Sente and gote

sente for White

Sente and gote are complementary terms. Sente loosely corresponds to taking the initiative, and gote loosely corresponds to the responsibility of defense. If a move forces the other player to respond, that player "has gote"; if not, he/she can play elsewhere, "taking sente." The player who holds sente more often in effect controls the flow of the game.

'Taking gote unnecessarily' would mean that one had defended for oneself a smaller area of the board than one could have threatened to take from the opponent, elsewhere. Very few plays in a game are really forcing ? the opponent may well ignore you. If your play was 'really' sente, you expect to gain by following it up, as soon as possible.

The act of playing elsewhere (in other words, breaking off from a local exchange of plays in one area of the board) is called tenuki. It may indicate either a natural pause in the sequence, or a disagreement as to the importance of an area of the board. Between strong players tenuki may be used as a kind of gambit. Because the Go board is so spacious, the balance between attack and defense, and amongst different areas, holds great importance for strategy.

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