Life In 19x19

Inspired by this topic about sabaki, where the "ko is too big for black to play": viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2902

Is there a systematic way to determine if a ko is too big to try to play (optimally)? Typically when I read, I will try to determine a category: "Oh, this can be ko", or "Oh, this will live without ko", etc.

It seems useful to further categorize things into: "Oh, this can be ko, but it will be a ko that is too big to fight for my opponent".

How big is too big?

Evaluating the value of a ko is very difficult though I think it comes down this question, is avoiding the ko a smaller loss then ignoring your opponent's last ko threat. This is a difficult question to answer in most ko situations involving life and death, and endgame situations, but the opposite of say too big to play, would be a picnic ko http://senseis.xmp.net/?HanamiKo. But I guess like many positional judgement calls, the only "systematic" classification you can get is by counting and deep reading.

ko is a beast.
professionals have taugh time evaluating ko.
no easy way out.
experience will help you better access the burden and ko threats.
ko fighting skills and your rank has direct correlation.

It's at least one book.

EdLee wrote:It's at least one book.

What English language books are out there dealing extensively with evaluating and fighting kos?

cdybeijing wrote:What English language books are out there dealing extensively with evaluating and fighting kos?

All About Ko is the only one I heard of-- http://www.kiseido.com/master.htm#K76

Kirby wrote:Is there a systematic way to determine if a ko is too big to try to play (optimally)? (...) How big is too big?

Please check out GoBase for Matthews book (PDF and legal) - excellent and tough stuff !!!

http://gobase.org/studying/articles/matthews/ko

EdLee wrote:

cdybeijing wrote:What English language books are out there dealing extensively with evaluating and fighting kos?

All About Ko is the only one I heard of-- http://www.kiseido.com/master.htm#K76

It's a pretty tough book. (At least for someone at my level...)

kirkmc wrote:

EdLee wrote:

cdybeijing wrote:What English language books are out there dealing extensively with evaluating and fighting kos?

All About Ko is the only one I heard of-- http://www.kiseido.com/master.htm#K76

It's a pretty tough book. (At least for someone at my level...)

Tough for all levels .... co-written by a pro !

EdLee wrote:

cdybeijing wrote:What English language books are out there dealing extensively with evaluating and fighting kos?

All About Ko is the only one I heard of-- http://www.kiseido.com/master.htm#K76

Think Like a Pro: Pae is another one, written by the same pro who did Think Like a Pro: Haengma. http://www.slateandshell.com/SSYY202.html

"Fighting Ko" By Jin Jiang, Yutopian Enterprises, 1995. 140 pages, $ 11,95 . Ch 2: "Deciding whether to initiate a ko fight". 20 ( small ) pages.
I have to reread it before commenting. But my impression is that it tells lots of thruths without explaining too much.

I quote: " It is unreasonable for w to initiate ko regardless of the lack of ko threats in the beginning. Even if there were nothing is bigger for b than winning this ko. " period.