High level overview of the game Go

1. The Game of Go

2. What is Go
● Board game
● Takes an afternoon to learn and a
lifetime to master.
● Rules are simple, but game has an
almost infinite set of strategies.

3. History of Go
● Invented in China over 2,500 years ago.
● Spread to Japan, Korea and later U.S.
And Europe
● Alternate names: Wei-Chi, Baduk

4. Go In modern times

6. Go Etiquette
● Holding a Go Stone

7. Go Equipment
● Go Board
– When learning 9x9
– Full size 19x19 when playing at club
level
● Go Stones
– Plastic
– Glass
– Clamshell and Slate

8. Japanese Goban

9. Goal of Game
● To surround more board territory than your
opponent

10. Basic Rules
● Black plays first
● Stones are placed on intersection points
● Stones are never moved but can be
captured.
– Surrounding a stone captures that
stone (prisoner)
– Surrounding a connected group
captures that group (prisoners)
● A stone cannot 'commit suicide'
● The game ends with 2 passes in a row
or a resignation

11. Aspects of Strategy
● One Eye vs Two eyes
● 'In the land of Go – The one-eyed king is
dead'
● A group with two eyes (or more) cannot
be killed
– Why not?

12. Eye Examples

13. Further Resources
● Reference:
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_game
● Turn based Go Site
– http://www.dragongoserver.net/
● Real-time based Go site
– http://gokgs.com/