Net in Go — How the Geta Capture Works | PlayGo.gg

A position in which you surround a stone or group of stones that leaves room for them to run, but they cannot escape and will eventually be captured.

What is a net?

A net is played one or two points away from the stone you want to capture, on a diagonal that cuts off every escape line at once. The trapped stone still has liberties — often two or three — but every direction it tries to run, the net stone or the surrounding wall is already there to surround it.

Because the trapped stone never has a single forced response, the net isn't a sequence — it's a position. After one move, the capture is guaranteed; the opponent simply can't extend in any direction without making things worse.

When to use a net instead of a ladder?

The Kageyama rule from Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go: try the net first. If a geta works cleanly, prefer it over a ladder for three reasons:

- No ladder breakers. The geta depends only on local stones. A friendly stone of the trapped color, played far away, cannot save the capture. - No long sequence to read. A ladder runs ten or more moves across the board. A net is one move and the result is settled. - Better thickness. The captured stones leave behind a position with more liberties for the capturing wall, often producing stronger outside influence than a thin ladder line.

The trade-off is slightly less efficiency in pure points — the trapped group keeps a few extra liberties. For most players in most positions, that cost is well worth paying. To check a candidate net, place the stone mentally and trace every possible escape: if each one runs into existing stones or atari, the net works.

Example of a net in a game

How can you net the following stones?

Restricting the opponent's options is enough — you don't always need to touch a stone to kill it. The geta is the cleanest, smallest version of that idea: one stone, one diagonal, and an enemy stone with nowhere left to go.