Capturing Stones in Go
You capture in Go by surrounding an enemy group until it has no liberties left, then removing it from the board. Captures swing territory and momentum, and spotting them — both yours and your opponent's — is a core skill from your very first game.
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How a capture happens
When you place a stone that fills the last liberty of an opponent's group, that whole group is immediately lifted off the board. A group can be a single stone or many connected stones — they are captured all at once when their shared liberties reach zero.
The warning sign is atari: a group with one liberty left. If your opponent ignores it, you capture by filling that final point.
Captures resolve before suicide is checked
A move that would seem to be suicide — placing a stone where your own group has no liberties — is actually legal if it captures an enemy group, because captured stones are removed first, which gives your stone new liberties. This is exactly how the snapback tactic works: you let one stone be taken, then recapture a larger group.
Practical capturing tips
- Always check whether your groups are in atari before playing elsewhere.
- Driving an enemy group against your own strong stones makes it easier to capture.
- Sometimes the threat of capture is worth more than the capture itself.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I capture more than one stone at a time?
- Yes. An entire connected group is captured together the moment its last shared liberty is filled, whether it's one stone or twenty.
- Is it ever legal to fill my own last liberty?
- Only if that move captures enemy stones first. Otherwise it's suicide and not allowed.
- What is a snapback?
- A tactic where you sacrifice one stone; when the opponent captures it, you immediately play back to capture a larger group that is now short of liberties.
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