Aji: Latent Potential
Aji — literally "taste" — is the lingering potential in a position: weaknesses, dead-looking stones, and threats that aren't active now but might matter later. Learning to feel aji is what lets strong players leave a situation unfinished, knowing they can come back and use it when the time is right.
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What aji is
Aji is possibility that hasn't been cashed in yet. A captured-looking stone inside enemy territory might one day spring back to life; a small gap in a wall might later become a cut. None of it does anything this move — but it hangs over the position, shaping what both players can safely do.
Good aji and bad aji
Aji is good or bad depending on who benefits. "Bad aji" usually means lingering weaknesses in your own position that your opponent might exploit. Leftover threats you hold against your opponent are potential you want to keep. Strong players reduce their own bad aji while preserving the aji they can use later.
Don't erase your own aji
A common mistake, called aji keshi, is playing a forcing move too early and using up potential you'd have preferred to keep flexible. Once you make the opponent answer, you've fixed the shape and lost the other options that stone might have had. The discipline is to leave aji alone until you're sure how you want to use it.
Frequently asked questions
- What does aji mean in Go?
- Aji means the latent potential in a position — weaknesses, threats, and dormant stones that aren't active now but could become useful later. It's the sense that a situation still holds possibilities.
- What is aji keshi?
- Aji keshi means erasing your own aji: playing a forcing move too soon and using up potential you'd have kept flexible. It fixes the shape and throws away options the position was quietly holding for you.
- What is bad aji?
- Bad aji usually refers to lingering weaknesses in your own position — cutting points or half-dead stones — that your opponent might exploit later. Reducing your own bad aji makes your groups safer.
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