobot, depending on the existing number of captures and komi (maybe even negative komi, for the sake of handicap), either player could be in the winning position, or the game could even be a tie (if using integer komi).
As for the disagreement between @teapoweredrobot and @SanDiego, I think it comes down to when it is appropriate to play what is essentially a trick move, which is a question that I think depends on the skill of the players involved. For play that might be insulting or just time wasting from the perspective of pros or very strong amateurs, that same play might be in the realm of trickery for typical amateurs.
For what it’s worth, I think that if I came across a hanezeki in an actual game, I might not necessarily figure it out, despite having spent a considerable amount of time thinking about them. These positions are quite counter-intuitive, with the aspect of a capturing race that punishes the person who started it.
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