Go Terms — A Beginner's Glossary
The short version of every Go word you'll meet in your first games. Each definition is plain English and links to a fuller guide where there is one. Go is also called Baduk, Weiqi, and Igo — same game, same terms.
Basics
- Liberty
- A liberty is an empty point directly next to a stone or group (up, down, left, or right). A group is captured only when its last liberty is filled. Diagonals are not liberties. Learn more.
- Stone
- A stone is a single playing piece, black or white, placed on an empty intersection where lines cross. Once placed, stones don't move — they can only be captured. Learn more.
- Chain (group)
- A chain is a set of same-colour stones connected along the lines. Connected stones share their liberties and live or die together. Learn more.
Tactics
- Atari
- Atari is the state of a stone or group having exactly one liberty left — one move away from capture. The defender can try to escape by extending or capturing; the attacker can take next move. Learn more.
- Capture
- A capture happens when you fill the last liberty of an enemy group; those stones are removed from the board and become prisoners. Filling your own last liberty is illegal (suicide) unless it captures first. Learn more.
- Ko
- Ko is a repeating single-stone capture; the ko rule forbids immediately recapturing to repeat the exact board position, so you must play elsewhere first. It turns a local fight into a board-wide negotiation. Learn more.
- Ladder
- A ladder is a chasing sequence that keeps an enemy group in atari move after move along a zig-zag path. It only works if nothing friendly to the runner (a 'ladder breaker') sits in its path. Learn more.
- Snapback
- A snapback is a sacrifice of one stone so that, when the opponent captures it, you immediately recapture a larger group. It's a common tactic for killing a group that seems to have escaped. Learn more.
Shape & life
- Eye
- An eye is an empty point fully surrounded by one colour, so the opponent can't play there without it being self-capture. A group with two separate real eyes can never be captured — it is alive. Learn more.
- Seki
- Seki is a mutual-life standoff: two opposing groups share liberties such that whoever plays first would put themselves in atari, so neither captures. Both groups live without two eyes.
- Dead stones
- Dead stones are stones that cannot avoid capture if play continued — they sit inside the opponent's territory with no way to make life. In scoring review you mark them, and they're removed before counting. Learn more.
Scoring
- Territory
- Territory is the empty area surrounded by one colour's stones. The player who walls off more empty points (plus, under area scoring, the stones on the board) wins. Learn more.
- Area scoring
- Area scoring (Chinese-style) counts your stones on the board plus the empty points you surround. GoingBoard uses area scoring; you mark dead stones in review, then accept the count. Learn more.
- Komi
- Komi is a fixed number of points added to White's score to offset Black's first-move advantage. GoingBoard uses 7.5 — the half-point guarantees there are no ties. Learn more.
Names & tools
- SGF
- SGF (Smart Game Format) is the standard text file format for recording Go games. GoingBoard exports finished games as SGF, and the SGF viewer replays any SGF file. Learn more.
- Baduk / Weiqi / Igo
- Baduk (Korea), Weiqi (China), and Igo (Japan) are simply the local names for Go. It's one game with one set of rules everywhere. Learn more.
New to the game? The fastest way to make these terms click is to play through the interactive tutorial — you'll see liberties, atari, and capture on a real board in about five minutes.
Put the terms into practice
Start a 9×9 game against the AI.