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  The Ringframe 

The minimum number of stones to make a ring is six, but how about a frame? Surprisingly it takes more stones to frame one! The three attempts below illustrate why. In the top right example, the order of moves is important.

This "easy to threaten, hard to frame" property of the ring, makes it more of a tactical than a strategical weapon. Ring threats are usually used with other objectives in mind than actually completing one, such as connecting in sente, cutting, or stopping a low running opponent's chain. Special attention should always be given to the possibility of a double ring threat such as black would call off over himself by playing 10 and 11 at j14 and j17 in the above example. Between experienced player's, double threats are part of the tactical realms of the game. They may be cleverly implemented, but seldom in the expectation that the opponent will actually fail to notice.