Go terminology
A short glossary of terms I use when teaching and when writing about lessons from Go. For a comprehensive reference, see Wikipedia’s List of Go terms or Sensei’s Library.
Aji
Lingering potential left by earlier stones. Good players leave aji behind so a “dead” shape can still create trouble later; spoiling your own aji without reason is called aji-keshi.
Atari
A stone or chain with only one liberty left. Unless it gains another liberty on the next move, the opponent can capture it. Beginners often announce atari the way chess players announce check.
Dame
Neutral points that do not become territory for either side. Near the end of a game these get filled without changing the score.
Eyes
Interior empty points that keep a group alive. A group that can make two separate eyes cannot be captured in normal play; one eye (or none) is usually not enough against careful attack.
Ko
A repeating capture situation. Rules forbid immediate recapture of the same ko, so you must first play elsewhere (a ko threat) before taking it back. Losing a ko without adequate compensation elsewhere is often decisive — a theme I touch on in the life lessons essay.
Liberty
An empty adjacent intersection of a stone or connected chain. Capture happens when the last liberty is filled.
Sente and gote
Sente is initiative: a move your opponent feels they must answer. Gote is its opposite — answering and giving the initiative away. Trading territory for sente (or the reverse) is one of the core strategic decisions in the game.
Territory
Empty points you control at the end of the game, plus captured stones, depending on the ruleset. Fighting for influence first and converting it into territory later is often stronger than grabbing small points immediately.