HaneGo

Life and Death (L&D):

1. Requirements for Life
2. Real Eye vs. Fake Eye Black manages to kill white
3. Big Eyes by preventing white from
making two real eyes.
4. Basic Eye Shapes
5. Special Moves: Ko and Take-back

Go players encounter life and death situations when their stones are surrounded by their opponents, and
there is potential for their stones to be captured.

1. Requirements for life: Two Real Eyes

The minimum requirement for life is two indestructible internal liberties. We call these internal
liberties eyes. When the internal liberties are indestructiblem they are called real eyes.
To be safe from capture, a group of stones must in general have two real eyes. This is the
primary way to make groups alive (the other, usually less desirable way, is seki or double life).

Black plays at 1 to live because his/her territory is confined so his group is in jeapoardy.

2. Real vs. Fake Eye: To make a real eye always make sure that the following intersections are filled or
secured by another eye (such as in Fig. 1).

Fig. 1
B is intersection for the eye at A. The intersection is secured and is used to make another eye.

For an eye with four sides of stones, 3 of the 4 intersections must be filled/secured. Note Fig. 1.

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For an eye with one artificial side (an artificial side is created by the edge of the goban/go board), all
intersections must be filled/secured.

For an eye with two artificial sides (this only occurs in the corner), the intersection must be
filled/secured.

3. Big Eyes: Sometimes we call an eye that has more than one liberty a big eye. Some big eyes can be
divided into smaller eyes while others cannot.

Black only has one big eye; however, Black’s group is still dead, because black does not have two eyes.

Remember that we usually define a real eye, in its most basic form to be an indestructible internal
liberty.

The reason being is because big eyes can sometimes be reduced to one liberty. Below is an example.

Two big eyes.

Black has taken two more liberties, yet white is still alive because white has two indestructible internal
liberties.

The point in case is that an eye (at the minimum) is an indestructible internal liberty.

Here is another example of a big eye.

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Black’s group is dead with one fake eye and one big eye.

Here is an example of a big eye that is alive.

Black has two critical eye making points. Black only has to play at one of these two points to be alive.
This leads us into our next section on basic eye shapes.

4. Basic Eye Shapes.

Below are examples of big eyes1. A and B marks the critical eye point. If a group has one eye point, life
and death depends on which player plays at the critical eye point first. If a group has 2 or more critical
eye points, then it is unconditionally alive.

Curved three Straight three.

L 4(alive) L 4 (L&D depends on who plays first. )

Note the marked stones for the L-4 diagrams. Sometimes the intersections of the big eyes need to be
secured to be alive. In other situations, such as in the the curved 4 below, other intersections do not effect
whether or not the group is alive.
There is also a ko that arises in the corner with the L-4 shape. This will be discussed in the 20kyu-8kyu
study section.

1 Sensei's Library defines a big eye as an eye of more than 3 spaces. http://senseis.xmp.net/?BigEyeLiberties
A small eye is an eye that has not more than 3 spaces. http://senseis.xmp.net/?SmallEyeLiberties
We feel that it is clearer to explain life and death by defining a big eye as any eye of more than 1 internal liberty.

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Straight four T four Curved 4 (Note marked stone)

Square four (dead) Square four turn to curved three.

Square four is unconditionally dead. Any move that white plays turns white’s group into a curved three.

Knife five (like a butcher knife) Rectangular-six shape

Rabbity-six or Flower-six shape Proper response to White 2 Mistake: Double life (seki)

If Black plays at A, white is dead and black can play elsewher. However, if white responds with
2, black plays 3. White is dead because black can complete the T-4 shape by playing at A and B.
Black should careful not to play at C, even after playing at 3. Black 5 leads to seki because after
5 A and B make live shapes (L-4 and curved 4).

5. Special moves in Life and Death: Throw in and Take-back

a. Thow-in. A player can throw in a stone to make a fake eye. Below are some examples.

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Black 1 at 3

Black 1 at 3
b. Take-back: In special situations, a player can capture an opposing group after the
opponent captures theirs.

Black is in danger and only has one eye? How will black live?

First black ataris and forces his stones to be captured. Then black can capture white.

Life and Death