Don't take away your own liberties
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A common mistake in Go, is taking away your own liberties.
Example 1
White has taken territory and Black some influence. It is tempting to reduce White's territory by pushing at a.
However, after , Black's liberties are reduced from six to five. As his formation is still open to invasion, reduction or attack, losing a liberty is too high a cost compared to White's cost of one point.
Furthermore, this move loses a ko-threat, but that was not the issue here.
Example 2
White's stone has four liberties.
A vain attempt to cut the bamboo joint: White's stones now have three liberties.
Almost as bad as losing a liberty, is playing but not gaining any liberties.
The exchange -
leaves White with three liberties: the same number as she had before. This is one of the ideas behind hane at the head.
After here, whatever Black does, she will end up with at least four liberties for her group.
A more complex situation where removing one's own liberties gives a bad result: Removing one's own liberties Example 1
This proverb or heuristic also is at the base of the proverb telling you to fill outside liberties first in a capturing race.
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