This is my first game back after two months of go-abstention. It ended up well enough so I don't need a full review (not that I would say no, mind you), but I'm still a little confused about the correct move after 80. In the game, I captured the upper dumpling, because I thought I had read out some way for him to capture my cutting stones. But looking at it again after the game, it looked like I had nothing to fear from trying to capture both groups in two ladders at the same time. Thoughts? Am I missing something?
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There is actually a move that allows him to break one ladder, but here it doesn't matter because even if one ladder breaks, black's strength in the area is enough that the group won't escape (black gets to choose which ladder breaks). Try to find the move!

Hmmm... I haven't found it yet.

I thought here broke either ladder but since both groups are in atari black can play here. If he simply captured one group the other ladder would be broken.

There's a cool story on senseis about this problem, so I thought I'd link to it.The situation is a bit different, as in jts' game both white groups are already in atari, so one group or the other has to die. Anyway, if you're sick of looking for the answer, read http://senseis.xmp.net/?TheFirstRecordedDualLadderBreaker.

Edit: Actually, it seems the diagrams containing the answer are given first, then the short story.

_________________
We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

Gosh, I feel so dense. I still can't find a move that saves either group, if I just follow through with the ladder. Is it the same basic move shape - keima from one ladder, 2-pt jump from the other?

Play out the ladder a little bit first, then it should appear.

Okay, found it.


I think, though, that the line where one of the ladders breaks is better for B than what was actually played, since playing the ladders out hugely strengthens B. (Which I guess is what Shaddy was saying, originally.)

Pretty, isn't it? I think this move is one of the ones really worthy of being called magical. (Others are like Sakata's myoshu, or the invisible tesuji Araban talked about in a thread a long time ago)