Rules for Go

Go is a very old board game (at least 1500 years old). It appears to have originated in China and is widely played in the orient.It is played on a wooden board or box which has 19x19 lines inscribed on it giving many intersections. There are two players and they alternate playing. One plays with white stones and the other person plays with black stones.

The object is to surround territory (open intersections). If a group of stones (black or white) has two separate interior intersections then it is "alive" and can not be killed. A single stone can be killed or captured when all 4 radiating lines are filled with stones of the other color. In the same way, a group of stones which has had its last radiating line surrounded can be killed. Groups of stones are connected by the lines. Captured stones are placed back in the territory that you have captured. The territory between captured territories is "neutral" and does not count.

The superior player plays white. Black gets the first move (or if the difference in skill is great, he or she gets a "handicap" -- a set pattern of stones mainly in the corners & sides -- to equalize the game). If one person wins three games in a row, the handicap changes.

It is a polite game and if you are about to make a mistake, the other person (normally) tells you about it (not like in chess where you want the other person to make a blunder).You can watch games free at "Panda-Egg" -- I do not know how they picked this name. Anyway, it is played by young and old and it nice because every game is always even (you have a 50/50 chance of winning -- it depends on your tactics, your experience and skill).

The white stones frequently are made from of white clam shells. Go boards fold in half but the large ones are large blocks of wood with 4 legs. The legs are carved in the shape of lotus flowers. The bottom of the block has a recessed square carved into the bottom (this increases the area on the bottom to equalize the movement of moisture going into and out of the block; the top gets sunlight). Anyway, the popular rumor is that it really is used to hold the blood of the vanquished.

Highly recommended for reviewing professional games is GoBase.org. It is free and it allows you to download using SGF (Smart Go Format). This requires a special browser (they provide a list of these for you) which allows you to replay these games. It has many other fine features.