Overview

The scope of this glossary covers all the important concepts of go, and includes insights into the basic cognitive methods used by amateur players which will be new to experienced as well as novice players.

Some Japanese terms given are indispensable because there are no short English equivalents, but wherever possible English terms are used, although where in common use in the West, topics are also listed under their Japanese equivalents. A comprehensive index is given as an alternative method of access and includes Japanese terms that are less often used in the West.

Most go literature published in English has been written by occidental, Japanese speaking, strong amateur players under the imprimatur of Japanese professionals. Caught between very different languages and cultures, the authors have perhaps not been able to make the terminology as clear as would be ideal for beginners in the West. Purely Western based attempts to give brief and simple definitions, although well meant, have sometimes made the situation worse. For example, the commonly given definition for sente as "a forcing move" is particularly damaging - the resulting bad play can be detected in many players, especially those of around 5 kyu strength. In contrast, by using unambiguous examples combined with tight but not dumbed down, definitions, the aim of this glossary is to make clear, to the complete beginner and the experienced player alike, the precise concepts underlying the terminology.