Investment

In Go, an investment is a move or plan that deliberately accepts an immediate cost, loss, or reduced profit in order to obtain greater future value. The player may invest by building potential, influence, aji, or other positional resources whose benefits appear later, often through follow-up moves.

The aim is to create future profit, attacking potential, influence, or strategic flexibility that justifies what is spent now. An investment is defined by its expected future return; it is not necessarily a sacrifice, though sacrificing stones or territory can be the method used. Because it depends on context, an investment can fail when the anticipated follow-up or future benefit does not materialize.