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        rec.games.go FAQ v 2.4 (Last Update: August 1999)
        Frequently Asked Questions - And Their Answers



Welcome to Go
------------------

This FAQ is posted regularly in ascii version to the newsgroup
rec.games.go and is also maintained in HTML version on
<http://altern.org/pahle/>.

On behalf of regular posters and readers of the newsgroup and of all
the Go players out there, welcome.

This FAQ is an attempt to answer those questions which we all have
when we are new to a place and hopefully you will find it useful.

The FAQ is also a description of what to do and how to do it on the
newsgroup. If you are new to Go, newsgroups in general or RGG in
particular, it is suggested that you read the FAQ before posting.

If the FAQ does not answer your questions, or if you have any other
comments on it, please contact the FAQ maintainer, you will find his
name and address at the end of the FAQ.

Of course, you can always post to the newsgroup. rec.games.go is not
moderated.

Another last point before you go on: this FAQ is most easily read if
you have it displayed with a mono-spaced font (E.g. Courier).


What is in this FAQ?
-------------------

1.      The Game in general
1.1.    What is this game?
1.2.    What are the rules?
1.3.    Who invented this game? Where, when and how did Go develop?
1.4.    Why has this game got so many names?
1.5.    Does perfect play exist?
1.6.    How does komi and handicap change with board size?
1.7.    What is a 'dan' or 'kyu' player?
1.8.    What is a handicap and how is it used?
2.      Real Life play
2.1.    How can I play in real life?
2.2.    How do I find a club close to me?
2.3.    How are tournaments organised?
2.4.    Where can I find real equipment : books, boards, stones etc.?
2.5.    How can I make my own equipment?
3.      Internet Play
3.1.    How can I play on the internet?
3.2.    How do I find a Go server?
3.3.    Where do I find clients?
3.4.    I do not like any of the clients. Can I make my own?
3.5.    How do I act towards someone I cannot see?
3.6.    What does 1/5 or 1/10 mean?
4.      Improving and teaching
4.1.    How can I improve?
4.2.    Which parts of my game need improving?
4.3.    I am x kyu. Which books should I read?
4.4.    What can I use this Newsgroup for?
4.5.    How do I post positions to the Newsgroup?
4.6.    Who can comment my games?
4.7.    How can I teach this game?
4.8.    Are there go-problems on the web?
5.      Aspects of the game
5.1.    How do I count at the end of the game?
5.2.    How do I count whilst the game is in progress?
5.3.    What are miai and deiri counting?
5.4.    What is reverse sente?
5.5.    What is a false eye?
5.6.    What is a ko-fight?
5.7.    What is all this about shape?
6.      Computer Go
6.1.    Is there a program for UNIX/Mac/PC/Palmpilot/WinCE etc which
can Play/Record/Teach etc.
6.2.    What is an .sgf/.mgt/.go etc. file?
6.3.    How strong are computers?
6.4.    Which is the best computer program?
7.      Slang and expressions
7.1.    What do those abbreviations on the servers mean?
7.2.    What do those words mean?
8.      Other internet links
8.1.    Mailing lists
9.      About this FAQ
10.     Feedback and Suggestions


1. The Game in general
----------------------



1.1. What is this game?
----------------------

The game which is the subject of this newsgroup is known under several
names: Go, Goe, Igo, Wei-qi, Wei-chi, Baduk.. to name a few.

For the purpose of this FAQ, the name Go will be used, Apart from the
fact that it is the name which is used the most in the 'western'
world, it is also the shortest and easiest to spell ;-).

Go is a game of tactics and strategy which is played by two players.
Players take turns to place their markers ('stones') on an initially
empty board ('goban'), following simple rules. The objective of the
game is to place your stones so that they control the largest part of
the goban. Although the stones, once placed, do not move, groups of
stones 'move'; groups are attacked, defend themselves, are killed,
connect, encircle and dominate. Several fights may combine into larger
fights, but in the end a win by one point is worth as much as a win by
thirty.

A game of go can last anywhere from a quarter of an hour (fast
'blitz') to several days (large championship matches). Playing in
clubs or on the net, a game typically lasts roughly one hour.

Beginning to play Go tends to have an addictive effect on people: the
more you play, the more you want to play and the more aware you become
that there is still a lot left to learn.


1.2. What are the rules?
----------------------

This section contains a very shortened explanation of the most basic
rules, without trying to explain their implications or their
interpretation. There are several sites on the web which contain a
more detailed explanation of the rules:

Robert JASIEK:
   <http://www.snafu.de/~jasiek/rules.html>
   Robert also posts a 'Rules FAQ' to the NG which is aimed
   especially at beginners
Jan VAN DER STEEN:
   <http://www.cwi.nl/~jansteen/go/rules/index.html>
Mori's Go Page :
   <http://www.sainet.or.jp/~mori/Go.html>
   Interactively teaches some basics as well
Tel's go page:
   <http://www.telgo.com/>
   Also provides fundamentals about connecting, attacking, etc.

The American Go Association has published a booklet introducing the
game of Go which is available for download in .pdf format:
   <http://www.usgo.org/usa/waytogo/>

The European Go Federation has published a series of booklets in all
main European languages, developing a simplified approach to rules,
oriented toward easy teaching. Contact the European go federation
through the address as given in section 2.2.


Core Rules of Go

The game is played on a grid board. Two players compete. The first
player uses black stones, the other white.

White may get compensation points (komi, typically 5.5) for moving
second. If black is considerably weaker, then interesting games can
result from letting him play a fixed number of stones (called handicap
stones) before White begins playing.

Typically, a squared grid board has 19x19 intersections, but 13x13 or
9x9 are also fine.

The players alternate. A player may play or pass.

Playing is putting one own stone on an empty intersection. Thereby
surrounded opposing stones, if any, are captured. To avoid cycles, a
play may not recreate any prior configuration of all stones on the
board. (it is also forbidden to leave surrounded stones on the board)

Passing lets the opponent continue. (i.e. he will have played twice in
a row)

Successive passes end the game.

The player with more points wins. Own points are empty intersections
surrounded only by one's own stones plus the owned captives of
opposing colour.

A player may resign the game. Resignation is not only allowed, but
often a good move; as the game is as much lost by 1 point as by 30, it
is considered rude for a player who sees he is hopelessly behind to
continue playing (in hope of some blunder, of course, but this is
precisely what is considered rude).

You might encounter other rules, but the game is the same (in almost
all situations), i. e. strategy, tactics, and the score do not change.

Please refer to the Rules FAQ posted by Robert JASIEK for details
regarding the different rule sets.


1.3. Who invented this game? Where, when and how did Go develop?
----------------------

History has it that Go was invented in China over 4000 years ago,
possibly making it the oldest surviving board game still played today.
This claim is supported by various archaeological findings of Go
equipment, figurative art representing Go equipment and mention of Go
in literature.

Legend tells of an emperor who was dissatisfied with his son's
non-serious behaviour, and had one of his generals invent a game which
was meant to teach his son tactics, strategy and concentration. The
general then invented Go. Apparently the emperors son thought little
of it and discarded it saying that whoever played first would always
win. This behaviour upset his father, who beheaded his son and
appointed the general his heir.

A more plausible explanation for the invention of Go could be that
ancient types of gobans were used for divination (fortune telling),
with white and black stones.

Reference to Go in Chinese literature can be traced to the 5th.
century BC. And already in ancient times, high standards of play was
achieved.

A Japanese ambassador to the Chinese court is believed to have
imported the game to Japan around 740 AD. Although Go was already
known in Japan, it was the introduction to the Japanese court which
spurred off great interest in the game in all the upper classes at the
time. Around 1600 AD, the Japanese Shogun created a salaried
'Go-minister', responsible for all Go activities and the Shoguns
teacher. In 1612, the Shogun also decreed salaries for the top players
of the day, and four Go 'houses' were set up: 'Honinbo', 'Inoue',
'Yasui' and 'Hayashi'. It was the continuous competition between these
schools which propelled the development of Go through to 1868, when
the new emperor removed the government funding. The houses collapsed
and Go lost popularity, but gradually regained it and in 1924 a single
national association was formed, the Nihon Kiin, which still exists
today.

In China, Go did not receive the support it did in Japan, and although
it was a popular game, the standard of play was below the Japanese. It
is said that at the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese top players
took 3 stones handicap from their Japanese counterparts. However,
China did produce a player who is claimed to have been the best go
player of this century, known mostly by the Japanese pronunciation of
his name, Go Seigen. After the revolution, Go once again became a
sport which received sponsorship and support from the Chinese
government.

Today in international matches, players from Japan, China and Korea
are evenly matched, with many strong young players emerging in all
three countries.

Although it is said that Marco Polo brought back with him a Go-set
from his travels, Go was more or less unknown in the 'west' it was the
inclusion of Go in a book by Edward LASKER, a famous chess player, at
the beginning of this century which spurred of its 'western' growth.
Although Go has spread since then, it is far less known than Chess,
and the 'West' has yet to produce world-class players (although there
are several 'western' professional players. The highest ranked is
Michael REDMOND (8p) from the U.S.A.).

For those who are interested in more details, there are several places
on the web which have details about the history of Go:

Andrew GRANT
   <http://www.honinbo.freeserve.co.uk/>
Jan VAN DER STEEN
   <http://www.cwi.nl/~jansteen/go/history/index.html>
John FAIRBAIRN
   <http://www.harrowgo.demon.co.uk/>


1.4. Why has this game got so many names?
----------------------

The original name for Go is Weich'i or Weiqi, and is still used in
China today. Weiqi literally means 'encircling game'.

The Japanese named the game Igo, but the variant 'Go' has since become
the name which seems to have gained the most acceptance in the
'western' world.

In Korea, Go is called Baduk.

Goe is the name given to the game by the late Mr. Ing. Mr. Ing was a
Taiwanese business man of considerable wealth which he used to promote
Go. He is also the father of the Ing rules, the Ing clocks and the Ing
equipment (board, stones, bowls). One of his idiosyncrasies was to
call the game 'Goe', which is still used by some people today.


1.5.  Does perfect play exist?
----------------------

Yes. Considering that Go is a 'complete knowledge' game, there must be
a way to play which is optimal for both players, and which leads to an
optimal result.

Despite this result of general game theory, human players are very far
from perfect play. It is extremely likely that the best moves (even in
the early opening) have yet to be played.

The truth is that Go is so complex that it is impossible to say, for
almost any given situation, with 100% certainty, which the best move
is. To do this for a whole game is even harder.

The above is true even for small board sizes.

Several threads on rec.games.go have discussed this for various board
sizes and various rule sets. Even for 2x2 boards, this is not a
trivial task, and the result varies widely with the basic ruleset
applied.

For larger boards, this becomes even harder.

Even the almost obvious postulate: "Black plays first so he should
also win" has never been proven nor dis-proven.

It also follows that there is no 'perfect' value for komi at various
board sizes, indeed, it is open for argument whether or not komi
should be adjusted (and how) according to board size.


1.6. How does komi and handicap change with board size?
----------------------

See section 1.5.

Regarding handicap games, the following table gives one possible way
of allocating handicap and komi on 13x13 boards. First column:
Handicap on 19x19 goban, second column, handicap on 13x13 goban, third
column, komi to white.

19x19   13x13   Komi       19x19   13x13   Komi
0         0      5.5       10        4      5.5
1         0      5.5       11        4      2.5
2         0      2.5       12        4     -0.5
3         0     -0.5       13        5      5.5
4         2      5.5       14        5      2.5
5         2      2.5       15        5     -0.5
6         2     -0.5       16        6      5.5
7         3      5.5       17        6      2.5
8         3      2.5       18        6     -0.5
9         3     -0.5       19        6     -3.5

Tim HUNT has collected some information based on his experiences with
small boards, and presents several ways of assigning handicap and
komi. Take a look at
<http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tjh1000/13x13summary.html>


1.7. What is a 'dan' or 'kyu' player?
----------------------

In Japanese, Kyu means 'step' and Dan means 'grade'. The idea is that
one must progress through several elementary steps before obtaining a
grade, and that there are several grades.

Therefore, several steps and grades exist. The scale starts around 30
Kyu (lowest) to 1 Kyu ( highest) and then continues with 1 Dan
(lowest) to 7 Dan (Highest). In addition, there are professional Dan
ranks, which run from 1 Dan professional (lowest) to 9 dan
professional (highest).

Unfortunately, the ranking system has no absolute values. (There are
no 'anchors'.) Therefore, a 1 Dan player in e.g. the U.S.A. is not
necessarily a 1 Dan player elsewhere. Traditionally, Japanese ranks
are considered weak, followed by the U.S. rankings, with the European
rankings being strong. (E.g. a European 1 dan will be around 3 dan US
and 5 dan Japan). Ranking on the internet servers (see section 3) also
vary. IGS rankings are typically 3-4 stones stronger than European
rankings. E.g. our European 1 dan will rank around 3 kyu on IGS.

A 1 dan (professional) would be the equivalent to approximately an
6-dan European amateur, a 9 dan (professional) would be the equivalent
to approximately a 9-dan European Amateur. An IGS 4d* (see section 7)
is probably around 1 dan Professional.

Every Go player has a ranking. Beginners typically start around 30
kyu, but rapidly advance to around 15 kyu, experienced players may
become 1kyu after a few years of playing, and then advance to
'shodan', or 1-dan, and beyond.


1.8. What is a handicap and how is it used?
----------------------

In matches between players of different ranking, a handicap is used so
that the game can be balanced. The handicap consists of a certain
number of stones placed on the goban before the game begins. On a
19x19 goban, the difference in ranking gives the number of stones of
handicap. 9 stones is usually the maximum handicap used on a 19x19
goban. However, it is fully possible to play with more handicap
stones, on a 19x19 goban up to 17 stones can be used.

A handicap means that two players can both enjoy the game, although
they are of different levels. In tournaments, players are normally
divided in classes, with handicap given within the class. This means
that a beginner at 20 Kyu has a chance to win a game against an
experienced player of e.g. 11 Kyu. (if no handicap were given, the
probability of this would be very small)


2. Real Life play
----------------------



2.1. How can I play in real life?
----------------------

Go in real life is easiest played in a Go-club. Most go-clubs have
club nights when they are open for anyone to come and play. In larger
cities there may even be go-clubs that are always open. Sometimes you
may be asked to pay a small fee to play a game, but more often than
not, this is not the case.

However, if you wish to continue to play in a club, you should become
a member. Depending on country/club, this also includes other
benefits: reduced entry fees in competitions, free teaching, monthly
magazines, etc.

Go is often surrounded by an eastern aura of tradition (and
mysticism), and you should remember to always be polite, towards
opponents and other players. As Go is a game of concentration, some
players are sensitive to noise and other disturbances during the game.
It is therefore good courtesy to avoid these.

When watching a game, advice should in general not be given to the
players, although commenting, ('kibitzing'), the game with other
bystanders is fine, as long as the players do not mind.


2.2. How do I find a club close to me?
----------------------

The following is a list of web sites, which will lead you to your
local Go-club. (I have purposely omitted all the national clubs in
Europe, since they are found through the given links anyway.)


Africa
 South Africa  <http://users.iafrica.com/h/hu/hunt/saga>

The Americas
 Canada  <http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~erbach/cga/contacts_cga.html>
 USA     <http://www.usgo.org/usa/chapters.html>

Australasia, Far East
 Australia     <http://www.adfa.oz.au/~dle/clubs.html>
 Hong Kong     <http://www.bi.ust.hk/~schmidt/hkga.html>
 Japan         <http://www.joy.ne.jp/nihonkiin/index-e.htm>
 Korea         <http://www.hankukkiwon.co.kr/>
 New Zealand   <http://www.es.co.nz/~barryp/clubs.htm>
 Singapore     <http://home.pacific.net.sg/~swa/>

Europe, Near east
 Europe   <http://eiunix.tuwien.ac.at/~michael/go/europe.html>
          <http://www.european-go.org/poljen.htm>
 Israel   <http://freud.tau.ac.il/~shakhar/go.html>

If you use the above references as starting points, but still cannot
find a place close to you, try posting a question to the newsgroup.


2.3. How are tournaments organised?
----------------------

Go tournaments are often a good opportunity to meet other players who
do not always come to the club, and players from out of town.

Furthermore, there is usually enough time after and between matches to
replay, discuss or play more. All in all, in a tournament which runs
over a weekend, you can expect to play more games than the number of
rounds would indicate.

Even without knowing the details of how tournaments are organised, you
will have a lot of fun.

A good tournament system enables the ranking of a large class of
players (say 15-20) with relatively few rounds (typically 4-5).

Several ways of organising tournaments exist. Various systems are
described by Robert JASIEK in his Rules FAQ.


2.4. Where can I find real equipment : books, boards, stones etc.?
----------------------

Outside the far east, there are relatively few shops where
go-equipment is sold. Large bookshops may carry a beginners book, and
large games stores may carry a goban and stones.

Therefore, unless you happen to live close to one of the shops listed
below, the easiest way to buy equipment is via mail/web/phone order
from those shops.

The following lists, in alphabetical order, the details of those shops
which carry a general supply of Go material and which have web sites.

The IBUKI Trading Post
 Web: <http://www.ippi.com/top_go.html>

ISHI Press
 E-mail: [email protected]
 Web: <http://members.aol.com/ishipress/go.htm>
 Phone: 1-800-859-2086 (USA)

Kiseido
 CPO BOX 1140,
 Tokyo,
 Japan
 Fax +81-467-57-5814
 E-mail:[email protected]
 Web: <http://www.labnet.or.jp./~kiseido>
Or
 2255 - 29th Street, Suite 4,
 Santa Monica, California 90405
 USA
 Phone: +1-800-988-6463
 Fax: 1-310-578-7381
 E-mail: [email protected]

Samarkand and Good Move Press
 332 Bleecker Street Suite K-59
 New York, NY 10014
 USA
 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
 Web: <http://www.samarkand.net/>

Schaak en Go winkel het paard
 Haarlemmerdijk 147
 1013 KH Amsterdam
 The Netherlands
 Phone: (+31) 20 6241171
 Fax: (+31) 20 6270885
 E-mail: [email protected]
 Web: <http://www.xs4all.nl/~paard/>

Yutopian Enterprises
 2255 29th Street, Suite 3
 Santa Monica, California 90405
 USA
 Phone: (310) 578-7181
 Fax: (310) 578-7381
 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
 Web: <http://www.yutopian.com/>

For all those shops which do not have a web site, Fred HANSENS site
<http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~wjh/go/GoProdSvcs> also lists some other
shops, as does Jan VAN DER STEEN on his site at
<http://www.cwi.nl/~jansteen/go/go-2.html>

For shops in Europe which are serviced by Het Paard, take a look at ,
<http://www.xs4all.nl/~paard/goshops.html>.

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