Empty triangle shape

8 liberties for a string X takes up two liberties leaving 7 Adding a connecting stone at 'a' or 'b' is inefficient.

In the game of Go

Go (board game)

Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...

, the empty triangle is the most fundamental example of the concept of bad shape.

It consists of a formation (or subformation) of three stones of one colour, occupying a compact arrangement in a 2×2 square, like the triangled black stones and no stone for White at the marked intersection. If the triangle is filled by a stone of the opponent's at the fourth point of the 2×2, the shape is neutral – not necessarily good or bad.

The deficiencies of the empty triangle are twofold. Three stones in a straight line have eight liberties, while in an empty triangle they have only seven. When tactics start this can mean the difference between success and failure. Also the formation lacks in efficiency. In the case cited, the diagonally adjacent stones are connected in de facto without the third stone.

However even though the empty triangle is a prime example of bad shape, playing a move to create one can sometimes be useful. A good empty triangle has the name nozuki in Japanese.

The Empty Triangle is also the name of a popular series of comic panels about the game of Go

Go (board game)

Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...

 that features personalities from the KGS Go Server

KGS Go Server

The KGS Go Server, known until 2006 as the Kiseido Go Server, is a game server first developed in 1999 and firmly established in 2000 for people to play Go. The system was developed by William M. Shubert and its code is now written entirely in Java...

. http://www.emptytriangle.com/archive/17

See also

• International Go Federation
  International Go Federation
  The International Go Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Go federations around the world. It is usually referred to as IGF.-Role of the IGF:...
  
  

External links

• http://senseis.xmp.net/?EmptyTriangle
• http://senseis.xmp.net/?TheEmptyTriangleIsBad
• http://senseis.xmp.net/?FullTriangle
• http://senseis.xmp.net/?GoodEmptyTriangle