Liberties & Capture
📋 What it is
A stone's "liberties" are its empty adjacent points; fill all of them and the stone (or group) is captured.
🗣️ Coach says
Each stone breathes through its empty neighbours — its liberties. Surround a stone so it has NO empty neighbours left and you capture it (take it off the board). Groups of connected stones share their liberties, so bigger groups are harder to capture.
🧠 Memory hook
Empty neighbours = breath. Fill the last one and the stone is captured.
😂 Giggle
Why did the stone with two eyes never worry?
Because a group with two eyes can never be captured!
😲 Whoa!
A single stone in the middle of the board has four liberties; in the corner it has only two — which is why corners are the easiest place to make stones safe.
✅ Quick check: How do you capture a lone enemy stone in the centre of the board?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Surround it by placing stones on all four of its adjacent (liberty) points, filling its last breath.
A stone is captured when all its liberties (empty neighbours) are occupied.
🪄 Trick question: Does a stone in the corner have more liberties than one in the centre?
Careful — think it through, then reveal.
No — a corner stone has only 2 liberties vs 4 in the centre, so corner stones are actually easier to capture when alone.
Edges and corners have fewer adjacent points, hence fewer liberties.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Place one enemy stone in the middle and count its four liberties. Fill them one by one to "capture" it.