In Go, joseki(定石,jōseki) are studied sequences of moves in the corner areas of the Go board, for which the result is considered balanced for both black and white sides. Because games typically start with plays in the corners, players often try to use their understanding of joseki to gain local advantages in the corners — advantages which can result in a better overall position. Though less common, there are also joseki for the middle game. In Japanese, 定 (jō) means "fixed" or "set" and 石 (seki) means stones, giving the literal meaning "set stones", as in "set pattern". In Chinese, the term for joseki is 定式, dìngshì.