Questions tagged [go]

An ancient strategy game for 2 players who try to outwit each other by placing stones on the board to simulate the capturing of territory. To add a board diagram to a post, see instructions in the tag-wiki.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
9 votes
5 answers
3k views

Go: Why did I lose? How is territory defined?

I don't understand why I lost or how territory is defined when both players have a bid for territory. Here I lose by 25 points (5x5 board). But it seems to me that I have an equally valid bid for ...
GoMaster22's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
162 views

How is this Go game scored?

I thought I had lost, but Cosumi says that I (white) won the game (I think by 27 points). I don't see how those 7 black stones are prisoners rather than the adjacent 4 white stones. Am I missing ...
Ray Butterworth's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
291 views

Go ending. Why do players stop? [duplicate]

I'm learning the game GO. I see that after the players have made a lot of moves, at the end of the game, there are several visible territories for black and for white. But I don't understand, why does ...
Carlos Pinzón's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
198 views

Should black pass in this situation?

Suppose a game of go ends up in the follow position, with black to play. (Assume everything is settled apart from the situation in the centre of the board.) As black it seems like there's no ...
N. Virgo's user avatar
  • 143
4 votes
1 answer
360 views

Is there more than one solution to this problem about cutting in go

I have this past week been learning to play go from the book Learn to Play Go by Janice Kim and Soo-hyun Jeong. In one of the earlier chapters the concept of cutting is brought up and the following ...
Manifoldski's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
131 views

When does it not make sense anymore to play into an opponent's territory? [duplicate]

I am a GO beginner. I think I know the basic rules. I have a strategy question: Why does it NOT make sense to play into an opponent's territory? I think I understood that the free(!!!) positions ...
Robert's user avatar
  • 133
38 votes
5 answers
5k views

Is "Adversarial Policies Beat Professional-Level Go AIs" simply wrong?

Since 2016, when AlphaGo beat Lee Sedol, probably the world's strongest player, humans have essentially not had a chance against a well-trained AI. Now, a paper "Adversarial Policies Beat ...
Stephan Kolassa's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
315 views

Go end game scoring question

I'm trying to learn Go and I'm very confused by how end of game scoring works. I've played a game against an AI player, and I don't understand the scoring that the computer came up with once the game ...
oneself's user avatar
  • 123
6 votes
0 answers
163 views

Why was stone scoring (group tax) abandoned?

The game of go is said to have simple rules. Simpler, say, than chess, because there is no need to learn how pieces move. However, there are various rulesets (Japanese rules, Chinese rules, differing ...
Adomas Baliuka's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
133 views

Where can I see statistics of Go points for different skill levels?

I'm a total Go novice, and barely even understand the rules. From what I understand, at the end of the game each player has an amount of "points" which is equal to the amount of stones they ...
user56834's user avatar
  • 113
6 votes
1 answer
228 views

How many different games of Go are actually played?

Go is known for having a vast space of possible board positions, which was one of the reasons why computers weren't able to compete for a long time. I wonder how many of these board positions are ...
allo's user avatar
  • 161
4 votes
2 answers
207 views

Alive strings inside a string?

$$ ------------------ $$ | O . O X . . . . $$ | . O O X . . . . $$ | O O O X . . . . $$ | X X X X . . . . $$ | . . . X . . . . $$ | . . . X . . . . $$ | X X X X . . . . $$ | . . . . . . . . How is ...
Quantalabs's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
684 views

Why do we surround the corner in go?

After watching several tutorials, everyone says to surround the corners. I was wondering why you do this? If I start playing the corners, how do I combat white if they instead start to only develop in ...
Quantalabs's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
188 views

Strange variant of 4-4 low approach joseki

(not sure how this joseki variant is named, feel free to update the title). Josekipedia is saying about this joseki position "Position is settled": but, after N14, M14, the white group O14 ...
Tomas's user avatar
  • 651
2 votes
2 answers
140 views

Tricky 3-3 invasion

If white tenukis thrice after the 3-3 invasion, and answers Q18 with R18, then white kills with S19: But what if white plays Q19 instead? Can black still kill unconditionally, or ko is the best one ...
corey979's user avatar
  • 123
0 votes
2 answers
384 views

Survival of Live Groups in the game of Go [closed]

In go, does a live group with 2 eyes survive being surrounded by the other players stones or are the stones in that live group dead? If I invade my opponent's surrounded territory with just 1 stone, ...
Toy Canon's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
323 views

What is the smallest territory in go that can be successfully invaded?

Let's stay one player has a corner of the board totally enclosed, but with no stones in it, like this: $$ ------------------ $$ | . . . . . . X . $$ | . . . . . . X . $$ | . . . . . . X . $$ | . . . . ...
Zags's user avatar
  • 18k
10 votes
6 answers
3k views

Why don’t you capture more territory in Go?

If you have large areas like here in the white upper left corner, why can't black just put a stone in upper left corner? Then white would lose one point. Or white would have to capture it and get a ...
kuscharek's user avatar
  • 101
3 votes
1 answer
219 views

In this Go game why does the territory appear as being completely captured

I've been learning to play Go for the past few days, and in this game I'm playing I don't understand exactly how I captured the whole board in one move. These images show what happened.
Rodrigo Pina's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
156 views

How does white win this capturing race?

I'm reading "Sabaki, the art of settling stones" by Richard Bozulich. On page 98, it proposes the following solution for white to settle his stones. The explanation reads "after the ...
Willem's user avatar
  • 163
6 votes
1 answer
403 views

Does the Cosumi Go site sometimes get the score wrong?

Cosumi claims that I won this game by 37 points: — [9×9, Level 0] Black(You) Wins by 37 Points - Go Browser Game COSUMI But it looks even to me. Am I missing something, or does the site sometimes get ...
Ray Butterworth's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
864 views

What was the effect of AlphaGo on Go?

When the AlphaGo programs first appeared experts claimed certain moves opened their eyes. Now a couple of years later I wonder what the effect is on go. Has human performance improved, like when chess ...
fejfo's user avatar
  • 233
1 vote
1 answer
541 views

Go question about eyes

I just learned how to play GO today, and I was stuck on one thing in particular. This was the board state: As you can see on the south-west corner (close to A1), I tried to capture my opponent's (...
Sriswaroop Koundinya's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
199 views

Why are the white stones in the bottom left of this game counted as points for black?

I played the following game: https://online-go.com/game/25722260 In the final position, it seems to me that the stones in the bottom left are in seki, but the score estimator says that the white ...
Please stop being evil's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
278 views

Female Go champions?

Has there ever been a female European, East Asian, or other regional Go champion (or, before these titles existed, any woman who was widely regarded as the best Go player in her community or region)? ...
Kevin Ford The Submariner's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
244 views

How was "komi" re-set in the past 50 years?

"komi" represents a number of points added to White's score at the end of a game of Go to compensate White for the fact that Black moves first. It is usually X.5 points (e.g. 7.5) to prevent a tie (...
Tom Au's user avatar
  • 21.9k
0 votes
2 answers
196 views

Can this game still be won?

I am black and white has expanded more than I thought. It’s almost at tie at this stage but I can’t see how to win. Can this game still be won?
Thomas's user avatar
  • 281
5 votes
1 answer
379 views

Is it possible to live with false eyes, only?

Sometimes, in a game of Go, we get a life where there is a false eye involved: There are two groups with a single real eye, each, but they are connected to one another via a false eye, allowing their ...
cmaster - reinstate monica's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
423 views

Best move for this pattern, in Go

I am the black side. It’s my turn to play. $$Bcm4 $$ +---------+ $$ |.........| $$ |.........| $$ |..X...X..| $$ |.........| $$ |....,.2..| $$ |....1Xa..| $$ |..XbOOX..| $$ |.........| $$ |.........| ...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 281
4 votes
1 answer
141 views

Newbie go question: why can I do one move but not the other one

I am playing with SmartGo and I don’t understand one situation. I am playing as Black. $$Bcm82 $$ +---------+ $$ |O.O.OX.X.| $$ |OOOOOXXXX| $$ |.OXXOXXO.| $$ |OOOXXXXXX| $$ |COOOOOXXX| $$ |2XO.OOOX.|...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 281
3 votes
1 answer
98 views

Can anyone explain the last move on this go board

I’m learning so I’m going through all beginner problems I’m finding and I do not get this: The problem starts like this; I am trying to protect the black stone on the right side. After I played, the ...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 281
5 votes
2 answers
630 views

in Go, why does this setup make a false-eye?

I am an absolute beginner, trying to learn. Let's consider that board (from a tutorial at http://playgo.to/iwtg/en/): It's black's turn to play. The topic is to avoid a false eye at D9. According ...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 281
1 vote
0 answers
86 views

First steps in go.. where to go? and some score counting questions [closed]

I just started to be interested by Go a week ago. I have read and (I think I) understood the base rules. I went through a few web sites that explain how the game is played and overall, after a ...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 281
3 votes
1 answer
133 views

What activity is there in Computer Go tournaments?

At the moment, the 17th TCEC superfinal is running, Stockfish vs. Leela. It is considered the unofficial world championship of computer chess, and games are frequently publicly commentated by ...
Mario Krenn's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
107 views

Who has these intersections?

I am a beginner at go and we couldn't resolve this situation with my opponent. Neither of us want to play to these liberties because whoever plays loses their stones. Whose are these two intersections ...
corsel's user avatar
  • 143
19 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why doesn't a go board have an 'I' ('i') column?

I'm really confused, but it seems to be the convention that there is no "I": The rows are numbered 1 to 19...
satnhak's user avatar
  • 321
6 votes
1 answer
162 views

Where can I find a database of Go games with move times

I am looking for a database of 19x19 Go games (complete games) including the time spent on each move, or the global time in each move. Other aspect is that its need to be without bots or any ...
mmazz's user avatar
  • 61
3 votes
2 answers
210 views

Is the black group dead in this game state? (From Nick Sibicky's lecture #246)

In Nick Sibicky's lecture #246, they state that the black group at T3 is dead: They exactly say that both have 4 liberties and it's White's move so Black is dead. But, after Black connects at S3 and ...
Tomas's user avatar
  • 651
9 votes
4 answers
2k views

Why do player start with fighting for the corners in go?

I saw that in most go games the opponents started by placing chips 3 vertices away from the corners. Both players started fighting for the centre only after half of the game had passed. Is there any ...
Someone's user avatar
  • 628
4 votes
2 answers
765 views

Go - How does one count territory in these scenarios?

I'm learning to play Go (Japanese rule) however I'm still confuse how to count territory in some cases. Which side each territory belongs to? Scenario 1 $$W Scenario1 $$ -------------------- $$ | . ....
D Major's user avatar
  • 41
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

How many stones for small go boards?

I know the full-size game of Go is played on a 19x19 board and comes with 181 black stones and 180 white stones. This is to accommodate filling every spot on the board with a stone. I want to know if ...
user138719's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
2k views

When should Beginners finish a Game of Go?

I was reading the answers to this question, about who has won a game of Go and came across the two following statements. You pass at the end of the game when you do not think you can increase your ...
Jontia's user avatar
  • 2,051
6 votes
2 answers
211 views

Advice on teaching Go to a kid

I am a 7k EGF. There is a 7 year old girl, that is a relative of my wife and lives next door. Once I managed to start her interest in Go by playing several Atari-Go games against her. I decided to ...
zefciu's user avatar
  • 185
4 votes
3 answers
541 views

Who won this match of Go?

Me and my girlfriend tried playing our first game of Go last night, but we're not sure we understood the rules so we can't determine who won this. Can you understand or maybe mark this so that we ...
Alex Coman's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
206 views

Two space approach moves in igo

In igo, when I plan dan-level players, they often make two-space approach moves like the one shown in the figure below: I have many of the standard books on go and they generally only discuss one ...
Tyler Durden's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
294 views

Mysterious move

I'm watching a NHK cup match between Hane Naoki and Chang Hsu with japanese commenters so unfortunately I can't understand the explanations, and there is a move from black I can't understand (move 3 ...
Nicolas Hemelsoet's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
405 views

Is there a site to play Go online against a computer, in 2018? [duplicate]

Apparently there's an old question Is there a site to play Go online against a computer? already but that's in 2014. As we know AlphaGo/Master/Zero permanently changed the Go world, and many AI are ...
athos's user avatar
  • 394
2 votes
2 answers
345 views

In Go (board game) under Chinese rulings how does the scoring of empty territory work?

I am reading up on the Chinese rules of Go and have trouble understanding the ‘area scoring’ rules they use. I get that each player gets a point for each stone that is alive, for each empty field in ...
FirefoxMetzger's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
191 views

Why choose tsuke-nobi after a double keima against hoshi?

I have been looking at §28 of 38 Basic Joseki, which deals with a double keima kakari against a stone on hoshi. I realise that this book is old and restricts itself somewhat, but I am taking it as a ...
PJTraill's user avatar
  • 1,418
4 votes
2 answers
136 views

What is this alternate cut after 3-3 against double keima round hoshi?

In 38 Basic Joseki, Kosugi & Davies remark in this position: $$c $$ -------------------- $$ -. . . . . . . . . . $$ -. . . . . . . . . . $$ -. . 1 . . O . . . . $$ -. . . X . a . . . X $$ -. . . ...
PJTraill's user avatar
  • 1,418

1
2 3 4 5