This thread continues discussion of Bill's problem in the thread The Endgame and Get Strong at the Endgame at viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8508

Privileges are not played prematurely, so that, e.g., if a ko arises, they can serve as ko threats. Privileges should also not be played too late, so that the opponent would get an undue chance to play reverse sente. However, the conflicting interests can lead to mistakes.

Suppose, when seemingly it would be too early to play the privileges, a long fight occurs everywhere else on the board and, by accident, settles also most endgames, except for the tiny endgames and Bill's position, which might be outside the fight's otherwise almost global locale. It would be a mistake to depart from the fight if it is hotter than the privileges in Bill's local position. I.e., continuing the fight elsewhere would be more valuable than White's threat to kill the black group in Bill's local position and a subsequent execution of the threat.

I.e., White's mistake would be not to see the fight's long duration up to the small endgames coming - at a moment shortly before the fight's start.

This is mistake is made easily, because so long fights are scarce, but possible.

A reverse-sente play does not imply that a mistake has necessarily occurred. It could happen for example that there is a large gote move which takes precedence over the "sente" move, leaving it as reverse-sente for the other side. I suppose you could say that the move in question was not really sente while the larger gote move was available, but it was certainly reverse-sente after that.

How big must such a gote be to balance the privileges with their inherent big threats?

In Bill's example, a little over 20 points. Plus the value of retaining sente to make the next largest play.