Liberties, Atari, and Capture
Count how stones breathe, get threatened, and leave the board.
Beginner lesson. Board: 9x9. Estimated time: 7 minutes. Concepts: liberties, atari, capture.
Reference notes
- A liberty is an empty point directly beside a stone or connected group.
- Connected stones share liberties, so one rescue move can save the group.
- Atari is a warning, not an automatic order to capture immediately.
Practice prompt
Before each move, count liberties for one friendly group and one enemy group.
Review check
Find one moment where adding liberties was better than giving atari.