In go, polishing this technique will help you become stronger. You might even become so good at it that you won't even need a go board to play a game with your partner. In fact, most professionals are able to do this. Why? The answer is simple--they practice so much.

Visualizing ladders

Ladders prove excellent reading and visualization material because there are only a few branches (few possibilities for every move) and the objective is always clear.

If a problem has too many branches, it is easy for your mind to start wandering. By actively trying to find the solution, you will make yourself stronger. So go ahead!

Problem 1: Here is a simple problem. With the marked black stone in place, is it a good idea for Black to play at 1? Of course, if he can be captured in a ladder it is not, but if he can escape it is a great idea to play here because it splits White's position. Try to visualize the ladder until the very end!

Solution 1: As you can see, Black can't escape. If he pushes until the very end, white 14 will capture nine of Black's stones. Now notice, White changes the course of the ladder when he plays at 10 to steer Black towards the edge.

Problem 2: Now look again at Problem 1. Visualize the ladder and imagine the marked black stone is at A, B, C, etc. through K. In which cases should he play at 1 to escape?

Problem 3: Here is another ladder problem. Can Black play at A and escape with the two marked stones?

Problem 4: How about here? Can Black's two marked stones escape by playing at A? It is important to concentrate and accurately read out all the possibilities when the ladder collides with the stones in its path.

Problem 5: This kind of problem, in which the ladder collides with several stones and then turns around, forms a popular theme in go problem literature. They are fairly simple to construct if you have two go boards. This one took me about 15 minutes to make. How long does it take you to find the solution?

Can Black escape with his two marked stones?

Solution 2: If the marked stone is located at A, B, G, H, or K, it does not interfere with the ladder, meaning black 1 is not possible. In the other cases (C, D, E, F, I, and J), Black can play at 1 and escape.

Solution 3: Black can't escape because he has only one liberty left when he plays at 5. Therefore, White can capture with 6.

Solution 4: The trick here is to find 18 as the solution. This move turns the ladder around to keep Black's stones reduced to one liberty at all times. White 26 does not yet capture, but Black can't increase his liberties and dies. As a variation, instead of 23 Black can capture at 25 immediately. In that case, White will play at atari at 23. If Black connects at 14, White captures at 26 and vice versa.

Solution 5: As stated before, this type of merry-go-round ladder is a recurring theme. Of course, the starting position looks artificial, but the problem is more whether you can read the ladder accurately and remember where stones have or have not been played. The trick is to steer the ladder correctly from the start with 2, 4 and 6, then again with 14 through 20, and once more when playing 68 and 70. Once you come to move 100, there is little choice left. In the end, Black collapses as he runs out of liberties when White plays 124.

Want to find out more? Come to Ben's Cafe in Takadanobaba (03-3202-2445 or www.benscafe.com), where the English-speaking go community congregates every Sunday starting at 11 a.m. You can enjoy free lessons until 1 p.m.

Van Zeijst is a four-time European go champion and European representative at the Fujitsu World Championship.