[Welcome to Sensei's Library!]

StartingPoints
ReferenceSection
About


Referenced by
BeginnerStudySection
GoTerms
BasicRulesOfGo
Thickness
Kikashi
OpenInTheCorner
APonnukiIsWorthTh...
UnderTheStones
EnglishGoTerms
AnswerKeimaWithKo...

 

Territory
   

To make territory is the ultimate goal in Go. In order to distinguish territory from a sphere of influence we can describe territory as:

A part of the board that is surrounded by stones belonging to a living group, and in which the opponent cannot make a living group.

[Diagram]
Diag.: Artificial example

This Black group delimits two areas, in which he will easily make an eye. It is impossible for White to create a group with two eyes in the area. Black makes 21 points of territory.


[Diagram]
Diag.: Territory arising from real play

The exchange up to 8 is a common continuation of the ThreeThreePointInvasion. The exchange of White A to Black D is more of an endgame sequence. The marked points constitute an area controlled by White, where Black can't make a living group (if White answers correctly). We can say that this san-san invasion makes about 10 points of territory.

ChihChan: I have a question here. You consider White A to Black D is more of endgame sequence. Then the white get 10 points of territory. However, it is also possible for Black to play a or c first. Then, white will get less points of territory. So, during the middle of game, different calcuations will have different results that may be favorable for both sides. So, are there any criteria for deciding this kind of situation?



This is a copy of the living page "Territory" at Sensei's Library.
(C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.