Two consecutive passes normally signal the end of the game (AGA Rule 9); The players then agree which stones on the board are dead — stones that could not avoid capture if play continued; Dead stones are removed and counted as prisoners; if the players cannot agree, play resumes to settle the pos...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that if two consecutive passes happen in Go (AGA), it means play automatically ends without counting stones as dead, which is incorrect. The confusion arises because the official verdict specifies players must first agree on which stones are dead before deciding who wins based on those counts. People sometimes overlook this step and rush to declare a winner prematurely.
