I’m sure there is a rule about this, but I don’t know the terminology or how to find it. I am at the end of a game where I have two stones in a corner that surround one point of territory but that cannot be kept alive on their own. (http://online-go.com/game/832604 points H1 and J2 in a 9x9 game) If we remove the stones as dead, then my opponent wins by 0.5 points. If he plays to capture one stone, I win by 6.5 points. Which is the correct outcome?
They are dead. You are using Japanese rules, so the way it works is after both sides pass, black “proves” that white cannot stop him from killing them. On an internet server like this the proof usually involves just explaining in chat about the situation. Once the players both agree that yes the white stones cannot be saved, mark them dead and end the game. Black does not have to actually play the moves.
Oh also here there is a ko involved – for determination of life and death, pass is the only allowed ko threat. So white is not allowed to claim that black might lose this ko fight.
So you should agree with your opponent that your 2 stones are dead.
ETA: I just noticed you are 12 kyu with ~300 games played. I guess there is something unique about these dead stones that you haven’t encountered? Is it the fact that there is a ko involved? I see in game chat you mention they surround territory, but haven’t you had a dead 1 eyed group before? A 1 eyed group surrounds territory, but it’s still dead.
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Yes but in this situation, actually forcing black to do that would lead to a loss for black. So it seems rather complicated. the situation is not resolved until its resolved right?
I’ll concur with KillerDucky. With Japanese rules, it’s ruled dead because it cannot be saved; the fact that black would lose points if he were to actually kill the stones is irrelevant in territory scoring, where emphasis is put on efficient play - in this case, killing without actually having to kill. AGA uses “pass stones” as compensation for when a player passes which would simplify the issue here.
On another note, is the scoring mechanism bugged? I play it out in analyze mode and it shows black with 13 points instead of 15 despite the fact that there’s 13 territory and 2 prisoners after capturing in the lower right. (I was wondering why it seemed like black would lose even after receiving pass stones as compensation for white passing. I guess that’s the reason.)