Explore the Natural Beauty and Ancient Traditions of Seki

Table of contentsTypes of sekiSimple seki (no eyes)Seki with one eye eachSeki with and without eyesSeki with one (false) eyeSeki with two (false) eyesSeki with partly filled eye spaceSeki with double koSeki with strings in atariNeighbouring sekiRules aspectsJapanese seki definitions Seki and scoringSeki and superkoTime seki (only with time limits)NotesSee alsoBelow you will find several types of seki. Be aware that although neither side can 'win' a seki, a seki can be a possible source of ko threats.[1] There are also scoring issues in seki.

seki

The simplest form of a seki is shown in this diagram: the and groups have no eyes and share two liberties at a and b. If either player plays on one of these points, the opponent will play the other and capture. So neither player will.[2]

Both white groups have one eye (at a and b). The black group has none, but shares a liberty with each white group. Again, since no player can capture any stones of the other player, the position is seki.

This is an interesting seki involving double ko. If White captures at a, Black will capture at b. Later, if White recaptures at , Black recapture at , returning to the original position.Similar if Black starts.

Here is an example of one seki (two eyes versus none) touching another (one eye each). These are effectively neighbouring seki, not one single seki. Being neighbour of a seki isn't being part of it, even if the neighbour happens to be part of another seki itself.

Different Japanese rules describe seki differently. The Japanese 1989 Rules do not define seki but define stones to be in seki if they have dame (where, informally, dame are points that aren't inside eyes).

It is possible for players not to fill dame points before passing. However, a pedantic player is pefectly within his rights to demand that any group of his opponent (even if it has 15 eyes) is in seki if it is touching dame, and therefore its territory isn't to be counted. [4]

A time seki arises when neither player can complete a certain capture within their remaining time limit. This can happen when the regulations or conventions require you to pick up the captured stones before hitting the clock.A typical time seki occurs under the following combination of conditions:

This means that neither player will initiate, as they would otherwise lose on time, and thus is a seki.A way of avoiding time sekis is to allow the captor to require their opponent to remove the captives in their own time.

[3]Bill: While Charles has a point, the usual assumption that outer stones in a diagram are alive applies. Also, there is a slight inaccuracy. White's outer group does not need two eyes to preserve the seki.

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The situation shown above is called mutual life in English or seki in Japanese. There is an equilibrium between the groups of Black and White. Although both groups have no eyes, neither of them can be killed. Seki is a simple example of a wisdom which is common in Go and which is often applied to more abstract positions: "If you try too hard to kill your opponent and you play too aggressive moves, your own shapes will likely become weaker and in turn your attack will bring your own defeat.".

There are many types of seki in Go. Let's look at White's group on the top side of the above diagram. Black's three stones are completely surrounded by White. They seem to be dead. However, if White tries to capture them (for example by playing at A), White's group will die instead (because Black will answer at B). Analogically, Black's move would let White capture Black's stones.

Seki is also possible between groups with eyes. As we know from the article about eyes in Go, one eye is usually not enough for a group to live. However, in the situation shown in the bottom left corner each of the groups has one eye. The groups have also one shared liberty at C. If any player wants to capture the opponent, they need to play at C. However, it would be a self-atari. Therefore, playing at C is not a good idea. No player will ever play there and both groups will live in seki.

When stones of one color are surrounded by a group of the other color, at first it might be not obvious what the status of the two groups is. Do they live in a mutual life? Or perhaps the surrounded player can let the opponent capture the stones because it would lead to a nakade shape? To know what the final result of such situations is, one needs to be able to read variations and predict what can happen in a few moves. The most general hint is: "Get as large living area as possible.". Then, even if you don't manage to make two eyes, your group might live in seki.