Go (game)

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"Goe" redirects here. For other uses, see GOE (disambiguation). This article is about weiqi. For other games named "Go", see Go (disambiguation).

Go

Go is played on a grid of black lines (usually 1919). Game pieces, called stones, are played on the line intersections.

Years active

Zhou Dynasty (1046256 BC) to present

Genre(s)

Board game Abstract strategy game

Players

Age range

3+[1][nb 1]

Setup time

Minimal

Playing time

Casual: 2090 minutes Tournament: 16 hours[a]

Random chance

None

Skill(s) required

Strategy, tactics, observation

Synonym(s)

Igo Baduk / Paduk Weiqi ("way-chee") C vy

Some professional games exceed 16 hours and are played in sessions spread over two days.

Go (Chinese: wiq, Japanese: igo, [nb 2] Korean: baduk,Vietnamese: c vy, common meaning: "encircling game") is a board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,500 years ago. The game is noted for being rich in strategy despite its relatively simple rules. According to chess master Emanuel Lasker: "The rules of Go are so elegant, organic, and rigorously logical that if intelligent life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, they almost certainly play Go."[2] The two players alternately place black and white playing pieces, called "stones", on the vacant intersections (called "points") of a grid of 1919 lines (beginners often play on smaller 99 and 1313 boards).[3] The object of the game is to use one's stones to surround a larger total area of the board than the opponent. [4] Once placed on the board, stones may not be moved, but stones are removed from the board if captured; this is done by surrounding an opposing stone or group of stones by occupying all orthogonally-adjacent points.[5] Players continue in this fashion until neither player wishes to make another move; the game has no set ending conditions. When a game concludes, the controlled points (territory) are counted along with captured stones to determine who has more points.[6] Games may also be won by resignation. Go originated in ancient China. Archaeological evidence shows that the early game was played on a board with a 1717 grid, but by the time the game had spread to Korea and Japan, in about the 5th and 7th centuries CE respectively, boards with a 1919 grid had become standard.[7] As of mid-2008 there were well over 40 million Go players worldwide, the overwhelming majority living in East Asia.[8] As of May 2012, the International Go Federation has a total of 74 member countries and four Association Members covering multiple countries.[9]

Contents
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1 Overview

1.1 Finer points

2 Game theory 3 Rules

o o o o o o

3.1 Basic rules 3.2 The ko rule 3.3 Passing 3.4 Playing stones with no liberties 3.5 Komi 3.6 Scoring rules

o o

3.6.1 Detailed description

3.7 Life and death 3.8 Seki (mutual life)

4 Tactics

o o o

4.1 Capturing tactics 4.2 Reading ahead 4.3 Ko fighting

5 Strategy

o o o

5.1 Basic concepts 5.2 Opening strategy 5.3 Phases of the game

6 History

o o o

6.1 Origin in China 6.2 Spread to Korea and Japan 6.3 Go in the West

7 Competitive play

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7.1 Ranks and ratings 7.2 Tournament and match rules 7.3 Top players

8 Equipment

8.1 Traditional equipment

o o o

8.1.1 Boards 8.1.2 Stones 8.1.3 Bowls 8.1.4 Modern and low-cost alternatives

8.2 Playing technique and etiquette 8.3 Time control 8.4 Notation and recording games

9 Computers and Go

o o o o

9.1 Nature of the game 9.2 Software players 9.3 Software assistance 9.4 Video games

10 In culture and science

o o

10.1 Literature, television, and film 10.2 Psychology

11 See also 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External links

Overview[edit source | editbeta]

The first 60 moves of a Go game, animated. This particular game quickly developed into a complicated fight in the lower left and bottom.

Go is an adversarial game with the objective of surrounding more territory than one's opponent. [3]As the game progresses, the board gets divided up into areas of territory, as outlined by groups of stones. These areas are then contested in local battles, which are often complicated, and may result in the expansion, reduction, or wholesale capture and loss of the contested area. It is often the case that a certain kind of "trade" goes on, where a player's loss in one part of the board can be compensated for or mitigated by a gain in another part of the board.

The four liberties (adjacent empty points) of a single black stone (A), as White reduces those liberties by one (B, C, and D). When Black has only one liberty left (D), that stone is "in atari". [10]White may capture that stone (remove from board) with a play on its last liberty (at D-1).

A basic principle of Go is that stones must have at least one "liberty" (Chinese: ) to remain on the board. "A liberty" is an open "point" (intersection) next to a stone.[5] An enclosed liberty (or liberties) is called an "eye" (), and a group of stones with at least two separate eyes is said to be unconditionally "alive".[11] Such groups cannot be captured, even if surrounded.[12] "Dead" stones are stones that are surrounded and in groups with poor shape (one or no eyes), and thus cannot resist eventual capture.[13] The general strategy of Go is to expand one's territory where possible, attack the opponent's weak groups (groups that can possibly be killed), and always stay mindful of the "life status" of one's own groups.[14][15] The liberties of groups are countable. Situations where two opposing groups must capture the other to live are called capturing races (, 'semeai' in Japanese).[16] In a capturing race, the group with more liberties (and/or better "shape") will ultimately be able to capture the opponent's stones.[16][17] Capturing races and questions of life and death are examples of what makes Go challenging. The game ends when both players pass, and players pass when there are no more profitable moves to be made.[18] The game is then scored: The player with the greater number of controlled (surrounded) points, factoring in the number of captured stones, wins the game. Games may also be won by resignation, for example if a player has lost a large group of stones.

Finer points[edit source | editbeta]

In the opening stages of the game, players typically establish positions (or "bases") in the corners and around the sides of the board. These bases help to quickly develop living shapes and surround territory. [19] Players usually start in the corners, because it is more efficient there to make life and to establish territory.[20] Established corner opening sequences are called "joseki (Japanese, ) or jungsuk (Korean)" and are often studied independently.[21] "" (pronounced [dame], 'neutral points') are points that lie in-between the boundary walls of black and white, and as such are considered to be of no value to either side. "Seki" (Chinese: ) are mutually alive pairs of white and black groups where neither has two eyes. A "ko" (Chinese and Japanese: ) is a repeated-position shape that may be contested by making forcing moves elsewhere. After the forcing move is played, the ko may be "taken back" and returned to its original position.[22] Some "ko fights" may be important and decide the life of a large group, while others may be worth just one or two points.[23] Playing with others usually requires a knowledge of each player's strength, as indicated by their rank (30kyu1kyu|1dan6dan|1dan pro9dan pro). Handicaps are given if there is a notable difference in rankBlack is allowed to p