Contents:
Two players are selected at random. Player 1 plays three moves as black and player 2 playes three moves as white with the players alternating as in standard go. Then player 2 takes over black for three moves, and a new player comes in to take white. Keep doing this until everyone has had a chance to play, and then analyze the game.
Bob Sloane
2. before the game starts, black and white place stones on the board in fixed positions: black places stones on the 3-3 point of 2 diagonally opposite corners, and white places stones on the 3-3 point of the other 2 diagonally opposite corners. black and white also have starting stones, or "bo" alternating color, in 3-space jumps all around the board on the 3rd line. e.g black stones on c3, c11, g15, l3, p7, and p15. white stones on c7, c15, g3, l15, p3, and p11.
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3. white always plays first and wins ties.
4. play begins near the corner, and you must play within one space of a previous play, or bo. this includes the adjacent intersection, a 1-space jump, a diagonal move, or a small knight's move, but not a 2 space jump or a large knight's move or any play greater than one space away from a previous play or bo.
examples of allowed moves:
adjacent int. 1-space jump . # . . . . . . . . # . . . . . . . # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . # . . . . # . . . . . . # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . # . . . . . . . . . # . . diagonal move small knight's move
5. you may not play on a point from which a stone of yours has just been removed. All these situations (like for example snap-backs) are regarded as ko-situations.
6. handicaps, if any, are given in points, not extra stones.
7. the center intersection (j9 in the first diagram) is worth 5 points. whoever controls it at the end of the game gets the bonus.
8. if you lose both of your corners (1-1 point closest to your corner bo), and your opponent keeps both of his/hers, then there is a 20 point penalty!
9. other than these exceptions, you play it like go: try to surround more territory, or capture groups of opponents stones. winner has most points.
please send corrections to rules to evanb@clark.net
Addendum: Counting is Chinese. I don't know whether or not there is a 2-point penalty for each group.
The winner is the first player who captures a stone from his opponent. The game is like go, but with some remarkable differences. For example, two connected internal liberties count as two eyes instead of one.
If used for educational purposes, one could then go to the first to capture n stones is the winner.
Reaction by Mindy McAdams:
There's a really cool handicap position for the capturing game (9x9):
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x o x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .If the teacher, presumably a stronger player, plays the first white stone in the position of the "o" above, it takes an adult beginner about four games to master the ladder!
Afterward, you can keep the same handicap position but make white's opening move one higher, i.e.:
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A variant on the first diagram, in which white already has stones on the
3-3 points, and black plays first in each quadrant, is also known as the
'corner game'
The judge tells you when the move you want to do is illegal, i.e. either on a place already taken or suicide. Sometimes other things are told as well, like when stones are put in atari or captured.
Thomas Hillebrand
Well, I did play a few games with a modified board. We arbitrarily
"cut out" the central 5X5 points, leaving a symetric toroid. The most
interesting difference was the new kind of "exterior" corners produced
by the hole. Of course, the hole also isolated joseki that involved
ladders from the diagonally opposite corner. The variant also has an
advantage in that the board is easy to make - just cover the center
with a piece of paper.
All in all though, the variant seemed too simple. The center obviously
was less important, and the games "just" involved a series of unrelated
tactical fights.
Jim Bonomo
I've done similar things, but removing a lot more of the centre leaving
a 4 wide "ring" (IE the handicap points are these concave points) then
the 3-3 points (1-1 from the concave corners) are VERY powerful.
Steve BaileyToroidal go
The upper and lower line of the board are the same line, as well as the right
and left line. Changes your normal 19x19 board in an 18x18 borderless board.
It's quite hard to make territory or moyo when there are no edges...
Other boardshapes
In fact toroidal go is only an example of a more general change to the rules, in which the shape of the board is changed. The smallest change is using another board size, which is much done in practice, but one can also think of playing on, say, a hexagonal board. Or any other kind of graph. Here is an example by Jim Bonomo:
On the go-club of Enschede, each year games are played on
special 'Sinterklaas' and Christmas boards. Instead of normal go
stones they use candies. And because captured stones are being eaten, it comes
as no surprise that they use Chinese counting...
Nick Wedd
To this, I added the rule that black may not start on tengen. Perhaps, it
is reasonable to add the rule that if white makes an opposite-side
connecting chain *one* move after black, then white wins. This may force
black into really having to capitalize on the advantage of having the
first move.
I never played jigo whith this game, that is, no player succeeding in the
goal.
Funny things happen: once it is clear that both players are going to
succeed in connecting two (the same pair of, necessarily) sides,
it becomes very profitable to step in between an ikken-tobi.
After this, the opponent has to play 2 extra moves to connect the two
stones forming the ikken-tobi. However, you can't do this early in the
game, as concepts like thickness play a role just as in normal go.
Stijn van Dongen
If they did choose the same spot, that position is "off-limits" and they
choose again. They keep a list of off-limits moves on their scrap paper
until they actually make a move, at which point all moves become legal
again.
Capture is done as in Simultaneous Capture Go.
Play ends either when both players pass or both players use up all
available move spaces in their "off-limits" list (astronomically rare).
Note: No ko rules are necessary, nor komi need to be given.
Scott Dossey
My limited experience suggests that if the game starts to go
BBWWBWBBWWBW it is to White's advantage. Therefore a player requires a
big incentive ever to play two stones.
Nick Wedd
A turn consists of making an integer number "offer"; and then:-
(i) If the opponent accepts the offer, his score increases by that amount, and
the offerer makes a move on the board (which may be a pass);
(ii) If the opponent refuses the offer, the offerer's score increases by the
amount, and the refuser makes a move (or pass) on the board.
Board moves are as in normal go.
The play ends when EITHER two successive passes are made, (subject to the usual
conventions about agreement on dead stones), OR when either player's score
advantage is greater than the number of points on the board.
After the play ends, the area scores are added to each player's score.
Elsewhere I have an analysis by Bill Taylor of this game.
round go
A special place among the special boardshapes is taken by round go.
It was very
popular during the European Go Congress 1996 in Abano di Terme, Italia.
See the congress bulletin for more information. Saijo Sensei, 8 dan pro from Japan
can be seen playing the game here.
No-go
After a player has made a move, his opponent may refuse it, and he has to
make another one. The opponent may not object to this second move.
Dagger handicaps
There is the variation where one side (the weaker) gets one or more "daggers",
which is the option to force the opponent to pass after your move, so you
get to play two moves in a row. A dagger is said to be worth 6 handicap stones.
Of course the threat of using it is more useful than its actual use, since
the opponent is forced to play super-solid.
John Tromp
Pink Stone Go
White (the weaker player), has a pink stone which he may play at any
time, instead of a normal stone. This stone has two intrinsic eyes, and
so can live anywhere, conferring life to any white neighbours. Used
skilfully, it is said to be worth about five handicap stones.Bidding komi
Both players bid how much komi they want to give. The one who bids highest gets
black (and gives the bid amount of komi).
Connecting go
Play go whith your favourite set of rules. First player succeeding in
connecting either east to west or north to south wins. So, you have
to connect opposite sides of the board, in the strong sense of connectedness:
it takes a chain of at least 19 stones. It does not matter whether the
chain is alive, as long as the finally connecting move is not an autoatari.Simultaneous play
Both players write down a move on paper. Then they show their moves to
each other and if they didn't both choose the same spot, they place
their pieces on the place they chose.Twin move go
Black's first move is normal, but after that both players make 2 moves in a row. The advantage of this variant is that neither player has a real advantage of going first. Both moves of a pair of moves are independent; the first move may not be a suicide to be 'liberated' by the second, the second may be on a place that has become free through a capture on the first move.
Sesquito
Whenever a player played only one stone on her previous move, she may
choose to play two stones. They must be played separately, one after
the other.Bidding go
Players alternate turns, black first.
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