private static boolean a1 (int i, int j, BufferedImage image) {
      boolean above = ((image.getRGB(i-1, j+1) == BLACK) ||
                       (image.getRGB(i  , j+1) == BLACK) ||
                       (image.getRGB(i+1, j+1) == BLACK));
      
      boolean with  = ((image.getRGB(i-1, j) == WHITE) && 
                       (image.getRGB(i  , j) == BLACK) &&
                       (image.getRGB(i+1, j) == WHITE));
      
      boolean below = ((image.getRGB(i-1, j-1) == BLACK) ||
                       (image.getRGB(i  , j-1) == BLACK) ||
                       (image.getRGB(i+1, j-1) == BLACK));
      
      return ( above && with && below );
   }