The Concepts of Sente and Gote

1. Sente and Gote moves

One of the basic concepts of Go is the concept of sente. I will attempt to give you a simplistic idea of what sente and gote is, and then I will try to confuse the heck out of you by introducing you to some complicated considerations related to this issue - however, reading these twisted explanations is optional, and so you might just skip #2 and #3.

So - here we go with the simplistic approach:

Basically, a move is called sente if it requires a local response from the opponent - so it is a move requiring a response. Conversely, a gote move is a move which does not require a response! And example of a sente move is an atari move (explained here) - which threatens to capture enemy stones and so requires the enemy to respond to save these stones.

So - in a sense - a sente move is one which, after your opponent made the obligatory response - gives you the chance to switch to another part of the board and play there. Often it is more useful to consider whole sequences of moves in terms of sente and gote. A sequence is said to be sente sequence if you end with sente. A gote sequence is the one you end in gote.

Some examples of sente moves are given in Fig 1-1 - in each Position black '1' is a sente move which white has to answer with '2', and then black can play elsewhere if he wishes. In Position 1, if white does not block at '2', black will push through (at '2') and ravish a large part of white top territory - so white '2' is "forced". In Position 2, black '1' puts the white marked stones in atari (explained here) and if white does not defend at '2', his stones will be killed - and so again black has the freedom to chose his next move! Position 3 shows a sente sequence - black starts with sliding underneath white stones with '1', white has to block him with '2', and after black connects at '3' - white still has to defend at '4' (why this is necessary is explained here) and so again black has a freedom of choice for his next move!

Position 1	Position 2	Position 3

Fig 1-1. Examples of sente moves

In all Positions of Fig 1-1 black is said to "have sente" - which means that he is the one who holds the initiative and determines the flow and direction of the game. At least in theory, hehe....

Some examples of gote moves are given in Fig 1-2. In each of the positions black '1' is a gote move (in Position 6 the whole sequence is gote for black) which does not force white to answer - and so it is white who may choose his next move wherever he wants - and thus it is white who has the initiative and controls the flow of the game.

Position 4	Position 5	Position 6

Fig 1-2 Examples of gote moves

A large part of the thinking done before each move has to do with sente and gote considerations - with sente being of course the desired result. The opponent of the player "with sente" is the one who has to decide if the move is really sente and if he really have to answer it. To do this, you have to be aware of the consequences of not answering a sente move. If you can leave with these consequences and can therefore ignore the move - the move was not sente. If you cannot accept the consequences - the move was sente!

One easy generalization is that sente moves are often attacking moves, while gote moves are often defending moves. But there are many many exceptions from this rule - so do not take it too much to heart! Defending in sente is a very useful (and common) technique. Attacking in gote is less common (and certainly less useful) - but it still happens on occasion, especially in my own games, hehe...

Sometimes a player will ignore a sente move and switch to play his own sente sequence elsewhere on the board - just to later come back to the original move and answer it after all. Confusing? Hehe... Just wait!

2. Some random thoughts about sente - just to complicate the issue (optional)

This seems easy to understand, but sente actually is a very deep thing, one on which there were many discussions and conflicting points of view.

Because Go is not a sudden-death game (i.e. now one in which you can suddenly lose like in chess when you get mated) - it is hard to tell which moves require a response and which do not. Technically speaking, you are never required to respond to any move - and there is nothing stopping you from ignoring it and playing elsewhere - as a matter of fact, this often happens, for example when you choose to ignore a ko threat (ko is explained here).

A sente is a painful thing to leave your opponent with, so a large part of the game is centered around trying to size sente. But what is sente, really? The definition I gave above that "Sente is a move which has to be answered" - is very simplistic, since such move (which you have to answer) does not really exist. It is only an issue of personal judgment - What will I lose if I don't answer this move, and what can I gain if I play elsewhere - and how does this balance?

Also - sente seems to be more a matter if players temperament than it initially seems. Sometimes a player will make move which is not really a forcing threat, but it may lead to a position which his opponent dislikes for some reasons - for example, maybe he just prefers to play less aggressively. So - against such player, this move will be sente, and such player will probably answer it - because he will consider the penalty of not answering, namely the game moving into dangerous for him territory, as too high of a price to pay. Against another player, one which thrives on sharp and aggressive game - such move might not require an answer - since it moves the game in the satisfactory direction, and not answering such move would not bring any penalty.

So you see - that one person's sente may be another person's gote - and its sometimes purely a matter of player's character which kinds of moves he considers sente and which he does not.

Then, there is this whole issue of price for ignoring sente. Lets look at this in purely arithmetical way - lets say that your opponent makes a move which threatens to destroy 10 points of your territory. Is such move sente - do you have to answer it and prevent your territory from being destroyed? Well - this is not so simple. Let's say you spot another move which will destroy 20 points of your opponent's area - so if you play there instead of answering the "sente" of the enemy, he will obliterate 10 of yours, you'll crunch 20 of his - so the balance will be in your favor, and his move was not really sente. But what if the largest attack you can see is for you to threat to destroy 5 points of his territory? Is his initial move sente then? And what if you have a move of your own to destroy 10 of his points?

You see - it is hard to say if a move is sente without considering the whole position - the entire board! In one position a certain move is sente, and in another it may be gote! Also, when you look at the whole position - the entire board - it almost seems like every move is sente - since you will answer every one of them (the alternative is to pass) - even if this "answer" will be in another part of the board, hehe.... Well - this almost borders on metaphysical, so lets not go there.

For all practical purposes, a sente move is one which is locally sente - and even if the opponent does not feel compelled to answer it immediately, he will still want to come back and answer it in the future... eventually. Depends what other big moves are on the board and which of them are larger the this sente play - and which of the produce sequences ending up in sente. Confusing.

3. Wicked brains come up with wicked ideas!

One final thought on sente - and I think this is very important. We have stated above that having sente is almost like having the initiative and being able to decide the direction of the game. This sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Yes. But maybe not always - there is a wicked way of thinking which, when presented to me, totally blew me off!

Listen - look at this game from the opponent's point of view. He sits there, wondering where to play, and ponders the position looking for clues as to what is the best move! What are the chances that he will find the best move? What are the chances he will find a good move? Well - it depends on his level, but generally speaking, since we are all just amateur players and probably weak ones too, chances are not too good, right? Chances are the he will make a move which is far from the best - maybe even a bad blunder! This cannot be bad for us, can it? Hehe...

Now - what if you have sente, what hat if you make a move that forces your opponent to respond in a specific area of the board? Or what even if you force him to respond on a specific point? What does this do to his quest for finding the best move? - Well, yes - it sure makes it easy on him!! Instead of looking at the whole board, he only has to scan one little area for the best move, an area which you, in your infinite wisdom, indicated to him by making a sente move! Is this good for you? Is the "initiative" enough compensation for such big help you are giving toy your opponent? Who knows, hehe... it is certainly an issue of opinion! And remember - after he answers your sente move - it will be you pondering the board looking for the best move and probably not finding it!

Anyways - what all this boils down to is that you have to give your opponent as much possibility as you can to make mistakes! Sounds cruel, I know - but its true! By making sente moves and forcing moves you reduce his chances of making a boo-boo, while by letting him have the next move and making him choose from all the possibilities - you maximize his chance of making a mistake! This kind of thinking is especially valid for handicap games when you are white - and so your opponent is weaker than you - and so by letting him swim in the deep waters you almost force him into making mistakes.

Hehe... pretty wicked, eh? But still - this is only one side of the coin, the other being that it is good to have the initiative by keeping sente - because this puts a different kind of pressure on your opponent who feels like he is always running one step behind, and this in turn also causes him to make mistakes. So there - there are two sides to a coin, now you know!

These above considerations are just ideas that you should think about - and Go is a deep enough game that nobody can really tell you what is good and what is bad in this respect. There are different approaches, different attitudes, different philosophies. A wise player has a wide arsenal of techniques! Be wise - and choose your own balance!