Difference between revisions of "Ladder"

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m (emphasize the defined terms "attacking" and "defending".)
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A '''ladder''' is a situation in which both players play a sequence of pieces in straight lines, often parallel to a nearby [[edge]], to make a straight unbroken [[chain]]. Here is an example of a ladder. The picture is of the bottom edge of the board, and red is trying to connect to this edge.
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A '''ladder''' is a sequence of moves in which both players play stones in straight lines, usually parallel to a nearby [[edge]]. Here is an example of a ladder:
  
 
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<hexboard size="4x10"
 
   coords="hide"
 
   coords="hide"
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  edges="bottom left right"
 
   contents="R d1 B c2 R d2 B e2 R 2:d3 R 4:e3 R 6:f3 R 8:g3 R j3 B 1:c4 B 3:d4 B 5:e4 B 7:f4"
 
   contents="R d1 B c2 R d2 B e2 R 2:d3 R 4:e3 R 6:f3 R 8:g3 R j3 B 1:c4 B 3:d4 B 5:e4 B 7:f4"
 
   />
 
   />
 +
In this example, Red is '''attacking''' and trying to make a connection to the bottom edge, whereas Blue is '''defending''' and blocking the connection at each step. If Red continues to play along the second row with the goal of connecting to the bottom, then Blue is forced to continue playing along the first row to prevent the connection.
  
Here red is '''attacking''', and trying to make a connection to the bottom edge, whereas blue is '''defending''' and blocking the connection at each stage. If red keeps playing along the second row with a view to connecting to the bottom, then blue is forced to continue playing along the first row if blue wants to prevent the connection.
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Ladders usually occur close to an edge of the board, typically the edge belonging to the attacking player, whose stones are further from the edge than the defender's stones.
 
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Ladders often occur close to an edge of the board. The edge in question will usually belong to the [[attacking player]], and the attacking player's chain will almost always be parallel to the edge and further from the edge than the pieces of the defending player.
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In the position above it is red (vertical) to move. For the last few moves red has been '''laddering''' along the second row, with blue playing underneath to stop red connecting. But red will be able to force a connection to the bottom anyway, because of their [[Ladder escape|ladder escape]] piece on the very right of the second row:
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In the above ladder example, Red will eventually be able to force a connection to the bottom edge due to her [[Ladder escape|ladder escape]] piece on the right of the second row:
 
<hexboard size="4x10"
 
<hexboard size="4x10"
 
   coords="hide"
 
   coords="hide"
   contents="R d1 B c2 R d2 B e2 R d3 R e3 R f3 R g3 R 2:h3 R 4:i3 R j3 B c4 B d4 B e4 B f4 B 1:g4 B 3:h4"
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  edges="bottom left right"
 +
   contents="R d1 B c2 R d2 B e2 R d3 R e3 R f3 R g3 R 10:h3 R 12:i3 R j3 B c4 B d4 B e4 B f4 B 9:g4 B 11:h4"
 
   />
 
   />
 +
Once the ladder reaches this ladder escape piece, Blue can no longer block the connection.
  
When the ladder reaches this ladder escape piece, blue can no longer block the connection.
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The ladder is named after how far the attacking player is from the edge. For example, the above diagram shows a second row ladder, also known as a height-2 ladder.
 
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A second row ladder is the most aggressive kind of ladder to defend against. Ladders can also form on other rows. Here is an example of a third row ladder:
Red could instead have stopped laddering to the right and laddered to the left instead:
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<hexboard size="4x10"
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  coords="hide"
+
  contents="R d1 B c2 R d2 B e2 R 4:b3 R 2:c3 R d3 R e3 R f3 R g3 R j3 B 5:a4 B 3:b4 B c4 B d4 B e4 B f4 B 1:g4"
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  />
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but this does not help red to connect to the bottom edge, because on this side of the board red had no ladder escape and cannot break through.
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The ladder above is called a '''second row ladder''' because the pieces of the attacker (in this case, red) are all on the second row of the board. A second row ladder is the most aggressive kind of ladder to defend against. Ladders can form on other rows too. Here is an example of a third row ladder forming.
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<hexboard size="5x10"
 
<hexboard size="5x10"
 
   coords="hide"
 
   coords="hide"
 +
  edges="bottom left right"
 
   contents="R b1 B c1 B i1 R j1 R b2 B d2 R j2 R c3 R 2:d3 R 4:e3 R 6:f3 B b4 B 1:c4 B 3:d4 B 5:e4 B 7:f4"
 
   contents="R b1 B c1 B i1 R j1 R b2 B d2 R j2 R c3 R 2:d3 R 4:e3 R 6:f3 B b4 B 1:c4 B 3:d4 B 5:e4 B 7:f4"
 
   />
 
   />
  
Again red wants to connect to the bottom, and blue is defending against this connection. This time red will not succeed in connecting to the bottom, because the red pieces on the right do not form a 3rd row ladder escape, and if red continues to press then blue will be able to successfully block. For example:
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In this case, Red will not succeed in connecting to the bottom because the red pieces on the right do not form a 3rd row ladder escape. If Red continues to push the ladder, Blue is able to successfully block it. For example:
  
 
<hexboard size="5x10"
 
<hexboard size="5x10"
 
   coords="hide"
 
   coords="hide"
   contents="R b1 B c1 B i1 R j1 R b2 B d2 B 8:h2 R 3:i2 R j2 R c3 R d3 R e3 R f3 R 1:g3 B 6:h3 R 7:i3 B b4 B c4 B d4 B e4 B f4 B 2:g4 R 5:h4 B 4:i4"
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  edges="bottom left right"
 +
   contents="R b1 B c1 B i1 R j1 R b2 B d2 R j2 R c3 R d3 R e3 R f3 B b4 B c4 B d4 B e4 B f4 R 8:g3 B 9:g4 R 10:i3 B 11:h3"
 
   />
 
   />
 
 
Blue has successfully stopped the ladder from connecting.
 
Blue has successfully stopped the ladder from connecting.
  
 
== Pre-ladder formations ==
 
== Pre-ladder formations ==
It is important to recognise some basic positions where a player can force a ladder to occur:
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It is useful to recognize some basic positions where a player can force a ladder to occur. These formations can appear at any distance from the edge. The examples below result in 3rd row ladders. If they are one hex closer to the edge, they give 2nd row ladders; if they are one hex further from the edge, they give 4th row ladders, etc. The first formation is called the [[bottleneck]]. In all cases, it is Red's turn.
  
<hex>R5 C5 Hb2 Vc2 Hd2 Hb4</hex>
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<hexboard size="5x8"
 +
  coords="none"
 +
  edges="bottom"
 +
  visible="area(e1,a5,h5,h1)"
 +
  contents="B e2 g2 e4 R f2"
 +
  />
  
<hex>R5 C5 Vb2 Va4 Ha5</hex>
+
<hexboard size="5x7"
 +
  coords="none"
 +
  edges="bottom"
 +
  visible="area(e1,a5,h5,h1)"
 +
  contents="R f1 e3 B d4 e4"
 +
  />
 +
 
 +
<hexboard size="5x5"
 +
  coords="none"
 +
  edges="bottom left"
 +
  contents="R b1 a3 B a4"
 +
  />
  
<hex>R5 C5 Ve1 Vd3 He3 Hc4 Hd4</hex>
 
  
 
== Basic Terminology ==
 
== Basic Terminology ==
  
Sometimes it is important to say exactly how close to the edge a ladder is. A '''second row ladder''' is a ladder where the attacking pieces are on the second row -- just one row from the attacker's edge. A '''third row ladder''' is a ladder where the ladder's attacking pieces are on the third row. One could in theory continue this pattern forever but in practice one rarely talks about fifth or higher row ladders. This is because even though these ladders do sometimes form, the general intention by the attacker is typically not to connect to the edge: the attacker may instead want to try to connect to another group of their own pieces.
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Sometimes it is important to say exactly how close to the edge a ladder is. A '''second row ladder''' is a ladder where the attacking pieces are on the second row -- just one row from the attacker's edge. A '''third row ladder''' is a ladder where the ladder's attacking pieces are on the third row. One could in theory continue this pattern forever but in practice one rarely talks about sixth or higher row ladders. This is because even though these ladders do sometimes form, the general intention by the attacker is typically not to connect to the edge: the attacker may instead want to try to connect to another group of their own stones.
  
Another reason why ladders much higher than the fourth row are not often considered is that if a ladder is sufficiently high, the defender can just ignore it and play elsewhere, and the attacker may not be able to instantly connect. This means that for a sufficiently high ladder it seems impossible to formulate a notion of a ladder escape as the defender can ignore the ladder and play in the escape area without losing immediately.
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Another reason why ladders much higher than the fifth row are not often considered is that if a ladder is sufficiently high, the defender can just ignore it and play elsewhere, and the attacker may not be able to instantly connect. This means that for a sufficiently high ladder it seems impossible to formulate a notion of a ladder escape as the defender can ignore the ladder and play in the escape area without losing immediately.
  
 
== What every player should know ==
 
== What every player should know ==
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# [[Cornering]]
 
# [[Cornering]]
  
== Specific ladder strategies ==
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== See also ==
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* [[Ladder handling]]
  
[[Parallel ladder|Parallel ladder trick]]
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* [[Parallel ladder]]
  
[[Yielding]]
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* [[Theory of ladder escapes]]
  
 
[[category:ladder]]
 
[[category:ladder]]

Latest revision as of 14:12, 20 January 2023


A ladder is a sequence of moves in which both players play stones in straight lines, usually parallel to a nearby edge. Here is an example of a ladder:

24681357

In this example, Red is attacking and trying to make a connection to the bottom edge, whereas Blue is defending and blocking the connection at each step. If Red continues to play along the second row with the goal of connecting to the bottom, then Blue is forced to continue playing along the first row to prevent the connection.

Ladders usually occur close to an edge of the board, typically the edge belonging to the attacking player, whose stones are further from the edge than the defender's stones.

In the above ladder example, Red will eventually be able to force a connection to the bottom edge due to her ladder escape piece on the right of the second row:

1012911

Once the ladder reaches this ladder escape piece, Blue can no longer block the connection.

The ladder is named after how far the attacking player is from the edge. For example, the above diagram shows a second row ladder, also known as a height-2 ladder. A second row ladder is the most aggressive kind of ladder to defend against. Ladders can also form on other rows. Here is an example of a third row ladder:

2461357

In this case, Red will not succeed in connecting to the bottom because the red pieces on the right do not form a 3rd row ladder escape. If Red continues to push the ladder, Blue is able to successfully block it. For example:

811109

Blue has successfully stopped the ladder from connecting.

Pre-ladder formations

It is useful to recognize some basic positions where a player can force a ladder to occur. These formations can appear at any distance from the edge. The examples below result in 3rd row ladders. If they are one hex closer to the edge, they give 2nd row ladders; if they are one hex further from the edge, they give 4th row ladders, etc. The first formation is called the bottleneck. In all cases, it is Red's turn.


Basic Terminology

Sometimes it is important to say exactly how close to the edge a ladder is. A second row ladder is a ladder where the attacking pieces are on the second row -- just one row from the attacker's edge. A third row ladder is a ladder where the ladder's attacking pieces are on the third row. One could in theory continue this pattern forever but in practice one rarely talks about sixth or higher row ladders. This is because even though these ladders do sometimes form, the general intention by the attacker is typically not to connect to the edge: the attacker may instead want to try to connect to another group of their own stones.

Another reason why ladders much higher than the fifth row are not often considered is that if a ladder is sufficiently high, the defender can just ignore it and play elsewhere, and the attacker may not be able to instantly connect. This means that for a sufficiently high ladder it seems impossible to formulate a notion of a ladder escape as the defender can ignore the ladder and play in the escape area without losing immediately.

What every player should know

Players should be able to recognise when ladders are forming, and be able to predict what will happen at the end of them without playing them out. Players should know the basic ladder escapes for second and third row ladders. Then players should learn how to create their own ladder escapes by understanding the basic ladder escape fork trick.

Ladder handling

There are three ways for the attacking player to "win" in a ladder situation:

  1. Making use of an existing ladder escape piece
  2. Creating a new ladder escape with a Ladder escape fork
  3. Cornering

See also