Window - Revision history

Bobson8: Wording. In particular I describe the term window as a local pattern rather than a group of stone of someone.

2026-06-25T03:44:26Z

Wording. In particular I describe the term window as a local pattern rather than a group of stone of someone.

Mason at 22:42, 24 June 2026

2026-06-24T22:42:05Z

Mason: Created page with "Windows are a class of structure where one of your stones, which is connected to one of your edges, is accessible through a tiny gap in the opponents stones. At first glance,..."

2026-06-24T22:34:35Z

Created page with "Windows are a class of structure where one of your stones, which is connected to one of your edges, is accessible through a tiny gap in the opponents stones. At first glance,..."

New page

Windows are a class of structure where one of your stones, which is connected to one of your edges, is accessible through a tiny gap in the opponents stones. At first glance, they seem to be not all that helpful. They feel far away from the action and often are created through sequences of moves that give the opponent a large amount of territory, which can feel like a losing exchange. However, they are actually quite strong. Their strength comes from the the fact that having a single extra move is usually enough to win the game, and a window can serve to offer you just that by creating a threat the opponent is forced to block, giving you another move.

=== An Example ===
After Blue plays '''1''' and Red plays '''2''', Blue has a window at the upper '''*'''. The red-shaded cells do not have any red stones in them at the moment, but easily could at some point in the future due to the nature of bridges.

A few moves later, Blue realizes that by starting the ladder with '''5''', Red is going to have to break at some point, giving Blue another window.
<hexboard size="17x17"
coords="hide"
contents="R e12 e13 f13 f14 f6 g14 g5 10:h14 8:j14 2:j4 6:k14 l14 m12 m4 4:m6 n14 n4 o13 B c5 d14 e15 f12 f5 g13 3:g9 9:i15 7:j15 5:k15 1:k3 l15 m14 m2 n13 n3 o12 o3 S red:l3 red:m3 E *:i14 *:k4"
/>

The final battle takes place on this board. Red has a lot of stones in Blue's way, but Blue has a couple tiny windows.
<hexboard size="17x17"
coords="hide"
contents="R b11 c10 c13 d9 e11 e12 e13 e8 f10 f13 f14 f16 f6 f8 1:g10 g14 g5 h10 h14 j14 j4 k14 l14 m12 m4 m6 n14 n4 o13 B b12 c11 c5 d10 d14 e15 e16 e9 f11 f12 f5 f9 g12 g13 g16 g8 g9 i11 i15 j15 k15 k3 l15 m14 m2 n13 n3 o12 o3"
/>

Blue starts by strengthening their upper window. Red, presumably, still feels the other direction is more threatening, so opts to block that way instead. Blue gets withing range of their window. Red will now have to block.
<hexboard size="17x17"
coords="hide"
contents="R b11 c10 c13 d9 e11 e12 e13 e8 f10 f13 f14 f16 f6 f8 g10 g14 g5 h10 h14 4:h7 2:i8 j14 j4 k14 l14 m12 m4 m6 n14 n4 o13 B b12 c11 c5 d10 d14 e15 e16 e9 f11 f12 f5 f9 g12 g13 g16 g8 g9 5:h8 i11 i15 3:i7 j15 k15 k3 1:k4 l15 m14 m2 n13 n3 o12 o3"
/>
Blue is able to use this window to get dangerously close to their other window.
<hexboard size="17x17"
coords="hide"
contents="R b11 c10 c13 d9 e11 e12 e13 e8 f10 f13 f14 f16 f6 f8 g10 g14 g5 h10 h14 h7 i8 j14 j4 1:j6 k14 5:k6 l14 3:l8 m12 m4 m6 n14 n4 o13 B b12 c11 c5 d10 d14 e15 e16 e9 f11 f12 f5 f9 g12 g13 g16 g8 g9 h8 i11 i15 i7 j15 2:j7 6:j9 k15 k3 k4 4:k7 l15 m14 m2 n13 n3 o12 o3"
/>

Without the bottom window, Red holds Blue to a ladder they cannot escape
<hexboard size="17x17"
coords="hide"
contents="R b11 c10 c13 d9 e11 e12 e13 e8 f10 f13 f14 f16 f6 f8 g10 g14 g5 h10 h14 h7 i8 1:j12 j14 j4 j6 5:k10 k14 k6 3:k9 7:l10 l14 l8 m12 m4 m6 n14 n4 o13 B b12 c11 c5 d10 d14 e15 e16 e9 f11 f12 f5 f9 g12 g13 g16 g8 g9 h8 i11 i15 i7 4:j11 j15 j7 j9 6:k11 k15 k3 k4 k7 l15 2:l9 m14 m2 n13 n3 o12 o3 E 8:l11 9:n10 S blue:l11 red:n10"
/>

Instead, Blue is able to use the window to their advantage, setting up a double threat to win the game, making use of a [[trapezoid]] (shaded).
<hexboard size="17x17"
coords="hide"
contents="R b11 c10 c13 d9 e11 e12 e13 e8 f10 f13 f14 f16 f6 f8 g10 g14 g5 h10 h14 h7 i8 j12 j14 j4 j6 k10 k14 k6 k9 l10 l14 l8 m12 m4 m6 n14 n4 o13 B b12 c11 c5 d10 d14 e15 e16 e9 f11 f12 f5 f9 g12 g13 g16 g8 g9 h8 i11 i15 i7 j11 j15 j7 j9 k11 1:k12 k15 k3 k4 k7 l15 l9 m14 m2 n13 n3 o12 o3 E +:i13 *:i14 +:j13 *:m11 S area(i13,g13,g12,h11,i11) blue:i14 blue:m11"
/>

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Windows are a class of structure where one of your stones, which is connected to one of your edges, is accessible through a tiny gap in the opponents stones. At first glance, they seem to be not all that helpful. They feel far away from the action and often are created through sequences of moves that give the opponent a large amount of territory, which can feel like a losing exchange. However, they are actually quite strong. Their strength comes from the the fact that having a single extra move is usually enough to win the game, and a window can serve to offer you just that by creating a threat the opponent is forced to block, giving you another move.
+A window is a loose term for the situation where a group of friendly stones, which is connected to a friendly edge, is accessible through a tiny gap in the opponents stones. They are often created through sequences of moves on a corner, with a breaking move from the opponent to interrupt a ladder or reduce the freedom of such group.
 === An Example ===
-After Blue plays '''1''' and Red plays '''2''', Blue has a window at the upper '''*'''. The red-shaded cells do not have any red stones in them at the moment, but easily could at some point in the future due to the nature of bridges.
+At first glance, a window seems to be not so helpful for connection due to its lack of accessibility. However, it can usually serve to offer an extra move by creating a threat that the opponent is forced to block, giving you another move to win the game.
-A few moves later, Blue realizes that by starting the ladder with '''5''', Red is going to have to break at some point, giving Blue another window.
+After Blue plays '''1''' and Red plays '''2''', there is a window at the upper '''*'''. The red-shaded cells do not have any red stones in them at the moment, but easily could at some point in the future due to the nature of bridges.
 <hexboard size="17x17"
     coords="hide"
@@ Line 10: / Line 12: @@
     />
-The final battle takes place on this board. Red has a lot of stones in Blue's way, but Blue has a couple of windows.
+The final battle takes place on this board. Red has a lot of stones in Blue's way, but Blue also has a couple of windows to connect to.
 <hexboard size="17x17"
     coords="hide"
@@ Line 16: / Line 18: @@
     />
-Blue starts by strengthening their upper window. Red, presumably, still feels the other direction is more threatening, so opts to block that way instead. Blue gets withing range of their window. Red will now have to block.
+Blue starts by breaking through the window above. Red, presumably, still feels the other direction is more threatening, so opts to block that way instead. Blue gets closer to the upper group. Red will now have to block.
 <hexboard size="17x17"
     coords="hide"
     contents="R b11 c10 c13 d9 e11 e12 e13 e8 f10 f13 f14 f16 f6 f8 g10 g14 g5 h10 h14 4:h7 2:i8 j14 j4 k14 l14 m12 m4 m6 n14 n4 o13 B b12 c11 c5 d10 d14 e15 e16 e9 f11 f12 f5 f9 g12 g13 g16 g8 g9 5:h8 i11 i15 3:i7 j15 k15 k3 1:k4 l15 m14 m2 n13 n3 o12 o3"
     />
-Blue is able to use this window to get dangerously close to their other window.
+Blue is able to use this group to get dangerously close to the other window.
 <hexboard size="17x17"
     coords="hide"