At the end of every Go game, a few empty points are left that belong to neither player. They sit on the border between two territories, touching stones of both colours. These points are called dame, a Japanese word used by Go players everywhere, or simply neutral points.
Dame are the smallest moves in the game, and many players think they do not matter. Whether they matter depends on the scoring rules, and on this site they do. They also hide a trap that catches players at every level.
What makes a point neutral
A neutral point is an empty point that touches stones of both colours, or that is reachable from both colours' stones through other empty points. It is not surrounded by either player, so it is not territory for anyone.
Typical places to find dame:
- Between two walls of opposite colours that face each other with one empty line in between.
- At the end of a border where both players' stones meet.
- Next to groups in seki, where the shared liberties belong to nobody.
Territory scoring versus area scoring
There are two main families of scoring rules in Go.
Territory scoring counts the empty points you surround, plus the stones you captured. Under territory scoring, a stone played on a dame point does not surround anything new, so filling dame gains nothing. Players often fill them only for tidiness.
Area scoring counts the empty points you surround plus your stones on the board. Under area scoring, a stone played on a dame point counts as one point for you. So filling dame is worth one point each.
This site uses area scoring, with komi 7.5 for White, and the game ends when both players pass in a row. That means neutral points are real points here. Before you pass, make sure all remaining dame are filled, and fill them alternately with your opponent until none are left.
The two scoring systems almost always give the same winner, because both players get roughly the same number of dame. But in a very close game, one dame can decide the result under area scoring.
Filling dame safely
Filling a neutral point looks harmless: you put a stone on an empty point between two walls. But every stone you add also changes the liberties of the stones around it, both yours and your opponent's.
The danger is called shortage of liberties. When you fill dame, your own group loses a liberty too, because the neutral point was also one of your liberties. If one of your groups had a hidden weakness, a cutting point or a shape that depended on outside liberties, filling dame can suddenly put it in atari, and your opponent captures something.
Before filling any dame, check:
- Does this stone reduce the liberties of one of my groups to one or two?
- After I fill it, can my opponent cut or play a move that puts my stones in atari?
- Do I need to add a protecting stone inside my territory first?
Adding a stone inside your own territory to protect a cutting point costs nothing under area scoring, since the stone itself counts as a point. That makes area scoring more forgiving than territory scoring, where such a stone costs a point of territory.
Dame and dead stones
Before passing on this site, there is one more job: capture dead stones in your area. The site counts the stones actually on the board after two passes. A dead opposing stone that you never captured counts as alive, and it may make the points around it neutral or even count for your opponent.
A clean ending looks like this:
- Close every border.
- Capture every dead stone in your territory.
- Fill every neutral point, alternating with your opponent.
- Pass.
Dame in seki
In a seki, two groups share liberties that neither can fill without self-atari. These shared liberties are neutral. They cannot be filled, and under area scoring they count for nobody. The stones in the seki count for their owners. There is more on this in seki and scoring.
Common questions at the end of a game
"Why did my opponent keep playing after I passed?" Under area scoring, if you pass while dame remain, your opponent can fill them and gain a point each. That is legitimate. Fill them yourself before passing.
"Why did my group die when I filled a neutral point?" Shortage of liberties. The neutral point was one of your group's liberties, and filling it exposed a weakness.
"Why does the score look wrong after we both passed?" Usually because dead stones were not captured. The site cannot guess which stones are dead; it counts what is on the board.
Practice
The last moves of a game are a good place to build careful habits. In 9×9 games against the computer on the home page, you reach the dame stage quickly. Practise the clean ending every game until it becomes automatic. When you play people on the online page, the same habit protects you from last-minute surprises.
If you sign in on the account page, your games are saved, and you can replay the final moves to check whether any dame or dead stones were left. For more on the stages before this, see closing borders and endgame move values.
Why area scoring is used here
Area scoring has a practical advantage for a website: the result can be counted directly from the board. Every stone of yours counts, and every empty point surrounded only by your stones counts. Captured stones do not need to be tracked separately. Together with positional superko, which forbids repeating an earlier whole-board position, and the rule that suicide is not allowed, it gives a clean set of rules a computer can apply without argument.
For players, the main consequence is simple. Playing inside your own territory does not lose points, so you can defend a weakness calmly at the end without paying for it. And the game only ends properly when every dead stone has been captured and every neutral point has been filled. Once those habits are automatic, the final count on this site will always match what you see on the board.
Frequently asked questions
What does dame mean in Go?
It means a neutral point: an empty point that belongs to neither player at the end of the game.
Are dame worth points?
Under territory scoring, no. Under area scoring, which this site uses, each dame you fill is worth one point.
Can filling dame be dangerous?
Yes. It reduces your own groups' liberties too, which can expose cutting points. Check before filling.
What should I do before passing on this site?
Close every border, capture dead stones in your area, fill all neutral points, then pass.
Do seki liberties count as dame?
Yes. The shared liberties in a seki are neutral and cannot be filled; they count for nobody.
