Go Problems
Life-and-death training: 60 tsumego from beginner ladders to advanced shapes.
How to Play
This trainer presents 60 life-and-death problems — the classic Go exercise known as tsumego. Each problem shows a corner or side position where one group’s survival hangs on a single sequence. Read the position, then click or tap the point where you believe the key stone belongs. If your move is correct, the trainer responds with the strongest resistance and the sequence continues until the group’s fate is settled. If your move fails, you are shown the refutation: the reply that kills your attempt, so you see exactly why the move does not work rather than just being told it is wrong.
The 60 problems are organized into three difficulty tiers. The first tier covers fundamental shapes — making two eyes, the basic six-die-eight-live rectangles, simple snapbacks. The middle tier introduces standard tesuji such as throw-ins and placements, and the top tier demands reading several moves deep with branching variations. A hint is available on every problem when you are stuck; using it costs you nothing except the satisfaction of an unaided solve. The trainer runs locally in your browser with no account required, and your progress through the set is saved on your device so you can work through the collection across multiple sessions.
Why These Problems Are Worth Your Time
Ask any Go teacher how to get stronger and the answer is nearly always the same: tsumego. Life-and-death problems train the one skill that underlies everything else in Go — accurate reading. Unlike full games, where a mistake disappears into two hundred moves, a tsumego gives you immediate, unambiguous feedback: the group lives or it dies. Ten minutes of focused problems is widely considered more valuable than an hour of casual play. If you are new to the game, the Go discipline page covers its history, ranks, and competitive scene; and the daily challenges are a good way to make problem solving a habit.
Practical Tips
- Read the whole sequence before touching the board. The habit that separates improving players from stuck ones is solving the problem in your head first, including the opponent’s best resistance, and only then playing the move.
- When you fail, study the refutation. The refutation shows the precise reply that defeats your idea. Understanding why your move fails teaches more than memorizing the correct answer.
- Revisit solved problems after a week. Life-and-death shapes are vocabulary. A problem you solved once with effort should eventually be recognized at a glance, and spaced repetition is how that happens.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a life-and-death problem?
A position, usually in a corner or on a side, where a group of stones either can make two eyes and live or can be killed. Your task is to find the move that decides the outcome in your favor.
How many problems are included?
There are 60 problems, divided into three difficulty tiers from fundamental eye shapes up to multi-move reading with branching variations.
What happens when I play a wrong move?
The trainer plays the refutation — the reply that defeats your attempt — so you can see concretely why the move fails before trying again.
Are hints available?
Yes. Every problem has a hint you can reveal when you are stuck. Try to read the position seriously first, since the struggle itself is where the training value lies.
Do I need to know Go’s full rules first?
You need the basics: how stones are captured and what eyes are. The first difficulty tier is designed to be approachable as soon as you understand captures.
Is my progress saved?
Yes, locally in your browser. No account is needed, but progress stays on the device you used and is removed if you clear your browser data.
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