Life In 19x19

You're right, it loses ko threats. Endgame kos don't ever seem to come up in my games so I'd forgotten that detail- thanks. Also, in that example, I don't think 3 is sente, or even that good. If black hanes to start a ko, and I were white and not sure about who is leading, I'd happily fight the ko, because both players stand to lose just as much.

Shaddy wrote:Sente moves in endgame are to be treated as your right. They should be played as soon as possible, because they're sente, right? If your opponent takes the reverse sente they have deprived you of your rights and that sometimes means you've made a mistake.

It's not nearly that simple. First, there is no need to take a sente move as long as it is a mistake (too small) for your opponent to play the corresponding reverse sente. Second, there are times when a move does not become sente (big enough that your opponent would have to answer in gote) when it is your turn to play, so it becomes correct for your opponent to make the reverse sente play. If this were not the case, a reverse sente play would always imply a mistake, by one player or the other