First, count the empty points up, down, left, and right
A piece's liberties are the empty intersection points adjacent to the horizontal or vertical line; An oblique angle is not considered liberties. An isolated piece placed in the center of an all-empty board can have up to four liberties, up to three on the edge, and up to two on the corner. When adjacent pieces already exist, the actual number of liberties decreases.
Pieces of the same color are connected horizontally or vertically to form a piece, and a piece must cover everything it touchesDifferent blank pointsCount them together. If two pieces are placed next to the same empty point at the same time, that empty point only counts as one liberties.
When will the whole piece be taken away?
When an opponent's piece has only one libertious piece left, if you legally land on that last empty point, the opponent's entire piece will become 'liberties' and be taken away. Not just the piece next to the landing point is taken; Pieces in the same group must leave together.
After a move, the program first checks and captures adjacent non-liberties opponents, then checks whether its newly formed pieces still have liberties. Therefore, a point that originally seemed surrounded may still be a legal move if it can remove the opponent first after the move and gain liberties.
Why can't some short positions be traded?
| Prompt the reason | What should be checked? |
|---|---|
| There are chess pieces here | The intersection must be empty and cannot be stacked |
| Forbidden point: Do not commit suicide | After placing a piece, he has no liberties and does not remove the opponent first |
| ko: The situation cannot be restored immediately | After being mentioned, you can't immediately revert to the previous level |
This site uses a simple ko ban: you cannot use the immediately following move to restore to the previous board. When you encounter this prompt, first consider other legal moves, then reassess whether you can withdraw; That point does not mean the entire round is prohibited.
Practice number liberties from a small board
The 9-lane board contacts quickly, making it suitable for repeatedly practicing "where is the last liberties?" Once familiar, you can switch to 15 or 19 rows; The liberties, capture, and KO rules are the same for all three types of boards. If you want to compare board sizes, you can check it outChessboard Size Selection Guide； If you want to know when the settlement is settled, you can check it outStop and area scoring explanation。