Quick Questions

Usage

Questions posted here may get answered by experienced players.

As this site does not have any integrated forum functionality, each question and the associated answer/discussion should be kept on their own section. Ideally, the format of this area could resemble the |Quick Questions area of Sensei's Library

Is it Possible to Stop Blue?

Playing red, I run into positions such as the one below frequently (there are other stones on the board, but I'm trying to simplify for my own understanding).

1. Is blue's stone 1 already connected to the right edge before I played 2?
2. Is this because 1 is a fifth row template?
3. If blue 1 is not "unstoppable", assuming red 2 is a mistake if the goal is to prevent blue from connecting to the right, what is the correct approach?