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Go problem — rules and where to play

GO PROBLEM · Life and death / Tesuji

A few local stones; find the unique key point to live or kill. The most efficient way to train shape sense.

Origin
— · China
Difficulty
★★★★★ 3–5 / 5
Time
10–40 min
Grid
19×19 / local
Sites
1

Rules

  1. A local Go (Weiqi) position asks for the best move or sequence — life-and-death, capture, or ko fights.
  2. Rules follow the host site (Japanese, Chinese, or AGA scoring may differ at the margin).
  3. Reading order: liberties, eye space, then global ko threats if the problem mentions them.
  4. Most tsumego assume optimal replies from both sides; a flashy move that fails against correct defense is wrong.

How to start

Count liberties first

Before fancy shapes, know which chain is shorter on breath.

Ask life or death

Many problems only need two eyes or a seki — stop when the goal is met.

Check snapbacks

Captures that refill a suicide point are a common trap.

Read opponent replies

If your sequence needs the opponent to blunder, it is not the solution.

Where players get stuck

  • Playing the biggest-looking move without counting liberties.
  • Mixing rule sets (suicide, ko) across sites.
  • Stopping at the first capture and missing a follow-up that kills the group.

Play Go problem

1 site
OGS Go PuzzlesFree

Online-Go life-and-death and tesuji problems.

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About this page
  • Last updated 2026-09-22
  • Source Curated compilation of established puzzle rules and listed third-party play sites
  • Audience Players learning Go problem rules or looking for online sites to play
  • Covers Rules summary, how to start, common pitfalls, and the dedicated play sites listed on this page
  • Does not cover Hosted puzzles, worked solutions, official contest rankings, third-party uptime or pricing guarantees
  • Not advice This page is puzzle reference content only. It does not constitute financial, legal, medical or other professional advice.
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