Although Go originated in China, the current English and Western technical vocabulary borrows a high proportion of terms from the Japanese language because it was through Japan that the West was introduced to Go.
[1][2] Aji (Japanese: 味, Chinese: 味道; pinyin: wèi dào; Wade–Giles: wei4 tao4, Korean 맛[ma:t]) meaning 'taste' refers to the latent potential of stones to open various avenues of play.
The aji in various positions on the board impacts the course of the game regardless of whether a player makes moves to realize the latent potential.
Dame (Japanese: 駄目, pronounced /ˈdɑːmeɪ/ DAH-may; [daˈme]; Chinese: 單官; pinyin: dan1 guan1; Wade–Giles: tan1 kuan1) are unfilled neutral points that will not benefit either side.
Typically, the term refers to vacant points that lie between two opposing forces, and will eventually be filled without altering the score.
The double hane (二段バネ, ni-dan bane) is a sequence of two moves in succession that step around an opponent's adjacent group.
A hane (Japanese: 跳ね; Chinese: 扳; pinyin: bān; Wade–Giles: pan1) is a move that goes around one or more of the opponent's stones.
Joseki (定石, jōseki) are established sequences of play which (locally speaking) are considered to give an optimal result (balanced exchanges and/or equal territories/influences) to both players.
This includes considerations of the direction of play, current balance of territory and influence, and one's own game strategy.
Kiai (気合い) translates as 'fighting spirit', meaning play that is aggressive or where the player takes the initiative.
Kiai is also a term used in Japanese martial arts, usually as a name for a loud yell accompanying an attack.
Literally meaning 'an enlivenment', kikashi (利かし) is a forcing move, usually one made outside the primary flow of play.
Unlike sente, though, a move is kikashi when it yields a high efficiency in play by forcing the opponent to abandon a course of action.
If the answering move strengthens the position, then the play is not kikashi but aji keshi (ruining one's own potential).
A player may take advantage of the ko rule by playing a move with the knowledge that the opponent will not be permitted to recapture immediately.
The kosumi (尖み, コスミ) is a move placed at a point diagonally adjacent to another of one's own stones where the adjoining intersections are unoccupied.
A ladder (四丁, シチョウ, shichō) is a sequence of moves in which an attacker pursues a group in atari in a zig-zag pattern across the board.
Miai can be seen in the fuseki stage on a large scale, or in a simple life and death problem, such as a straight four-space eye.
This shape is alive because of its two central points a and b: if Black plays a, White can answer with b and vice versa.
The early game usually consists of competing for moyo by attempting to expand one's own and/or invade or reduce one's opponent's.
Nerai (狙い) is a Japanese go term (noun, from the verb nerau) meaning threat, aim, target, follow-up.
[8] A peep is a move normally played in sente in which a stone is placed directly next to an empty point that would connect two groups.
The purpose of the attack is to diminish the opponent's ability to form a base or occupy a territory on the side.
Sabaki (捌き) is the development of a flexible, efficient position that is difficult for the opponent to attack, often by means of contact plays and sacrifice.
Seki (関, セキ) is a Japanese term for an impasse that cannot be resolved into simple life and death.
There are numerous types of seki positions that can arise, characterized as cases in which neither player adds a play to groups that do not have two eyes.
The area remains untouched; at the end all groups involved are deemed alive, but no points are scored for territory.
Shape is the configuration of stones in their flexibility and efficiency at staying connected, forming eyes, and maintaining liberties.
The opposite of tesuji is zokusuji, which can be translated as 'crude line of play', and also referred to as anti-suji or a vulgar move depending on the situation.
Combinatorial game theory has been implicated in gaining actual proofs rather than practical ways to win positions.