Go terms, in plain words

Atari, ko, komi, seki, sente… Most Go words come from Japanese. Here is what they mean, in one or two sentences each.

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Words of the rules

Goban: The Go board. Stones go on the points where the lines cross, not in the squares. 19 × 19 lines for a full game, 9 × 9 or 13 × 13 to start.
Stone: What you place on your turn, black or white. All stones are equal. Once placed, a stone never moves.
Liberty: An empty point right next to a stone, along the lines, not diagonally. A lone stone in the middle has 4. With no liberty left, it’s captured.
Group: Stones of the same colour joined along the lines. They share their liberties and are captured together. Diagonal stones are not joined.
Atari: A group with only one liberty left is in atari: it can be captured on the next move.
Prisoner: A captured stone. It leaves the board and is worth 1 point to whoever took it.
Suicide: Placing a stone that would have no liberty, without capturing anything. It’s not allowed.
Ko: A shape where each player could take back one stone in turn, forever. Rule: after a single stone is captured, the opponent can’t take back right away if that would repeat the previous position. They play elsewhere first.
Territory: The empty points surrounded only by your stones. Each is worth 1 point at the end.
Komi: Points given to White, who plays second: 6.5 under Japanese rules, 7.5 under Chinese rules. The half point avoids ties.
Pass: Not playing on your turn. You pass when no move gains anything. Two passes in a row end the game.

Black has just played F5 and captured the white stone on E5. White can’t play E5 again right away (circled point): that’s ko.

Try it: capture a stone

Three tiny challenges to get the idea of Go. You play Black: tap a point on the board to place your stone.

The white stone on E5 has only one liberty left: the point E4, circled with a dashed line. If Black plays E4, it has no liberty at all. It is captured and leaves the board.

Life and death of groups

Eye: An empty point surrounded by a single group. With two real eyes, a group lives forever: the opponent can play in neither, it would be suicide.
Seki: Two groups without two eyes share their last liberties. Whoever plays there first puts themselves in atari and gets captured, so nobody does: both groups live. The shared points count for no one.
Dead stones: Stones that can no longer live. At the end, they’re removed without playing. Under Japanese rules, they count as prisoners.
Capturing race: Two groups in contact, without eyes, that can only live by capturing the other (semeai). Count each one’s liberties. With no shared liberty, the one with more wins; if equal, whoever plays first.

Words of play

Sente and gote: A sente move forces the opponent to answer: you keep the initiative. After a gote move, the opponent chooses where to play.
Tenuki (playing elsewhere): Playing elsewhere instead of answering your opponent’s last move. Good when the threat is smaller than your move.
Miai (two equal points): Two points worth the same. If your opponent takes one, you take the other: no need to play there first.
Joseki: A known sequence of moves in a corner, fair to both players. You learn it, then choose it based on the rest of the board.
Tesuji: A clever move that settles a fight, often surprising: snapback, net, double atari…
Star points (hoshi): The small dots marked on the board. They help you find your way, and handicap stones go there.
San-san (3-3 point): The 3-3 point of a corner: 3rd line from both edges. Invading at the 3-3 under an opponent’s star point means trying to live in their corner.
Handicap: Black stones placed before the start, to balance two players of different strength. They go on the star points, then White plays the first move, with a reduced komi (often 0.5).
Kyu and dan: Go ranks. Beginners start around 30 kyu and climb to 1 kyu: the smaller the number, the stronger you are. Then come the dan ranks: 1 dan, 2 dan, and so on.

Frequently asked questions

What does atari mean?

A group with only one liberty left is in atari: it can be captured on the next move.

What is ko?

A shape where each player could take back one stone in turn, forever. Rule: after a single stone is captured, the opponent can’t take back right away if that would repeat the previous position. They play elsewhere first.

What is komi?

Points given to White, who plays second: 6.5 under Japanese rules, 7.5 under Chinese rules. The half point avoids ties.

What do sente and gote mean?

A sente move forces the opponent to answer: you keep the initiative. After a gote move, the opponent chooses where to play.

What is seki?

Two groups without two eyes share their last liberties. Whoever plays there first puts themselves in atari and gets captured, so nobody does: both groups live. The shared points count for no one.

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