Seki is a Japanese term used to describe an impasse that cannot be resolved into simple life and death. For example, a capturing race may end in a position in which neither player can capture the other. There are numerous types of seki position that can arise, characterized as cases in which neither player adds a play to groups that do not have two eyes. The area remains untouched; at the end all groups involved are deemed alive, but no territory is scored. (This is under the Japanese rules.)

In the figure, neither White nor Black can play on the points marked a. White would put himself in atari and be captured immediately. Black would be captured as well, leaving a shape (four in line) where White can always make two eyes.