| Places where you can't play (2) |
| Places where you can play and where you can't play. | |
| The chart below summarizes where you can and can't play from the point of view of breathing spaces. | |
| Quick-reference chart of where you can play and where you can't | |
| Breathing spaces after the stone is played | Distinction between moves you can play and moves you can't |
| 1. There is a breathing space | If there are one or more breathing spaces after you place the stone, you can play |
| 2. There are no breathing spaces | If you don't capture enemy stones, you can't play |
| 3. There are no breathing spaces | If you can capture one or more enemy stones, you can play |
| As the chart shows, it's only in case 2 that you can't play a stone. Let's take a look at actual examples of situations where you can and where you can't play. |
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| 1. | There is a breathing space If there are one or more breathing spaces after you place the stone, you can play. |
| Try playing a Black stone in the space surrounded by the White stones. | |
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| The Black stone still has one breathing space. If there is one breathing space after you place the stone, you can play. |
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| 2. | There are no breathing spaces If you don't capture enemy stones, you can't play |
| There are two Black stones in the area surrounded by the White stones. Each stone still has one breathing space. Let's try playing another Black stone. |
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| The Black stones don't have any breathing spaces. This is a forbidden move. You can't play this Black stone. |
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| 3. | There are no breathing spaces If you can capture one or more enemy stones, you can play |
| There is one Black stone in the area surrounded by White. | |
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| Let's try playing a Black stone at 1. | |
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| The Black stones have completely surrounded the two White stones. | |
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| Black can play at 1. Moreover, that leaves the two White stones without any breathing spaces, so they are captured by Black. |
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