Problems figuring out a net

I won this 9×9 game.

I used a net, because it felt the right thing to do. But I am unsure if there was a way for my oponent to turn the tables. I also tried to hit the knight at the waist at the very beginning.
My question is: were those two moves (cutting and the net) “proper moves” or was I just lucky?
If they are wrong could you please destroy them for me?
I can’t figure it out miself because I’m REALLY bad at reading, in fact I’m triying to do more tsumegos because of that.

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I can see why you’d call it a net, but I think usually that term is used when the stone cannot escape. In thia case, your opponent probably could have escaped with the 3 stones, but blundered

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My instinct is to start this way, but better to check with AI

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I feel like the move 6 cut was too early and black should have extended the centre stone if he didn’t want to sacrifice it rather than the outside atari

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Yes, actually the move 6 cut isn’t a jump-cut at the waist of the keima, but rather from the opposite direction, and often the direction which is less good shape.

For example, here, if Black extends, White has 2 weak groups. There is a weak point in the kosumi (diagonial) shape at the triangle, and the overall shape is rather weak – Black can usually capture the cutting stones after playing there.


If White protects those stones, Black has miai at this point to capture or severely attack the other stone.

It’s difficult for White to begin this fight as the two squared points are miai and White can’t find the time to fix both, so begins at a global disadvantage. (1 also strengthens Black, giving Black two strong “iron pillar” shapes.

This is the “jump-cut” of the keima, although here it doesn’t work due to the ladder.

Whiite usually has a much better and more solid shape on the top side, with an “iron pillar” on E7 and F7 compared to the weak kosumi shape, though, when cutting this way.

(the kosumi has a lot of forcing moves and squeezes possible against it when it is against two iron pillar shapes like this and 3 is difficult to escape – White will usually lose the cutting stone at
E6 if not the group in that shape)

In this case, and often on the 9x9, starting a contact fight as White in the very beginning gives Black the advantage as the gain from playing one extra move (and playing first in the fight) is very big and often gives Black miai.

It’s usually better to make a base or good shape for the first white stone; or play away on the other side of the board but without making a contact move fight (contact moves strengthen the opponent to some degree also), for example something like this

It would be different, though, if White had an extra stone somewhere helpful, for example here :

The fight looks fine for White as one group has good shape and is comparatively safe at the moment. Black has one weak stone to defend which we can pressure; and we only have to defend the other kosumi stones afterwards, so we are not falling behind in global pace

(although 9x9 opening is complex and difficult to find one of the best/'correct" moves at any level, so it’s not necssarily something easy to read even at a high level :smile:, But those are a few basic concepts)

This “loose net” is not really a very bad move and just leads to more complex fighting if Black escapes, as it doesn’t really surround Black as benjito said.


For example, Black can escape through the gaps like this :



But given that it doesn’t truly capture Black, usually moves like this double hane, or creating a very solid shape attacking the 3 stones, would be better global shape

(the double hane is an urgent mutual key point, and the extend is also a very big mutual key point in the shape for both, compared to a Black move there)



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Ty so very much. A lot to learn here (though I’ll have to reread it many times for sure). 9×9 is misleading. Is clear than 19×19 is complex, but 9×9 is very unforgiving. I didn’t know how to check that it was possible to escape the net, and the cut seemed of. But I sure do need more tsumego. Seeing things is easier said than done. Still, I’m falling more and more for this game.

And how dumb of me to try hitting the waist when the Stone developments for begginer by mark5000 clearly warns about the ladder…

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9x9 is definitely an interesting and tight game when you get into it

In some ways I think 9x9 is harder than 19x19, in that on the big board there are general strategic principles you can apply to some sub-section of the board to make a judgement there. Whereas on 9x9 very often the honest answer to “is this a good idea?” is basically “read out the fight to the end which is also the end of the game and see if it makes you win”.

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