Go Dojo

The Go Dojo path

27 tiny lessons, four chapters

Each lesson takes under a minute. Place a stone on every screen — never just read.

Chapter 1

Fundamentals

Stones, liberties, atari, capture — and how a Go game ends.

  1. 1
    Capture the white stone
    Place one black stone to capture the white stone.
  2. 2
    Begin with the end in mind
    Before learning the moves, look at the goal. This is a finished 9×9 game. Reveal the territory to see how it was scored.
  3. 3
    Place a stone
    Click any line crossing to place a black stone. Stones go on intersections, not in squares.
  4. 4
    Count the liberties
    Each empty point next to a stone is a liberty. How many does this black stone have?
  5. 5
    Liberties on the edge
    The board edge is a wall — there is nothing beyond it.
  6. 6
    Liberties in the corner
    Corners are the tightest place on the board.
  7. 7
    One liberty left: atari
    When a group has only one liberty, it is in atari — one move from death. Capture White now.
  8. 8
    Capture the group
    The white group has only one liberty. Capture it in one move.
  9. 9
    Atari first
    Reduce the white stones to one liberty (put them in atari). Where do you play?
  10. 10
    Connection makes you strong
    Both black stones are in danger. Connect them so they share liberties.
  11. 11
    Diagonals don't connect
    These two black stones touch only at the corner.
  12. 12
    Escape from atari
    Your black stone is in atari. Save it by extending into open space.
  13. 13
    Some captures are inevitable
    Black is in atari. If Black tries to extend, can the stones survive?
  14. 14
    Whoever captures first
    Both groups are weak. It's Black's move — capture the white stones before they capture you.
  15. 15
    Count the territory
    The game is over. Reveal the territory by reading the empty points. An empty point fully surrounded by one color belongs to that color.
  16. 16
    The point that decides
    The walls are nearly built. There is one gap in Black's wall — White can leak through. Black to play: seal the wall and take the top as territory.
  17. 17
    First capture wins
    You're ready for Capture Go: a simplified version of Go where the first player to capture a stone wins.
  18. 18
    Graduation: play Capture Go
    Your first real game. You play Black. The first player to capture a stone wins. Take your time — count before you move.

Chapter 2

Life & death

What an eye is, why two eyes mean a group lives forever, and how to spot dead shapes.

  1. 19
    An eye is a hole inside your group
    An 'eye' is an empty point fully surrounded by stones of one color — a tiny hole the opponent can never legally fill.
  2. 20
    Two eyes = unkillable
    A group with two separate eyes can never be captured. Why? White can't fill both eyes at once, and filling one is suicide.
  3. 21
    Make the second eye
    Black has one eye and is in danger. Find the move that creates a second eye and makes the group live.

Chapter 3

Ladders & nets

Two classic capture techniques every player must recognize on sight.

  1. 22
    The ladder
    When you put a stone in atari and the only escape leads it back into atari again — that's a ladder. Play the move that starts it.
  2. 23
    Beware the ladder breaker
    There's a white stone waiting in the path of the ladder. Read it move by move — does the ladder still work for Black?
  3. 24
    The net (geta)
    Sometimes you can't ladder a stone, but you can throw a loose net around it. Play the diagonal move that takes away every escape — without putting White in atari.

Chapter 4

Opening basics

Where to play first: corners, then sides, then the center.

  1. 25
    Corners first
    On an open board, the corner is the easiest place to make territory — you only need stones on two sides; the board edge does the rest.
  2. 26
    Take an empty corner
    Three corners are already taken. Black to play — claim the last empty corner before White does.
  3. 27
    Take a side, not the center
    All four corners are settled. Where should Black play next to keep building points?