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© 2008 by Sunday Go Publications

So You Want to Play Go?

Level 1: Beginner to 20 kyu

Jonathan Hop

Buy the full book at gobooks.com

Go is an ancient board game, invented in China almost 4,000 years ago and now sweeping its way across the world! The So You Want to Play Go? series is a step by step course that begins with the bare basics for beginners in the first level, to more advanced topics in level 4. Great for total beginners or even experienced veterans, the So You Want to Play Go? series is aimed at teaching the principles and fundamentals of the game in a fun and interesting way, so that Go is enjoyable for everyone.

Copyright Page

So You Want to Play Go?
Level 1: Beginner to 20 kyu

Copyright © 2008 by Sunday Go Publications
All rights reserved.

Other publications:
“So You Want to Play Go?” Level 2, 3, and 4
“So You Want to Play Go?” Go Puzzles Level 1, 2, and 3

Visit www.sundaygolessons.com to take a look at current and future publications.

Converted for SmartGo Books by John Mifsud.

Contents

So You Want to Play Go?
Level 1: Beginner to 20 kyu

Copyright Page

Introduction

Dedication

Foreword

About the Author

Crash Course in Japanese Pronunciation

Crash Course in Chinese Pronunciation

Learning About Go

Chapter 1: Beginnings

The chapters in gray are included only in the full book.

Chapter 2: Play Shape Like a Pro!

Chapter 3: Introductory Life and Death

Chapter 4: Fighting and Tesuji

Chapter 5: Let’s Play!

Chapter 6: An Introduction to the End Game

Chapter 7: Professional Play

Chapter 8: The Big Board

Wrap Up

Afterword

Tsumego Problems

Glossary of Terms

Buy This Book

About SmartGo Books

Dedication
Jin Chen

January 3, 1987 – January 26, 2009

I’d like to dedicate this book to one of my best friends, Jin Chen who passed away suddenly in 2009. Jin was a regular at the University of Michigan Go Club and we became good friends through our mutual interest in Weiqi. Jin was always upbeat and funny and he taught me to be a more positive person. He was a bright spot in everyone’s day, and was an intelligent, hard working man. Jin was an employee of Microsoft, a first class Weiqi player, and an all-around great human being. I will always hold a spot in my heart for him.

My fondest memories of Jin are when we went to Go Congress in 2008. I roomed with him along with another friend, Zi Wang. We would spend all night playing Weiqi, reviewing and laughing about games we played. Jin had a wonderful sense of humor and was a friend to everyone. Jin always had a big smile on his face and a joke ready for any occasion; he was oftentimes the life of the party.

What I will never forget is that Jin taught me to believe in myself. He was always ready with kind words and real honesty, and always reminded me that in anything I did, I would have to first trust myself. Maybe he never knew it, but there were many qualities he possessed that I truly admired, which is why I am dedicating this book to his memory. My heart goes out to his family. I will never forget you Jin.

Foreword

“So You Want to Play Go?” Most Western players know this game by this name which is how the Japanese call it. We use the name “Go” because it is the Japanese who first introduced it to our neck of the woods. However, the game was invented in China and I would like to honor this tradition by using the Chinese word for the game. As such, I will be calling the game “Weiqi” (pronounced Way – Chee). However you want to call it, there are more and more people just like you who are discovering this great game and want to learn as much as they can. When you play Weiqi you are joining millions of people across four thousand years of time. No matter your player level you can have a great time playing Weiqi and meeting new people. In that way, Weiqi is its own microcosm across the entire globe. Weiqi is a wonderful game in that there is no ceiling, no barrier to a player’s potential. There is always something to learn and room for improvement. With that in mind, I designed this book series so that you can progress as far as you want. I wrote this series for another reason as well. When I first started, I had nothing to help me except the advice of stronger players and professional game records. I am thankful for those experiences, but I felt that books would have allowed me to learn at an even faster pace. When I finally did obtain Go books (around when I was 5 kyu and had some money for it), I was dismayed to find that the books failed to explain things in a way I understood. The methodology behind Go books written in Korean or Japanese center on lots of examples and did not adequately spend enough time on the basics, as a beginner would want. Many of the books I did consult were advanced and beyond my ability to understand. This book was written for the beginning Go enthusiast as a soft way of being introduced to the Go world. Follow the series and you’ll find yourself gaining the skills you need to strengthen yourself and become a skilled Go player.

How to use this book:

Every book in this series is a step by step course, giving you the skills you will need at varying levels of strength. We will cover different, equally important topics very thoroughly. Weiqi is like playing a musical instrument or learning a foreign language. It takes time and emphasis on the basics. Once mastered, however, you will find yourself playing beautifully and appreciating the game in ways you never thought possible. Take each chapter one at a time and do not move onto the next one until you have completed the assignment at the end. At the end of every book will be a set of problems to solve, not including any problems scattered throughout. Each chapter will focus on key concepts and provide examples and diagrams to explain these concepts to the extent you’ll need to know them at your level. Don’t be overwhelmed by all the information, take it in a little bit at a time. Read the book when you’re waiting in line at the DMV office, sitting down to lunch, or wherever you feel most comfortable. Look at what interests you, what frustrates you, what gives you nightmares at 3 a.m., but make sure you look at sections that are interesting to you. Always remember, have fun! It’s not like anything really hangs in the balance when you play Weiqi, so try and relax. Enjoy learning and you’ll find that these concepts will come easy to you.

A note about use of Japanese:

As I said before, Weiqi is very old, and like most ancient things, goes by many different names. In Japanese the name of the game is Igo (Go for short), which is simply the Japanese pronunciation of the characters used to write Weiqi. In Korean it is called Baduk (pronounced Ba-dook). As mentioned previously, I choose to maintain the name of the game as Weiqi because the game was invented in China and I think maintaining its original name is important. However, since Weiqi was popularized through the West’s relationship with Japan, most western players will refer to the game as Go and also use Japanese terms. In this book we use English terms whenever possible, but will acquaint you with Japanese terms because they are very much en vogue within the Weiqi community. Please read the section on Japanese pronunciation if you are unfamiliar with it. Do not feel flustered, upset, or turned off because you see a foreign word. We provide their meanings and pronunciations so that next time you go to your local Weiqi club you will sound as cool as everyone else.

About the Author

Hello! My name is Jonathan Hop and I am a graduate student in Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan. I am also an AGA 3 dan. You may be wondering how I came to know and love Weiqi. It begins in a way that I’m sure most Weiqi players can relate to: I saw Hikaru no Go. As you may know, Hikaru no Go is a story about a young boy named Hikaru who is possessed by a thousand year old spirit of a professional Weiqi player named Sai. It is available in both animated and comic book form. The story was written by Yumi Hotta and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. To put it bluntly, the show entranced me and I instantly became a Weiqi fanatic. What initially attracted me was the intense attitude the characters in the show had for the game. The second thing that pulled me in was how different the game was. I had never seen Weiqi before. It looked rather simple. The game is played on a board, with two sets of pieces, black and white. Play proceeds when both players place a single stone on the board for every move. But then as the shapes unfolded I was amazed at the game’s complexity. After watching the first few episodes, I grabbed a friend of mine and we headed straight to the coffee shop where the local Weiqi club met.

My first game was a total disaster. My friend, Dephanie, is Chinese and she knew more about the game than I did. My stones got captured, I had no territory, and all in all I totally lost. None of that mattered in the slightest to me, however. After that first game, something clicked inside me and I was hooked. Another friend, Connie, joined our group, but she was much better than me or Dephanie. Even though she gave me a large handicap, she still trounced me. After spending a few evenings at Borders getting destroyed by my friends, I decided that I was going to have no more of it. I was going to get better.

My first problem, though, was how to actually get better. I went to the bookstore yet found no books. I looked online but I did not really see anything that was geared towards me. There were books for advanced players or on specific topics that I did not recognize. I shrugged my shoulders and said to myself: “Maybe you could just play and learn. How hard could it be?” Little did I know. I then searched online and I started playing games on KGS, a place where you can play Weiqi with other players from around the world online for free. One summer I spent most of my spare time playing Weiqi, at least five games a day, and after some time my rank skyrocketed. The more I practiced and the better I became, the more active I was in Weiqi activities in college. I still played with Connie and Dephanie (although at that time they were wont to play, thanks to my newfound prowess) but I also joined up with the University of Michigan Go Club. This was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Once I joined the Weiqi club I got to meet a lot of different players, many of whom were students but many who just lived and worked in the area and wanted to play on a real life board. The club was well organized and run by Eric Jankowski, now a graduate student in Chemical Engineering. The club ran tournaments, workshops, and above all got all of the sloth-like Weiqi players out of their caves and into the café. It was here that I learned to play Weiqi by being knocked down and beaten up by stronger players. Keep in mind, despite the fact that I was maybe 11 kyu when I first joined (which means you are no longer a beginner), most people in the club were at least six ranks higher than me, but more often than not eight and above. I was, so to speak, lowest on the totem pole. However, no one lorded their position over me. Instead I got the benefit of playing good players and getting reviews of my games.

Aside from our club, I’ve also participated in the U.S. Go Congress, which is a mix between a national tournament and a Weiqi festival, where people from around the country meet to play, to learn, and to socialize. The Go Congress is held at a different venue every year. The first year I went it was held in North Carolina, the second was Pennsylvania; and the third in Oregon. I must say, every Go Congress has been an absolute blast. The day begins with the U.S. Open, a huge tournament subdivided into different sections based on participants playing ability. Everyone within each division would play a game a day over the course of a week. At the end, those with the best win/loss records were declared the winner and got shiny trophies. Aside from the tournament, a host of professionals from China, Japan, Korean, and Europe come to teach and review games. It provides a great opportunity to meet people from all around the world with whom you already share something in common.

I wrote this not only because I wanted to offer beginners a comprehensive introduction to the game, but also because Weiqi and the people connected to it became an important part of my life. Weiqi made me face myself in a number of ways, and it also made me learn to concentrate and to work towards a goal. Before, I had been aimless and unmotivated. I did not work hard at my schoolwork, I did not work hard at sports, nor did I work hard at, well, anything else really. However Weiqi inspired me to strive to be the best I could be, to give as much effort as I could give and then some. Being skillful at the game became a prize and I was willing to sacrifice for it.

I realized this when I began to recollect just how I studied to get better. As I mentioned earlier, I did not find books that were geared for beginners. What I did to study was play. But besides playing, I also looked at the records of professional games. I did not know the names of any professional players, so I looked up Hikaru no Go on the internet, and found the name “Cho Chikun,” a 9 dan professional from Japan, on a site with all of the games that were played on the show. I downloaded an entire collection of his games, got out my Weiqi board, and went to work. I do not think I need to tell you, but professional games are quite complicated and advanced, and usually incomprehensible to even intermediate level players, let alone a beginner. But that did not deter me. I went over the games, move for move, and experimented with what I learned in my previous games. Sometimes it succeeded, but most of the time I met with abysmal failure. But I got up each time, dusted myself off, and started over again. I had never done something like that in my entire life.

This self-confidence is what I want to give to any beginner who reads this book, even if your goal isn’t to master the game. Weiqi is a great way to build one’s mind, but it’s not a quick fix. The mental strength required to play Weiqi is built little by little over time. Sure, there are variations in talent. In fact, I know of people who have reached 5 kyu in a month, or 1 dan in less than a year, but that is not the point. The point is it takes perseverance to fail and then try again. We’ve heard this adage time and again, but it is far different when we’re the ones who get knocked down and have to decide if it’s worth it to stand. Weiqi has taught me it is indeed worth it to stand up. If I had let my initial failures prevent me from moving forward, then I never would have gained the friends or experiences throughout these past four years, nor would I have gained faith in myself. It is with these things in mind that I write this book; I hope Weiqi becomes as special to you as it is to me.

Crash Course Guide to Japanese Pronunciation

I finally get to use my Japanese major! To help you with pronouncing the terms in the book, here is a quick and easy guide on how to pronounce Japanese. The truth is, the Japanese language is extremely easy to pronounce for English speakers. Japanese is read exactly as it is written, and each letter is pronounced. Japanese has five vowel sounds:

A as in father.
I as in reed.
* U as in fool.
E as in bet.
O as in mode.

* The u sound can be a bit tricky, because it is not always the same. If the “u” comes after a “ts” or an “s” for instance, like in the word “sushi,” then to make the u sound you should make a noise like you are trying to think of what to say next, like “euh…” It’s very difficult to approximate in English because the sound does not really exist. Try grabbing a Japanese friend and see if you can master it.

Japanese also has what are called “long vowels.” This means that when you say these vowels, you hold the sound longer than you would normally. Long vowels are usually denoted by a line above them, adding a “u,” or sometimes by doubling up the letters. So for example “ii” is a long I sound, and “ou” is a long o sound. This is not a superficial distinction. Changing a vowel from a short vowel to a long vowel can alter the meaning of a word. Take for example the word “byoin” and its cousin “byouin.” The only thing that separates them is the long o sound, but the difference is as large as between “hairdresser” and “hospital.” That would be bad in an emergency, huh?

The only sound that might give you a problem is the “ts” sound which does exist in English but not at the beginning of a word. Words like “tsumego” or “tsuke” might be tricky. If you say the phrase “eight suits” and hold your mouth in position between the two words, you should have something close to the real McCoy.

Try these words on for size:

Shiro: White
Kuro: Black
Go wa sugoku tanoshii – Go is a heck of a lot of fun!

There’s not enough space for me to really delve into the Japanese language or pronunciation here, but it is sufficient for our uses. If you are interested in learning more about how to pronounce Japanese, I invite you to take a class or go online and find one of the many websites dedicated to this.

Crash Course Guide to Chinese Pronunciation

Chinese pronunciation is tough because a lot of sounds in the Chinese language do not exist in English, and it is hard to represent them using the alphabet. The system of writing Chinese words in the English alphabet is called “Pinyin.” It’s an approximation and a lot of times the letters do not refer to normal English sounds.

Here are all of the consonants in Pinyin:

B, P, M, F, D, T, N, L, G, K, NG, H, J, Q, X, Zh, Ch, Sh, R, Z, C, Y, W

Here are the ones that are going to give you a bit of trouble:

“C”: Again, say “eight suits” three times fast and hold your mouth in position between the two words. In order to know if you are making this sound correctly, open your palm and hold it at about your midsection. If you can feel a blast of air on your palm, you’re getting there.

“Q”: Sort of like a “ch” sound but the edges of your mouth should be stretched further than normal.

“X”: This one might take a while to do. It is similar to the “sh” sound in “sheep” or “shallow,” but again the edges of your mouth should be taut, as if you were smiling. The Chinese word for laugh is “Xiao,” if this helps as a mnemonic device.

“Zh”: Like “j” in “jump.”

Now for the vowels!

A as in “father.”
O as in “row.”
E as in “earn.”
I as in “sit,” “ee” as in “reed,” or “ea” as in “earn.”
U as in “look.”

What gives English speakers a hard time are the vowel combinations. Here is a chart to help you understand the pronunciation. If you have a Chinese friend have them help you!

“Ai” like in “eye.”
“An” like in “flan” the Spanish custard dessert.
“Ao” as in “now.”
“Ei” as in “hey.”
“En” as in “sun.”
“Eng” as in “hung.”
“Er” like the “ur” in “purse” (sort of).
“Ia” is in “ya.”
“Ie” as in “yeah.”
“Iu” as in “yo.”
“Ian” as in “yen.”
“Iao” as in “meow.”
“Iang” as in “yang.”
“Ou” as in “low.”
“Ua” as in “guava.”
“Uan” as in “when.”
“Uang” as in “oo” + “ang.”
“Ui” as in “way.”
“Uo” as in “woah!.”
“Uai” as in “why.”
“Ua” as in “wa.”

The most infamous mistake English speakers make when pronouncing Chinese is with the name “Chang.” Most people pronounce the “ang” as if in the word “hang,” but this is incorrect. “Ang” should be the “ah” sound as in “father” and then a “ng.” Try it. Another big one is the “eng” sound. Take the name “Feng.” Most people pronounce it as if it rhymed with the word “fang,” but instead, the e should be like the “ea” in “earn.” This one is a little tricky, but with enough practice it can be mastered. If you know someone who is Chinese, have them help you out because a lot of these sounds are impossible to convey in writing alone. Keep in mind, that a lot of Chinese people do not know pinyin so they might not be able to help you, it’s really for people learning Chinese. But, if you start saying “Bo po mo fo de te ne le” they will get the picture. Try it out!

Chapter 1: Beginnings

Alright, so you’ve got a Weiqi board (remember, it’s pronounced Way-Chee) from a mail order service or you’ve just downloaded KGS or another Weiqi server. You’ve seen people playing the game at a coffee shop or one of your more eccentric friends spends his Friday evenings yelling in agony “Why can’t I make two eyes?!” and you finally want to understand what is going on. Well good for you! Weiqi is the one of the world’s oldest strategy board games and people have been pulling their hair out trying to play it for the last four thousand years. It is rather simple as far as rules but the strategy is so complex that no matter how strong you are you are just as confused. Well enough gab, let’s learn the rules of Weiqi. There are only a few.

Weiqi is played with a board and stones of two colors, black and white. Black plays first except when receiving handicap, and both players alternate placing a single stone on the board wherever they choose. Every stone you play remains in that position unless the stone is captured. Board sizes can vary from 9x9, 13x13, and 19x19. I suggest starting off on a small 9x9 board. You place stones on the intersections of the board, not on the squares themselves. The object of the game is to grab as much territory on the board as possible. Whoever has more territory at the end of the game wins.

Wait a second, what’s territory?

Thank you I’m glad you asked. By territory, I’m referring to the intersections on the board. One intersection equals one point. All you have to do is build walls to encircle the intersections (hence the name of the game, Weiqi, which means encircling game). Here are two examples:

In both pictures Black has made territory, which means intersections are totally walled off by Black. In both diagrams Black is surrounding six intersections, and therefore has six points of territory to look forward to at the end of the game. Usually after a Weiqi game has been played out, it will look like a crazy mess of circles, squares, and god knows what other shapes. Here is a game that has been played to completion on a 9x9 board.

It may make you dizzy at first, but eventually as you play you will learn to not only make sense of these shapes but also estimate territory. Weiqi has a unique aesthetic. The game consists of three simple colors but in the end an uncanny and complex beauty.

“How do we know when the game is finished?”

Good question. Usually both players look down at the board for a very long time and pray to the Weiqi gods to deliver them a sign. Or, both players agree that there are no more points for either of them to surround, and each person passes in succession. For instance let’s say you are playing Black and you think everything is surrounded. You would then say “I pass”; and then if the White player agrees, he would say “I pass too” and then you both would count up territory. Personally I find “I pass” to be a bit cliché, and usually prefer a grunt or a stifled cackle depending on whether I am winning or not. You of course can develop your own style.

Sometimes, if you are truly far behind and it becomes impossible to win the game (say for instance a large group gets captured or your opponent has so many more points than you that it makes you want your mother), then one player resigns. You can resign in different ways. For example simply saying “I resign” is fine, or you could use the method the author enjoys, which involves pounding your head against the Weiqi board screaming “Why are you so stupid?! Why can’t you play this game?!” The choice is up to you. Many people in the Weiqi community will burn me at the stake for saying this, but, my advice is: don’t resign until you’re much stronger if the game is important to you. There’s no reason to give up a game when your opponent is a beginner like you. They can destroy themselves just as easily as you can.

Now we move onto the joy of Weiqi, capturing stones. Every stone you place on the board has liberties. The liberties are the horizontal and vertical spaces around the stone that are not surrounded by enemy stones. In Chinese they use the word “breath” which is a good way of thinking about it. Picture your stones as living things that need to breathe. When you run out of breath, you won’t be doing so well right? Well if your stones run out of liberties, they won’t be happy either.

Diagram 1

In Diagram 1, Black is nice and happy with four liberties. However White starts to get rid of Black’s liberties by placing stones around it, starting with Diagram 2.

Diagram 2

Black only has three liberties in this picture.

Diagram 3

In Diagram 3, White has sneakily stolen away two liberties, and by the time we get to Diagram 4, White has taken away all of Black’s liberties but one.

Diagram 4

White has put Black into atari (a Japanese word indicating a stone is one move away from being captured, not the gaming system). If White plays at the spot marked 1 then the Black stone is taken off the board and put into White’s captured stone pile, as you can see in Diagram 5. At the end of the game, you get one point for every captured stone.

Diagram 5

Here is what happens when Black loses his last liberty. White ends up with this flower looking shape, and one point for the stone he has captured. I like to think of White as eating the Black stone. Maybe I shouldn’t always play Weiqi when I’m hungry…

To increase the liberties of a stone, you can simply add more stones to the group. Stones connect horizontally and vertically (not diagonally!), so by simply setting down a stone next to another one, you can connect the two stones. Take a look at the next diagram:

Here the two stones A and B are connected and have six liberties. The more stones you add the greater the number of liberties. Stones directly connected like this, horizontally or vertically, share liberties.

Here’s a pop quiz: How many liberties does each group in the following diagrams have?

Diagram 1

Diagram 2

Diagram 3

With a little elbow grease, we can count off the liberties for each group.

Diagram 1 – Eight Liberties

Diagram 2 – Ten Liberties

Diagram 3 – Four Liberties

Notice that Diagram 3 was a trick question. Since both stones are neither horizontally nor vertically attached, they do not share liberties. Stone A has four liberties as well as stone B. Both of these stones would love to embrace one another but alas they are separated.

Just so we are clear, the edge of the board does not count as a liberty. For example, the Black stone above only has three liberties.

This leads me to the next big rule of Weiqi. Now you may want to get a glass of water, sit down, and possibly have a loved one on speed dial because this rule will give you the shock of your life. Here it goes. You cannot place a stone in a spot where it will automatically run out of liberties and die. Confused? Fear not, dear reader. Below there are three diagrams to explain this point.

Diagram 1

In Diagram 1, you cannot place a Black stone in the middle of this flower shape because it will not have any liberties.

Diagram 2

However, in the second diagram White could place a stone at 1. “Heresy!” you say, The spot marked “1” looks just like the shape from Diagram 1. How could this move be OK? Well, look very closely at the Black group marked A. How many liberties does it have? It has just one, so it is in atari. If it is White’s turn, White can take the two stones and the shape will look like Diagram 3.

Diagram 3

After White captures, White B has one liberty. White’s stone has one liberty after devouring Black. Sometimes in Weiqi we must live by the sword.

So far Weiqi is a very simple game with very simple rules, right? Don’t judge so quickly. The last rule is by far the most complicated. It is called the ko rule. We’ll get into what a “ko” is in a moment.

Diagram 1

In Diagram 1 we see that Black is in atari, he only has one liberty left (I’ve marked it for you, aren’t I sweet?). So, White greedily eats the Black stone and the position turns into Diagram 2.

Diagram 2

But wait a moment, now White is in atari! If Black immediately takes back, he’ll be in atari. If both Black and White keep trying to capture, the game would go on forever and people would never leave the confines of their coffee shops. So here is the rule that keeps the game going: the ko rule. After White takes the Black stone, Black cannot immediately take the White stone back. Instead he must play somewhere else and change the position of the board. Once he does that, White has the option of playing elsewhere or filling in so that his stone is no longer in atari. If White plays elsewhere, Black can then take the stone back.

Diagram 3

To illustrate, consider Diagram 3. White captures the stone with 1. Then, Black changes the board position with 2 because he cannot take the White stone back immediately. This is because of the “ko rule.” If White answers Black 2 with White 3, then Black can take the White stone. If White does not want to play 3, then White would play a stone at the triangle marked spot, which is called “Filling the Ko.” Fighting over who gets to control the ko, meaning who gets to capture their opponents stone, is a central piece of Weiqi and one that will drive you crazy for a long time to come. Be sure this is clear to you!

Tada, you know the rules of Weiqi!

Yes, truthfully, that’s it. The rules do not get any more complicated than that. “What is all the fuss about then?” you might be asking yourself. Well, it’s the strategy of the game that makes it so complex, and the fact that you have virtually no restrictions on where you can play. You can place a stone anywhere on the board you so desire as long as it doesn’t break any of the rules mentioned above. Whoever has the better strategy and level of skill will win.

Counting Score

There are different means of counting the score for Weiqi once you’re ready to wrap up a game. The two main means of counting territory are Japanese counting and Chinese counting. To be honest, I find Japanese counting to be the most intuitive. You count up all the territory you’ve surrounded with your stones, and all of the captured stones you’ve taken. Now, since Black has the advantage of going first, he must compensate White with a predetermined amount of points before the game starts. This compensation is called “Komi.” The amount of compensation depends on the size of the board and what rule set you are using, but White generally gets a whopping 6.5 points at the beginning of the game.

A half? Why the half point?

The half point is in case of a draw. In the days before Komi, whenever the game came to a draw the players would then violently struggle, beating each other recklessly with the Weiqi board until one person survived. He then became the winner. Not buying it? Well, the boring answer is that in case of a draw White gets that extra half a point and wins the game.

There are two main ways to count score at the end of the game, Japanese counting and Chinese counting. In Japanese counting, we count each intersection as one point, and one point for each captured stone. In Chinese counting, we count one point for each stone on the board, and the one point per intersection. Let’s look at this in action.

Here is the game I used as an example from before. For the moment, trust me when I say the game is over. Many of you might be thinking of plopping a stone down in the open spaces on the sides, but I will explain to you later about why doing so would be in vain. To begin, try counting the intersections and calculate the score.

We’ll use Japanese counting, which means that you count the intersections surrounded by both players and one point for every captured stone. White gets 6.5 points of Komi and there are no captured stones.

Take your time and when you’re ready, go to the next page for the answer.

So, Black has surrounded 23 intersections, giving him 23 points, and White has surrounded 28 intersections, giving him 28 points PLUS 6.5 points for going second, meaning White has a whopping 34.5 points. White wins by 11.5 points, and Black is left at the board sobbing.

What about Chinese counting?

In Chinese counting, we count the area we’ve surrounded plus one point for every stone on the board. That means we do not have to keep track of how many stones we’ve captured, because our opponent would have less stones on the board. First, you remove any dead stones from the board, then count up how much territory Black has, which is 23. Then you count the number of Black stones on the board which is 15, which brings Black’s score to a grand total of 38. The game was played on a 9x9 board, so there are a total of 81 intersections. Divide this in half to get 40.5. If Black’s score is more than this number, he has won the game, which is sadly not so in this case. Black is 2.5 under the mark. You double this number and then add Komi to determine how much Black lost by, and in this case it is 5 + 6.5 which is 11.5. It does not matter which rule set you use as long as you are comfortable using it. You will most likely play with Japanese counting, or just let the computer do it for you if you enjoy playing online.

Points of No Profit: Dame

In Weiqi there are times we cannot encircle every single intersection on the board, no matter how much we try. There may be intersections between our walls that neither player can encircle. These points simply become wasted fields left with no one to tend them. These points are called “Dame.” Dame is a Japanese word that means “No good.” It fits in this case don’t you think? Dame are not counted as points for either player. How many Dame points are in the diagram above? If you answered four, then you understand the concept perfectly!

What is this kyu and dan stuff I keep hearing?

Well Weiqi is different than Candyland in that there is no real luck involved in who wins. If someone really good were to play someone much weaker then the stronger person would win the majority of the time simply because they are better, without handicap. Clearly the weaker player should be given a handicap, but how to determine this handicap? Well there are kyu and dan rankings. By the power invested in me I dub thee 30 kyu. Everybody starts off at 30 kyu which means you’ve been given a brief introduction to the rules. As you get better, your kyu rating will get lower. That’s a good thing! Once you reach 1 kyu you’ll get a phone call from the president, receive a parade in your honor, and get a medal with a gigantic gold K on it. Well, maybe not any of that, but you will be able to say you are quite good. After one kyu you enter the ranks of the dan players (the really intimidating people). Dan can be considered a master rank, and it starts at 1 and ends at 9. Now for the fun part: handicaps! Let’s say you are 10 kyu and you want to play your buddy who is 15 kyu. At the beginning of the game you will give him five stones (the difference in your rankings) and then play begins with White. If your buddy is just one stone weaker than you (for example you are 5 kyu and he is 6 kyu) then you will play as White but without Komi. See? These rankings are kind of nifty. Remember, in handicap games of two or more stones, White plays first.

Let’s take a quick look at a real game so that you can get a sense for what actually goes on during a Weiqi game. We’ll look at a game played on a small board so it will be easier for you.

In Weiqi we usually start off in the corners and try to create an outline for us to make territory. Black kicks things off with 1, and White takes the opposite corner with 2. Then, both players create a wall, with White controlling the left side of the board, while Black takes the right. Now that both players have largely mapped out their territories, they need to try to enlarge their territory while reducing their opponent’s.

Diagram 2

Black takes the side with 7, leaving the upper side for White at 8. Then Black will take the center. Now that the larger part of their territories have been mapped out, they need to settle the fine details. All that is left is to try and make the outer edges solid.

Diagram 3

White plays 1 in Diagram 3 to extend his side territory and make Black defend his own side at 2. White then gets to play 3, and Black defends his points by playing at 4. In the end, an entire Weiqi game might look like this:

If you do not understand everything perfectly, be patient. We will continue building on this throughout the rest of the book.

What are these marked points on the board? What are they used for?

On Weiqi boards you will see nine spots that seem to stick out from the other intersections. These spots are called “Star points” and they help with the orientation of the board, as well as tell you where you can put handicap stones. Here is an example of a 19x19 board with all of the star points marked for your convenience:

I place handicap stones on the star points? Where should they go?

Well, where you place handicap stones depends on how many you have. Here is what different handicaps look like on a 9x9 board.

Two Stone Handicap

Three Stone Handicap

Four Stone Handicap

Here is what handicap looks like on the big 19x19 boards:

Two Stone Handicap

Three Stone Handicap

Four Stone Handicap

Five Stone Handicap

Six Stone Handicap

Seven Stone Handicap

Eight Stone Handicap

Nine Stone Handicap

Remember that in handicap games, White goes first! Usually you do not exceed nine stones of handicap on a 19x19 board. However, you could if the situation warranted doing so. In fact when my friend had been playing Weiqi for a month or two, he would get flustered when he lost at nine stones.

Thankfully he still plays Weiqi.

He got so fed up one day, that he gave himself a 14 stone handicap, and told me if he lost he would stop playing. This is what the board looked like.

Beginning Strategy

Let’s do a few problems to get you started on identifying shapes that will come up in your games. Wait, problems, what do you mean, math problems? I hate those. No, I mean Weiqi problems (you’ll hear people refer to them as tsumego). One of the best ways to get better at ANY level is to do as many tsumego problems as possible. Essentially I’ll be giving you a board position and asking what is the best move. You have to sit there and concentrate until sweat comes rushing down your face to figure the right answer. After awhile, you’ll get to the point where you can solve basic problems with a look. That’s when you know you’re getting better. Eventually, you’ll be able to glance at 15 kyu problems, 5 kyu problems, or even 1 dan problems and absolutely know you’ve got the right answer with a glance!

These next few problems are made to be simple, and when you first start playing you will be happy you practiced them. It is important to remember, however, that in order to get the answer, you must be sure of it yourself. As a rule I do not give answers to problems; you have to work it out by yourself. It may be strict but when you actually sit down to play I won’t be able to be by your side, so this way you will be better prepared.

Black to play: Where is the best move for Black?

#1
Black to play

Black to play: Where is the best move for Black?

#2
Black to play

Black to play: Where is the best move for Black?

#3
Black to play

Now that wasn’t so bad was it? If you haven’t noticed, all of these problems have to do with atari. I wanted you to do them because seeing atari is probably going to be your biggest hurdle when you first start. Yes that may sound silly, but you have no idea how many beginners I’ve seen gnash their teeth in agony after losing big chunks of stones that were in atari, only because they didn’t notice.

Assignment!!

The first assignment is a very easy one. Get a friend and a 9x9 board, and play as much as you can. I really do not recommend starting out by playing on the 13x13 or the 19x19 boards because they are so big and complex that things will be unnecessarily difficult to understand when you first begin. Also, do not be afraid to play, and ask anyone who is willing to play you whether they are 25 kyu or 7 dan. There is a famous Weiqi proverb that all Weiqi players know very well: “Lose your first fifty games.” Do not worry about making bad moves, do not worry about not really knowing what you’re doing. Just relax and have some fun!

For those of you struggling to recognize atari, it would be helpful to play the “capturing game.” It is a different version of the game, where instead of winning based on territory, you win based on how many stones you can capture. The first person to capture a certain number of their opponent’s stones, wins the game.

Summary of Chapter 1

So what have we learned?

Weiqi is a game of territory. Each player takes turns placing stones on the board, atop the intersections, to create walls to surround territory.

Each stone on the board has liberties. When a stone runs out of liberties, a stone can be captured. Each captured stone is worth one point.

Whoever has the most points at the end wins the game. We count up the amount of territory we’ve surrounded, how many stones we’ve captured, and if we’re White, the komi we receive. That is our score.

The Ko rule.

Players are ranked based on a scale of 1–30 for kyus, 30 kyu being a beginner and 1 kyu being a decent amateur, and then from a scale of 1 dan to 9 dan. At 7 dan you can fly, at 8 dan you gain super strength, and at 9 dan you can read minds.

Handicaps are determined based on the difference in rank. A 9 kyu would give a 15 kyu six stones of handicap.

Weiqi isn’t half as hard as it seems.

Let’s Take a Break!

Wei Qi

I thought we would take a break so I could tell you a little bit more about the history of Weiqi. Every game has its own story that goes way back into the mists of history. Weiqi is of course no exception, especially given the fact it is extremely old. To be honest, it’s so old no one really knows the exact date it was invented, but it is estimated to have been created around 4,000 years ago in China. Some say Weiqi boards were used as divination tools for geomancy, and that it was not until later that people started playing the game as we know it today. However, the rules have remained more or less the same for all this time (if you can believe that), and the board sizes have shifted from 13x13 to 17x17, then to the 19x19 board we’ve all come to know and love. A talent for Weiqi was considered to be the mark of a cultured person, along with Music, Calligraphy, and Painting. The name of the game, as we have already seen, has changed over time and in geographic location. Weiqi literally means “surrounding game”, which is a pretty accurate description. 1200 years ago the game was exported to Japan, where the Japanese gave it the name “Igo”. The game also made its way to Korea where it is called “Baduk”. Eventually the game made its way to the West by the way of Japan in the 19th century (hence why people in the West know the game as Go instead of Weiqi). Western Weiqi players owe a great debt of thanks to Oskar Korschelt, a German chemist and engineer, the man who brought Weiqi to our neck of the woods. Since then Weiqi has been steadily increasing in popularity, with an explosion of fandom in China and Korea, and an increasing impetus in the West. You can consider yourself, now, another link in Weiqi history spanning back almost the history of civilization.