Go Eye Shapes: Which Groups Live and Which Die
⏱ Read ~5 min · Updated July 2026 · Part of: Learn Go
In Go life-and-death, enclosed shapes have known answers. A group surrounding a 3-point hollow usually dies; one with a 6-point hollow usually lives. Memorize the shapes and you solve most tsumego instantly.
| English | 中文 | Plain meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eye shape | 眼位（做眼空間） | the hollow space inside a group |
| vital point | 要點（急所） | the move that kills or lives |
| alive / dead | 活棋／死棋 | can / can't make two eyes |
| tsumego | 詰棋 | life-and-death puzzle |
1. Why shapes decide life
A group needs two eyes to live. Whether it can make them depends almost entirely on how big and what shape its enclosed hollow is. The same size in a different shape can flip from alive to dead.
🧩 The idea: think of the hollow as a room you must split into two eyes. Some rooms split cleanly (live); others can't be split no matter what (dead).
2. The classic dead shapes
| Shape (enclosed hollow) | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 2-space (二目) | dead | can only ever be one eye |
| 3-space straight (直三) | dead | opponent plays center → one eye |
| 3-space bent (彎三) | dead | same — center is the vital point |
| T-four / bent-four (丁四) | dead | opponent's vital point kills it |
| knife-handle five (刀把五) | dead | the "handle" point is vital |
| rabbity six (葡萄六) | dead | rare; vital point in the middle |
😱 Common to all: the opponent plays the vital point first → dead. You play it first → sometimes alive.
3. The classic alive shapes
| Shape | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| square four (方四) | alive | any opponent move still leaves two eyes |
| straight/bent four in corner | usually alive | depends, but mostly safe |
| five-space (五一) | alive | too big to kill |
| six-space (六目) | alive | always alive |
4. The vital point
Each dead shape has one vital point (急所): the single move that decides life or death. Learn the vital points (the center of 直三, the corner of 刀把五, etc.) and you'll solve most puzzles at a glance.
🎯 Rule of thumb: the vital point is almost always the center of the shape. If you'd want to play there to live, that's exactly where the opponent must play to kill.
5. On a 4×4 board
Tiny boards make shapes small and clear — you'll meet 直三 and 方四 constantly. brainGO puzzles reward knowing instantly that "this 3-space is dead if they play first."
Try it
Spot the vital point under pressure on short puzzles.
👉 Play brainGO — find the vital point
Related guides
- Learn Go: the visual beginner's guide
- Eye in Go — what the shape holds
- Alive and dead (two eyes) — the life rule