Nakade

Nakade is a move played inside an opponent’s eye space to kill a group or put its life under severe threat. The invading stone is placed on the key point of the space, often reducing it to a single eye or creating a shape that cannot make two eyes. The word can also describe the characteristic dead shape produced by this move.

Nakade is specifically an invasion of an eye space, rather than a general invasion or simply a play on any vital point. Its exact effect depends on the eye space’s size and shape and on the liberties provided by nearby stones. The aim is to kill the group or force it into an unsettled life-and-death position. Finding the correct point requires reading: an apparently decisive placement can fail if the surrounding stones permit a counter-capture, a ko, or another way to form two eyes.