losing the initiative; being forestalled; being on the back foot
Describes a situation where one is forced to react rather than act, often contrasted with 先手 (せんて). Common in competitive, business, and strategic contexts.
See also: 先手 (せんて)
We ended up on the back foot in the negotiations.
You can't win with a strategy that always lets the opponent take the initiative.
moving second; person with the second move
Used in turn-based games or competitions to refer to the player or side that moves after the opponent. Often contrasted with 先手.
In shogi, the player moving second is said to be at a disadvantage.
gote; move that does not require an immediate response
Technical term in go and shogi for a move that does not demand an immediate reply, often contrasted with 先手 (sente).
See also: 先手 (せんて)
This move is gote, so the opponent can play elsewhere.
Rare, historical military term for troops positioned at the rear. Modern usage is mostly limited to historical descriptions or set phrases.
See also: 後詰め
In battles of the Warring States period, the rear guard protected the main camp.
In the negotiation, we were forestalled by the other side and put on the back foot.
Since I was the second player, I watched my opponent's move first.
In this position, playing a gote move is the best strategy.
先手 means taking the initiative or moving first, while 後手 means being forced to react or moving second.
後手 means being forced into a reactive, second-move position, the opposite of 先制's proactive head start.
double gote; move that is gote for either player
Standard kanji spelling for all senses.
Compound of 後 (go, 'after, behind') and 手 (te, 'hand, move'). The core meaning is 'the hand that comes after' or 'the later move', extended to losing initiative and military rear guard.