Shikatsu

In Go, Life and death (shikatsu) refers to critical situations involving the survival or demise of groups. Determining whether a group can live or is inevitably doomed to capture, lies at the heart of many tactical battles.

Such life-and-death problems are a cornerstone of Go training. Recognizing the status of a group — alive, dead, or unsettled — enables players to make informed strategic decisions and avoid costly mistakes.

In Go, there’s a similar concept called tsumego. The difference is that shikasu refers to real-life life-and-death problems that occur during actual games, while tsumego are composed problems designed for training and study.