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Latent potential. From the Japanese term aji, meaning taste, it refers to the lingering ability of dead stones to open possible avenues of subtle play.
A situation where a stone or chain of stones has only one liberty, and may be captured on the next move if not given one or more additional liberties. Calling out atari during a game is should be done by beginners much like calling out check in chess.
Unfilled neutral points that will not benefit either side. Typically, the term refers to vacant points that lie between two opposing forces, and will eventually be filled without altering the score.
Internal liberties of a group of stones that, like external liberties, prevent the group's capture, but unlike external liberties are much harder for an opponent to fill because the only way to kill a group with an eye is to fill all of its other liberties first. The presence or absence of eyes in a group determine life or death for that group. A group with no eyes, or only one eye, will die unless its owner can develop them. Conversely, a group with two or more eyes will live unconditionally.
A move that overwhelmingly compels a player into a particular follow-up move is said to have "sente", or "initiative". In most games, the player who maintains sente most of the time will win.
Gote is the opposite of sente. Sente denotes which player has the initiative in the game, and which moves result in taking and holding the initiative. More precisely, as one player attacks in sente, the other defends in gote.
Applying these concepts to a whole sequence is basic to higher strategy. If Black starts a sequence that properly ends in an even number of plays, Black retains sente in doing this. If Black starts a sequence that properly ends after an odd number of plays, Black loses sente and takes gote. Accepting gote should only be in return for some profitable exchange.
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| A simple hane |
A hane is a move that goes around one or more of the opponent's stones.
The Ko rule states that a stone cannot be played such that it makes the board look exactly the same as it did at the end of the player's last move. Commonly, this means that if a lone stone is captured, the next player cannot immediately recapture the capturing stone.
A bonus in score given to white as compensation for going second. There is no agreement on what Komi ought to be, but is commonly 6.5 points. The half point is to avoid ties.
A vacant point that is immediately adjacent to a stone in an orthogonal)direction. A stone, chain, or group must have at least one liberty to survive. A group that has two or more separate internal liberties (eyes) is impossible to capture.
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| a and b are miai |
A pair of vacant points on the board that are equivalent in value. For example, if Black plays at A, White can play at B and suffer no disadvantage from the exchange.
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| Monkey jump |
A move, usually used in the end-game, which can reduce one's opponent's territory significantly. Due to the special properties of the edge of the board, the defender cannot usually cut off the stone.
A framework for potential territory which usually consists of unconnected stones with some distance between them. The early game usually consists of competing for moyo by attempting to expand one's own and/or invade or reduce one's opponent's. This term is often translated as "framework", "potential" or "wall".
A move that surrounds an opponent's stone from both sides. The purpose of the attack is to remove the opponent's ability to form a base or occupy a territory on the side.
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| A seki. |
An impasse that cannot be resolved into simple life and death. It is sometimes translated as "mutual life." For example, a capturing race may end in a position in which neither player can capture the other. There are numerous types of seki positions that can arise, characterized as cases in which neither player adds a play to groups that do not have two eyes. At the end, all groups involved are deemed alive, but no points are scored for territory.
The configuration of stones in their flexibility and efficiency at staying connected, forming eyes, and maintaining liberties. Stones are said to have good shape if they are efficient and flexible, or bad shape if they are inefficient. Classic examples of good shape are the ponnuki (four stones in a diamond created by capturing an enemy stone) and the bamboo joint (a 2x3 pattern of two stones, two spaces and two more stones). Examples of bad shape are the empty triangle (three adjacent stones forming an 'L') and the dango (large clump of stones not containing any eyes).
Endgame. A fundamental skill in the endgame is the ability to evaluate plays in different areas of the board and identify which plays have priority. This usually depends on counting: determining the number of points at stake. Knowledge of counting begins with some simple examples and heuristics.
adapted from List of Go Terms
