© 2013 Board N’Stones

Black to Play!

Train the Basics of Go
30 KYU – 25 KYU

Gunnar Dickfeld

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Copyright Page

Black to Play!
Train the Basics of Go
30 KYU – 25 KYU

Gunnar Dickfeld

© 2013 Board N’Stones
Board N’Stones is a trademark of Brett und Stein Verlag, Gunnar Dickfeld, Frankfurt a.M.
All rights reserved.

Cover Design: HAMMERGEIGEROT

ISBN of the printed book (English): 978–3–940563–72–9

Converted for SmartGo Books by John Mifsud.

Preface

For more than four thousand years people have been fascinated by the Asian strategic board game Go. It has always been regarded as a beneficial way to foster creative thinking. Despite the fact that Go can be regarded as a complex and mysterious game, its rules are nevertheless very simple. The game itself is easier to learn than chess. Learning the basic rules requires only a few minutes. Even young children can easily enjoy exciting games. The simple and non-restrictive rules provide freedom of choice, and allow a wide range of possibilities and combinations.

This workbook is for players who have just gotten in touch with the game. It provides exercises which help to deepen and ingrain the understanding of the rules. You will learn about the correlation and dependencies of the stones to each other, and thereby be able to improve your games. The first exercises are very easy, gradually increasing to moderate difficulty as you progress through the book.

You will enjoy seeing your understanding of the game improve, and learn to surprise your friends and playing partners with deft moves.

Gunnar Dickfeld

Contents

Black to Play!
Train the Basics of Go

Copyright Page

Preface

The Rules of Go

Liberties

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

Atari

Capture

Connect

Direction

Allowed?

Double-Atari

Separate

Life

Death

Ko

Eyes

At the End

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The Rules of Go

Placing Stones

The players take turns placing a stone on any unoccupied intersection of lines on the board. Once placed on the board a stone may not be moved. Black starts the game by playing the first stone. A player may decide to pass instead of placing a stone.

As the number of stones on the board grows, chains and groups of stones are formed.

Surrounding Territory

The players try – through alternate play – to surround parts of the board. These areas are called territory.

Capturing Stones

A single stone placed in middle of the board has four adjacent intersections connected by the vertical and horizontal lines. When vacant these intersections are called liberties. A stone placed on an intersection at the edge of the board has only three liberties; one in the corner has only two. In the “Liberties” chapter you will find more examples.

As the opponent occupies these liberties one by one, the stone becomes surrounded. If a stone is completely surrounded, it is captured and removed from the board. Diagonally adjacent points are not liberties and need not be occupied.

Adjacent stones of one color form a chain and can only be captured as a whole. Taking the last liberty and removing the stones from the board count as a single move. Exercises on how to capture stones can be found in the chapters “Atari” and “Capture”.

Suicide is Forbidden

No stone can be placed on an intersection where it would have no remaining liberties. Since such a move would be like committing suicide, this rule is called “suicide is forbidden”.

If a move captures one or more stones, then the stone placed on the board gains at least one liberty. Hence: capture is not suicide.

You will learn which moves are allowed (capture) or not (suicide) in the chapter “Allowed?”

The Ko Rule

If one stone has just captured a single opponent’s stone, it cannot be re-captured immediately. So, if White captures a single black stone, Black can not re-capture with the next move. This restriction is only for one turn. Black must play elsewhere and may re-capture after that. Now it is White who can not re-take with the next move. You will solve problems for this specific rule in the chapter on “Ko”.

Territory and Captured Stones

The game ends after both players have passed consecutively. This means there are no additional points to be gained. Now any “dead” stones will be removed from the board and join the ones captured during the game.

Next, the players count the surrounded areas, the territories. Before doing so they take all the captured and dead stones and place them into the area of their own color: black stones into black territory and white into white. This way they reduce the number of points gained during the game. Exercises for counting the result are in the chapter “At the End”.

Liberties

Problem 1

Go stones have adjacent points, which are called liberties. How many liberties does the black stone have?

In this first exercise the numbers on the points around the stone will lead you to the answer.

Answer 1

The black stone has four liberties.

Problem 2

How many liberties do each of your two black stones have?

Answer 2

The upper stone has three, the lower one has two liberties. There are no liberties at the points marked A to C.

Problem 14

Black to play

＞＜ ▶︎

Some white stones are in atari. Where do you need to play to capture them?

Answer 14

＞＜ ▶︎

Black 1 takes the last liberty of the white stones.

Problem 42

Black to play

＞＜ ▶︎

In each case, which atari is correct: A or B?

Answer 42

Black 1 is correct in both cases. If Black plays any other move White will connect at 1.

Problem 94

Black to play

＞＜ ▶︎

Black to play and save the life of the black stones!

Answer 94

＞＜ ▶︎

Black 1 secures life. If Black plays at A White will kill with a move at 1.

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© 2013 Board N’Stones

This edition includes the English, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Turkish, Italian, and Czech text.