With four blank spots, there are five unique shapes. Three are alive, one is unsettled, and one is dead.

The three alive ones are the straight line, L and Z shape. If the opponent plays in any spot, the first player can live by playing in the adjacent spot in the center two. In the straight line, for example, if the first player goes in either center, threatening to put an unsettled three-space line in, putting one in the other center one will do the trick. In the diagram "Groups with four empty points" black's groups in the upper corners are alive. If the opponent plays any of the circled positions, playing the other circled position will secure the status of the black group.

The unsettled shape is the four-stone pyramid, shown in the left bottom corner. Whoever plays in the circled center spot gets the desired result, so the player whose move it is wins.

A two-by-two square space is dead: if black plays in the top left corner of the two-by-two square, white can respond by playing in the bottom right corner (see the L-shaped case in the previous section.) On the other hand, if white wants to capture the black group, white only has to play anywhere inside the square, and there will be no way for black to avoid capture.

3.3. Status of Groups with More than Four Empty Points

There are no dead shapes with more than four empty points, though there are a couple of unsettled ones.

A five stone "plus sign" (the X pentomino) and a "bulky five" (the P pentomino consisting of a square and one point off it, similar shape to a fist with the thumb extended") are the two unsettled ones. Playing in the point that touches the most others (four in the "plus sign" - center point, three in the "bulky five" - the one point in the square touching the outside point) will give the desired result to whoever does so.

There are two unsettled six shapes, and the rest are all alive.

One shape is the "rabbity six" — a square, plus adding the two points touching any one of the corners. (Similar to the plus sign five, but add any of the four taken corner points to get the unsettled six). The opponent playing in the center point threatens to fill all but one spot with a bulky five shape, and there is no defense.

The other is the rectangular six in the corner (rectangular six anywhere else is alive). The opponent playing first in the top middle of the rectangle can kill the group. The defender playing first can save it by playing either there, or at the lower middle (denoted a).

Any group surrounding more than six points is alive, but it may be necessary to respond correctly if the opponent attacks. Additionally, because of special properties of the corner, a group with more than six points might not be unconditionally alive, as it's possible for the opponent to make an eye or two within its territory.

4. Seki

There is a possibility for stones to be alive without eyes. This situation happens when two groups of otherwise dead stones face each other without being able to achieve capture.

The figure on the right shows one of the most simple seki. The black and white stones in contact with the circled points don't have any eyes and may seem dead. However, if Black tries to capture white, he needs to fill one of the circled point, which will only lead to its own capture by white. The same applies to White, who cannot fill black liberties without being captured first.

Since none of the players can kill the other, the situation is considered settled. The black and white stones are said to be alive in seki.

5. Caveats

Groups that are alive may yet die. One reason is that they may be sacrificed, in the course of a ko fight.

Another way in which the ko rule enters the discussion is through the complications ko adds to the classification by status. It is quite possible for a group to be alive in ko: that is, the group is conditionally alive, the condition being to be able to win a particular ko fight relating to the control of a key intersection.

6. Dead Stones

Virtually all games will have at least a few dead stones, which remain on the board at the end of the game, when both players pass. Those dead stones are then removed, in an operation often called 'cleaning', which is a separate phase of the game. The stones removed are treated exactly like other captured stones. Under Chinese rules, which use area counting, stones removed during the cleaning phase are returned to their bowls.

It is a novice mistake to carry out the capture of dead stones before it is of tactical importance to do so. Such plays, during the game, waste a turn and may also cost points.

Single stones and small groups are often sacrificed. In cases where a group is more than of sacrificial value, that group typically must make life in order for one to have a chance at winning the overall game.

Generally each side will have at most 4-5 living groups on the board at the end of the game. There is a go proverb that says that "Five groups may live, but the sixth will die" [1] which in a nutshell describes the need to emphasise connection between developing groups. The struggle for life can be solved by connection. Since each group needs two eyes, (and eyes are sometimes hard to come by) the alternative is to connect out to another group, thereby sharing both liberties and eyes.

7. Aji

Even if a group is lost, one can still use one's own dead stones for aji (potential). Ko threats are just one way in which apparently dead stones are put to good use. Expert players use a variety of 'squeezing' tactics, of which semedori, an advanced endgame technique, and shibori are two that have recognised Japanese-language names.