I came across some information on the BGA’s website that left me with a couple questions.
Seki
The Japanese rules say that this position is seki, and no territory is counted in a seki. Other rules say that White counts the two points she has surrounded here.
Under Chinese rules does that mean that the 10 White stones and the two Black stones (encased inside the big black wall of stones) count as Stones during scoring? I’m assuming so, but I am not positive since this is a Seki.
Also, do the two open intersections next to the two black stones count as Dame?
Yes, all of the stones are alive (in seki) and hence count as stones for scoring. The two open points adjacent to both black and white stones in the corner are neutral (dame).
White has 10 living stones and 2 points of territory in the corner. Black has two living stones (plus the other surrounding stones), but no territory.
Under area scoring rules, stones are either alive (possibly in seki) or dead (and then removed before counting). There’s no need to distinguish between in seki or not in seki for scoring purposes, since all territory is counted.
Stones in seki are alive, hence they are not removed during counting and under chinese rules each stone is worth a point.
while the 2 points next to the black stones are dame in the japanese and chinese rulesets, the eyes white has are worth 2 points for white only under the chinese ruleset. japanese rules categorically do not award points in seki, even if there are eyes.
I’m happy to know that I’ve come far enough along that I could analyze that problem. When I first started playing Go I was searching for information. I found Sensei’s Library and I had the hardest time truly understanding what I was reading. It is close to half a year later and I feel much more confident. And I find all of this so interesting. Thank you yebellz and kickaha for sharing your thoughts. I just read both responses at the same time and I feel a great sense of confidence and am wearing a big smile. Thank you both for your time and for sharing your knowledge
By the way, the status of sekis can get quite interesting under Chinese rules, since whole board strategic considerations can affect life and death considerations. I wrote post here about an interesting case here:
