Definition, synonyms and related words
A move that threatens the immediate capture of one or more stones. In chess, the closest equivalent words would be check, where a king is under attack from one or more pieces and pawns, or the state of being en prise, when a piece or pawn is undefended and can be taken without recapture.
"My grandfather kept his old atari in the attic along with other vintage electronics."
An Atari video game system or computer, such as the Atari 2600 or Atari ST.
In plain English: An atari is when you run out of moves and lose because there are no more ways to play.
"The video game cartridge hit an atari when their money ran out before they could beat the final level."
Usage: Use atari to describe a state in Go where an opponent's stone faces imminent removal by surrounding it completely. This term functions similarly to "check" in chess but specifically applies only within the game of Go.
The word atari comes from the Japanese term attari, which originally referred to a state of being caught or trapped. It entered English through video game culture, where it describes the moment when a player is about to lose due to running out of time or moves.