How stones breathe

Liberties

pinch or use +/− · double-tap board

4 liberties

Hover or tap each stone. The glowing dots are its liberties; the count is shown below.

A liberty is an empty point directly next to a stone — up, down, left, or right. Diagonals don't count.Liberties are how a stone "breathes."

Centre stone: 4 liberties.
Edge stone: 3 — the wall steals one.
Corner stone: only 2.

This is the whole reason corners and edges feel different from the centre: stones there have less room to breathe, so they're both easier to attack and easier to settle.

The single rule of Go is coming next: a stone (or group) with zero liberties is captured and removed.