Ko is a special shape in which Black and White can capture each other repeatedly. The rule of ko is important because it allows the game to continue. In the upper left, the white stone is in atari, so Black can capture it with 1. The resulting shape is shown in the lower right corner. Now the black stone is in atari. If White captures it, we return to the original position. This could go on forever. When a stone captures in ko, it may not be captured immediately. Black captures the white stone in ko. White may not capture Black 1 immediately. Once White has played a stone anywhere else on the board, White may return to capture Black 1. White 2 has played away from the ko in response to Black's capture. If Black plays somewhere else, for example Black 3, White may return to capture the black stone in ko with 4. Now Black may not capture White 4 immediately, but must play somewhere else first.

Overview 1. What is Go? 2. How the Game is Played 3. Capturing 4. The Point Without Liberties 5. Gaining Liberties by Capturing 6. Life and Death 7. A Special Form of Life 8. The Rule of Ko 9. Ending the Game

| What's New? | Online Store | Learn Go | | GameBase | Go Links | Your Host |

Problems with our site?
Email: webmaster@samarkand.net