Glossary gives brief explanations of some of the most often used Go terms and concepts. These terms are characteristic for the Go-related language, and are essential for it's understanding. Italicized words are transliterations of the corresponding Japanese terms.
| Alive | Go to: Glossary bottom | Next term |
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A group of stones is said to be "alive" if it can't
be captured by the opponent (at least at the time of group evaluation).
Position on the left shows an absolutely "alive" white group – it is
separated into two completely encircled areas ("eyes")
– points A and B
and as such can't be captured under any conditions.
However, in most cases groups are less formidable and their characteristic
of being "alive" is a relative one, and depends on many circumstances.
(See discussion of Territory for
more details about "life" and "death" in Go.)
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| Atari | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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An immediate threat of capture, i.e a situation
when a stone or a group of stones have only one
liberty left.
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| Critical (vital) point | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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A point within the group of stones that separated
this group into two completely encircled areas ("eyes").
E.g., for white group on the left point A
is the critical (vital) point. White move into this point
turns white group into absolutely "alive" group.
Black move into this point turns white group into a "dead"
group. (See discussion of Territory
for more detailed description.)
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| Cross-cut | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
| A move placed in a cross-cut pattern. |
| Dame | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
| Dead | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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A group of stones is said to be "dead" if it can't
be saved from capture by the opponent (at least at the time of group
evaluation). Position on the left shows a "dead" white group
– it is completely encircled by black stones and has no room to
get two "eyes" (Black stone C
occupies the only critical point within
White's group). The characteristic of being "dead" is a relative
one, and depends on many circumstances, e.g., on the potential ability
of White to capture the encircling black stones. (See discussion
of Territory for more details
about "death" and "life" in Go.)
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| Eye | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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"Eye" or me is an area within the group that
is completely encircled by the stones of that group. The
ability of isolated groups of stones to survive is directly related
to their ability to get at least two "eyes", which make them
invulnerable to opponen's attack. Position on the left shows
an absolutely "alive" white group – it has has two "eyes" – points
A and B, and as such
can't be captured under any conditions. (See more about
"eyes" in the discussion of Territory in Go.)
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| Handicap | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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Handicap is a way to achieve a balance (or at least
its proximity) between opponents of different strengths.
Balance in general is very important in Go. Balance between
attack and defence, between territory and influence, staying connected
and trying to expand, etc. One of the most important types
of balance is a balance between opponents' strengths. Unbalanced
game is of a little interest to all: stronger player doesn't have
to apply real effort to win, weaker player has no chance no matter
what effort he puts in, spectators get bored pretty soon.
To make games between opponents of different strengths meaningful Go employs a system of adjustable handicaps. Handicap value is expressed as a number in the range from 1 to 9 that is determined basing on the history of games (there exist several systems of deriving handicap from the history of games). Handicap 1 means that the weaker player gets the Black (makes the first move), and doesn't give Komi to the White. Starting with handicap 2 black stones are placed into the predefined board locations before the start of the game (White makes the first move in this case). Number, locations and order of handicap stones incremental placement depend on the size of the board and are different for 19x19, 13x13 and 9x9 boards. |
| Hane | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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A move bending around opponent's stone (in relation
to existing stones).
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| Horikomi | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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A "throw-in", i.e. a move involving the sacrifice
of a stone to force the opponent's stones to take a bad shape
(most often preventing him from connecting at the right point).
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| Hosi | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
| Keima | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
| A knight's move extention. |
| Ko | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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The Ko rule (Basic
rule 8) serves to prevent the possibility
of endless recaptures (one possible position is shown on the left)
that might otherwise tie the game. Ko rule prohibits
to make a move that results in a repetition of position
(stone allocation) on the entire board. This prohibition
results in an opportunities for each player two make two
moves in a row in certain local positions. (See
discussion of Ko-fight for more
detailed description.)
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| Ko-fight | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
| Ko-threat | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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A local position where the potential ability of
a player to make two moves in a row due to the
Ko-fight can provide a significant
gain (usually in terms of saving own group of stones or caturing one of
the opponent). E.g., in the position shown here it takes two
Black moves in a row (to point A
and point B as one possibility) to save
black group of stones in this corner. (See discussion of
Ko-fight for more detailed
description.)
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| Komi | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
| Liberty | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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Liberty or "breath" or point of liberty/"breath" is
an unoccupied horizontal or vertical point directly
adjacent to the stones of a group.
Position on the left shows that black group of 5 stones has 5 liberties marked by X. White group of 3 stones also has 5 liberties – 4 points marked by Y and 1 point marked by O. Isolated white stone has 2 liberties – 1 point marked by Z and 1 point marked by O Number of liberties of the group is the most obvious measure of the ability of that group to survive (in order to capture the group the opponent must take the last point of liberty of that group). (Number of liberties is not the only measure of survival ability – stone shape, location, and surroundings are also extremely important for the ability of the group to survive.) Number of liberties of the group related to the number of stones forming the group is also an obvious (though not the only) way to evaluate relative group effectiveness. For example, in the position shown here both 5-stone black group and 3-stone white group have 5 liberties each. White group is more effective relative to black group, since it took 2 moves less to build it, while it has the same number of liberties. |
| Nidan bane | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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Two succesive Hane moves.
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| Ogeima | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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A large knight's move extention.
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| Prisoner | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
| Sagari | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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To "hang down" or "descent" — a move extending
toward the edge of the board.
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| Seki | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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Seki or "dual life" is a position in which
stones of both players are mutually isolated, and are without two "eyes";
yet they are still "alive", since
an attacking move of either player leads to his loss in this position.
Which means that generally none of the players will make a move here,
and position will remain as-is until the end of the game (unless
used by one of the sides as a Ko-threat
during a Ko-fight).
In the position on the left both white and black stones are in fact "alive" while points A and B are "neutral" (dame). Technique of building a Seki permits to get "live" groups within opponent's territory when it's impossible to build a group with with two "eyes". (See discussion of Territory for more details about seki.) |
| Semeai | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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A local race to capture, i.e. a situation when
groups of stones of both colors are mutually isolated from their
main forces (can't be saved by connecting), and have no room to
make two eyes (a self-sufficient living
shape). The only way to save each group involved in semeai
is to capture one of the opponent. Position on the
left shows black group of 3 stones (marked by B)
and white group of 4 stones (marked by W)
where the only way for each group to survive is to capture the
opposing group of stones.
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| Tsuke | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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A move made in contact with one of opponent's
stones, but not in contact with any friendly stones.
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| Warikomi | Go to: Glossary top | Previous term | Next term | Glossary bottom |
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To "thrust" or "squeeze into" — a move made between
opponent's stones in order to separate them or/and to connect one's
own stones.
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| Watari | Go to: Glossary top |
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A "bridge", i.e. a low move connecting underneath
or along the edge of the board.
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