kukula wrote:Wow, thanks for the help! But I still don't understand!
Why isn't A16 a second eye for the white group, so that white can live no matter what happens in the corner?
I didn't realize just how much of a beginner I am!
Thanks!
A16 is white's first and only eye. A seki is a situation where neither player can kill the other without getting to play more than once in a row. In your example, if either player plays A19 (which white can't, anyways), B18, or A16, they are in atari. Even though black is outnumbered in the area, his two stones have as many liberties as all of the white ones. There are three ways that this could be resolved. First, it could remain seki forever, scoring no points for either. Second, either player could play something like B18 as a ko threat, in which case one player would get to kill the other here. Lastly, if white managed to kill some of the outside stones, like B14, white would have enough liberties to kill the two internal black stones.
Essentially, an eye doesn't count as an eye if there are opposing stones inside that you can't kill.
