Go clubs welcome players of all ages and abilities

Playing on a traditional Japanese Go Board

GO IS UNIQUE

The history of Go stretches back some3000 years and the game has remainedessentially unchanged throughout this verylong period. The game probably originatedin China. Legend has it that the future ofTibet was once decided over a Go boardwhen the Buddhist ruler refused to go intobattle; instead he challenged the aggressorto a game of Go.

In the Far East Go enjoys great popu-larity today, and interest in the game isgrowing steadily in Europe and America.Like Chess, Go is a game of skill — it hasbeen described as being like four Chessgames going on together on the same board— but it differs from Chess in many ways.The rules of Go are very simple and though,like Chess, it is a challenge to players’analytical skills, there is far more scope inGo for intuition.

Go is a territorial game. The board,marked with a grid of 19 lines by 19 lines,may be thought of as a piece of land tobe shared between the two players. Oneplayer has a supply of black pieces, calledstones, the other a supply of white. Thegame starts with an empty board and theplayers take turns, placing one stone ateach turn on a vacant point. Black playsfirst, and the stones are placed on theintersections of the lines rather than inthe squares. Once played, stones are notmoved. However they may be surroundedand so captured, in which case they areremoved from the board as prisoners.

Players normally start by staking outtheir claims to parts of the board whichthey intend eventually to surround andthereby make into territory. However,fights between opposing groups of stonesprovide much of the excitement in a game,and can result in dramatic exchanges ofterritory. At the end of the game the playerscount one point for each vacant intersection

inside their own territory, and one point forevery stone they have captured. The onewith the larger total is the winner.

Capturing stones is certainly one wayof gaining territory, but one of the subtletiesof Go is that aggression doesn’t always pay.The strategic and tactical possibilities of thegame are endless, providing a challengeand enjoyment to players at every level.The personalities of the players emergevery clearly on the Go board. The gamereflects the skills of the players in balancingattack and defence, making stones workefficiently, remaining flexible in responseto changing situations, timing, analysingaccurately and recognising the strengthsand weaknesses of the opponent. In short,Go is a game it is impossible to outgrow.

Why is Go special?

As an intellectual challenge Go is extraordi-nary. The rules are very simple, yet it resistsall attempts to program computers to playGo at the top level. Even the best programs,the results of many years development,are still beaten by experienced players.Go offers major attractions to anyone whoenjoys games of skill:

• There is great scope for intuition andexperiment in a game of Go, especiallyin the opening. Like Chess, Gohas its opening strategies and tactics,but players can become quite strongknowing just a few basic patterns.

• A great advantage of Go is the veryeffective handicapping system. Thisenables players of widely differingstrengths to play each other on equalterms without distorting the characterof the game.

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• The object in Go is to make moreterritory than the other player bysurrounding it more efficiently, or byattacking the opponent’s stones togreater effect. On such a large board,it’s possible to do somewhat badly inone area, but still to win the game bydoing better on the board as a whole.

• Every game of Go quickly takes on acharacter of its own — no two gamesare alike. Since a player needs only tohave more territory than the opponentin order to win, there are very fewdrawn games, though the outcomemay hang in the balance until the veryend.

A brief history

Go is one of the oldest board games in theworld. In the absence of facts about theorigin of the game there are various myths:for example that the legendary EmperorYao invented Go to enlighten his son, DanZhu.

Although it originated in Central Asiaand there are references to the game byConfucius, historically it was in Japan thatthe game really flourished. Introduced intoJapan probably well before the 8th century,Go soon gained popularity at the imperialcourt and, from this auspicious beginning,took root in Japanese culture.

In 1612 the Shogun awarded stipends tothe four strongest Go players. Later thesestipends were extended to the players’heirs (often the strongest student) andso the four great Go schools, Honinbo,Hayashi, Inoue and Yasue, were founded.Over the next 250 years, the intense rivalryamong these schools brought about a greatimprovement in the standard of play. Aranking system was set up, classifyingprofessional players into 9 grades or dans,of which the highest was Meijin, meaning’expert’. This title could be held by only

one person at a time, and was awardedonly if one player out-classed all hiscontemporaries.

The most significant advances in Gotheory were made in the 1670s by theMeijin Dosaku, who was the fourth headof the Honinbo School, and possibly thegreatest Go player in history. The Houseof Honinbo was by far the most successfulof the four Go schools, producing moreMeijins than the other three schools puttogether.

The whole structure of professional Goin Japan was undermined in 1868, whenthe Shogunate collapsed and the Emperorwas restored to power. The Go schoolslost their funding as the westernisation ofJapanese society took hold. Today, the mainorganisation of professional Go players inJapan is the Nihon Ki-in, which with theInternational Go Federation fosters interestin the game throughout the world. Thereare now hundreds of books in print inEnglish and more than sixty countriescompete in annual World Amateur GoChampionships.

Go in the Far East today

The most important Go playing coun-tries in the Far East are Japan, China,Korea and Taiwan, all of which maintaincommunities of professional players. Majortournaments in these countries attractsponsorship from large companies, oftennewspapers publishing the games, andhave a following like that of big sportingevents here. Until relatively recently, thestrongest players from Korea and Chinatended to go to Japan as professionals.Today, they are more likely to remain intheir own countries where they becomenational heroes. There are perhaps 50million Go players in the Far East, andmany people who do not play still followthe game with keen interest.

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Go in Europe

Although the game of Go had beendescribed by western travellers to the FarEast in the 17th century, it was not played inEurope until 1880, when a German, OskarKorschelt, wrote a book about the game.After this some Go was played in Germanyand Yugoslavia. However, the game wasslow to spread and it was not until 1957 thatthe first regular European Championshipwas held.

Nowadays, Go is played in most Euro-pean countries. The standard of play issignificantly below that of the top playersin the Far East, but the gap is steadilyclosing as more of the top European playersspend time studying the game in Japan,Korea and China. Some even stay on asprofessionals. In 1992, a European GoCentre was opened in Amsterdam withsupport from Iwamoto Kaoru (then theworld’s oldest active professional at 90years of age).

Go in Britain

Go has been played in Britain for atleast 100 years, but was not played onan organised basis until the 1950s whenthe British Go Association was formed.Today, it is estimated that there are overa thousand Go players in Britain. Thereare more than 60 Go clubs in the UK andthe standard of play compares with the restof Europe. Matthew Macfadyen, Britain’stop player in recent years, has won theEuropean Championship four times.

A British Championship and a BritishYouth Championship are held every year,and there are Go tournaments throughoutthe country. These can attract upwards ofa hundred players at all strength levels,including beginners and young players,and some include teaching sessions. Anopen British Go Congress has been held ata different venue each year since 1968 andthe London Open is one of the major eventsin Europe.

The European Youth Championship in Bognor Regis attracted players from allparts of Europe

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Go on the Internet

In recent years, the Internet has become avaluable resource for Go players, not onlyas a place for playing Go, but also as a placefor teaching, learning and discussion. Anenormous number of people of all strengthsand nationalities play online, via GoServers such as KGS (www.gokgs.com).KGS includes a number of “rooms” forboth playing and discussing Go, includingthe “British Room”, an online communityof British Go players. We hold sometournaments on KGS, including an inter-club league and a student tournament.

There are also “turn-based” or “corre-spondence” Go servers, such as the OnlineGo Server (OGS; www.online-go.org).These allow games to be played over alonger period, for example a few turns perday, or even a turn every few days.

Also, many players, including profes-sionals, play on the Pandanet server (www.pandanet-igs.com).

Pair Go

Pair Go is a form of Go played by teamsof two, a male and a female, with noconferring. It is the “Mixed Doubles” of Go.It was introduced in Japan in the 1980s withthe aim of promoting Go as a more socialactivity and attracting more female playersto tournaments.

Pair Go has a special etiquette whichinvolves avoiding bad manners and atti-tude. The environment for Pair Go eventsis pleasant and higher than the usualstandard, as is the standard of dress. Inorder to encourage this, a Best Dressedprize is traditionally awarded at all Pair Goevents.

The first International Amateur PairGo Championship was held in 1990. InBritain, there is an annual British Pair GoChampionships, which has been held since1991. A Pair Go side event also takes placeat the London Open. Additionally, PairGo is often played less formally at othertournaments and in clubs.

Pair Go at the World Mind Sports Games [Great Britain (left) vs Italy]

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HOW TO PLAY

Although the normal size of aGo board is 19 by 19 lines, it ispossible to use smaller sizes. Aquick game can be played on a13 by 13 board without losing theessential character of the game. Thefollowing examples all use a 9 by 9board.We recommend that beginners learnthe basics on a 9 by 9 board, movingup to a 13 by 13 board after afew games and only playing on a19 by 19 board if you can play acomplete game within 15 minutesand are comfortable with some ofthe strategic concepts.

The rules

A game of Go starts with an empty board.Each player has an effectively unlimitedsupply of pieces (called stones), one takingthe black stones, the other taking white.The main object of the game is to use yourstones to form territories by surroundingvacant areas of the board. It is alsopossible to capture your opponent’s stonesby completely surrounding them.

Players take turns, placing one of theirstones on a vacant point at each turn, withBlack playing first. Note that stones areplaced on the intersections of the linesrather than in the squares and once playedstones are not moved. However theymay be captured, in which case they areremoved from the board, and kept by thecapturing player as prisoners.

At the end of the game the playerscount one point for each vacant point insidetheir own territory, and one point for everystone they have captured. The player withthe larger total of territory plus prisoners isthe winner.

a

Diagram 1

Diagram 1 shows the position at the end ofa game on a 9 by 9 board, during whichBlack captured one White stone at a.

Black has surrounded 15 points ofterritory, 10 in the lower right corner and5 towards the top of the board. Black’sterritory includes the point a formerlyoccupied by the stone Black has captured.Adding the prisoner to the total, Black has16 points. White’s territory is 17 points, soWhite wins the game by one point.

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Capturing stones and counting liberties

The empty points which are horizontally or vertically adjacent to a stone, or a solidlyconnected string of stones, are known as liberties. An isolated stone or string of stonesis captured when all of its liberties are occupied by enemy stones.

xx

xx xx

x

x

x

Diagram 2

b

x

Diagram 3

c

d

Diagram 4

Diagram 2 shows three isolated White stones with their liberties marked by crosses.Stones which are on the edge of the board have fewer liberties than those in the centreof the board. A single stone on the side has three liberties, and a stone in the corner hasonly two liberties.

Diagram 3 shows the same three stones of Diagram 2 each with only one liberty leftand therefore subject to capture on Black’s next turn. Each of these White stones is said tobe in atari, meaning they are about to be captured.

Diagram 4 shows the position which would arise if Black went on to play at b inDiagram 3. Black has taken the captured stone from the board, and in a real game wouldkeep it as a prisoner. The same remarks would apply to the other two White stones,should Black play at c or d in Diagram 4.

StringsStones occupying adjacent points constitute a solidlyconnected string. Four examples of such strings ofstones are shown in Diagram 5. It is important toremember that only stones which are horizontally orvertically adjacent are solidly connected; diagonals donot count as connections. Thus, for example, the twomarked Black stones in the top left of Diagram 5 aretwo separate strings, not a single one.

Several strings close together, which belong to thesame player, are often described as a group. So thesetwo strings form a group. Diagram 5

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Capturing strings

As far as capturing is concerned, a string is treatedas a single unit. As with isolated stones, a stringis captured when all of its liberties are occupied byenemy stones.

In Diagram 6 the strings of Diagram 5 have bothbeen reduced to just one liberty. Note that the Blackstring in the top right is not yet captured because ofthe internal liberty at f. The two stones at the top leftof Diagram 6 can each be captured independently at gor h.

In Diagram 7 we see the position which wouldresult if Black captured at e and White capturedat f and at g. The remaining Black stone could becaptured at h. As with the capture of a single stone,the points formerly occupied by the Black string havebecome White territory, and vice versa.

A player may not self-capture, that is playa stone into a position where it would haveno liberties or form part of a string whichwould thereby have no liberties, unless,as a result, one or more of the stonessurrounding it is captured.

e

fh

g

Diagram 6

h

Diagram 7

Diagrams 8 and 9 illustrate the rule governing self-capture. In Diagram 8, White may notplay at i or j, since either of these plays would be self-capture; the stones would then haveno liberties. However, if the outside liberties have been filled, as shown in Diagram 9, thenthe plays at i and j become legal; they fill the last Black liberty in each case, and result inthe Black stones being captured and removed from the board as White’s prisoners, leavingthe White stone just played with some liberties.

i

j

Diagram 8

i

j

Diagram 9

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Life and death and the concept of eyes

In Diagram 9, White was able to play at i and j becausethese plays result in the capture of the adjacent Blackstones. Since White’s plays capture some stones, theydo not count as self-capture.

A different situation is shown in Diagram 10. TheBlack string here could only be captured if Whitewere able to play at both m and n. Since the first ofthese plays would be self-capture, there is no way thatWhite can carry out the capture. These two separatespaces within a string or group are known as eyes.

nm

Diagram 10

Any string or group of stones which has two or more eyes ispermanently safe from capture and is referred to as a live stringor live group. Conversely, a string of stones which is unableto make two eyes, and is cut off and surrounded by live enemystrings, is called a dead string since it is hopeless and unable toavoid eventual capture.

o

p

q

Diagram 11

In Diagram 11, the Black string at the bottomis in danger of being captured. To ensure thatBlack’s string has two eyes, Black needs to playat o. If White plays at o, the Black string willno longer be able to make two eyes, and cannotavoid eventual capture; White can always fill inthe outside liberties and then play at p and at q.Black plays at p or q would only hasten the string’sdeath.

The Black string at the top left of Diagram11 is already alive even though there is a Whitestone inside one of its eyes. Since White can nevercapture the Black stones, the White stone caughtinside the string cannot be saved.

In the course of a real game, players are not obliged to complete the capture of an isolateddead string once it is clear to both players that the string is dead. We call this a hopelessstring. In Diagram 11, once White has played at o, the situation may be left as it is untilthe end of the game. Then, the hopeless strings are simply removed from the board andcounted together with the capturing player’s other prisoners.

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The ko rule

At the top of Diagram 12, Black can capture a stoneby playing at r. This results in the situation at the topof Diagram 13. However, this stone is itself vulnerableto capture by a White play at u in Diagram 13. IfWhite were allowed to recapture immediately at u, theposition would revert to that in Diagram 12, and therewould be nothing to prevent this capture and recapturecontinuing indefinitely. This pattern of stones is called ko— a Japanese term meaning eternity. Two other possibleshapes for a ko, on the edge of the board and in the corner,are also shown in Diagram 12.

The ko rule removes this possibility of indefiniterepetition by forbidding the recapture of the ko, in thiscase a play at u in Diagram 13, until White has made atleast one play elsewhere. Black may then fill the ko, butif Black chooses not to do so, instead answering White’sintervening turn elsewhere, White is then permitted toretake the ko. Similar remarks apply to the other twopositions in these diagrams; the corresponding turns atw and v in Diagram 13 must also be delayed by one turn.

t

r

s

Diagram 12

v

w

u

Diagram 13Seki — a kind of local stalemate

Usually a string which cannot make two eyes will dieunless one of the surrounding enemy strings also lackstwo eyes. This often leads to a race to capture, but can alsoresult in a stand-off situation, known as seki, in whichneither string has two eyes, but neither can capture theother due to a shortage of liberties. Two examples of sekiare shown in Diagram 14. Neither player can afford toplay at x, y or z, since to do so would enable the other tomake a capture.

x

y

z

Diagram 14The end of the game

When you think you can’t gain any more territory, reduce your opponent’s territory orcapture more strings, instead of playing a stone on the board you pass and hand a stoneto your opponent as a prisoner. A Black pass followed by a White pass ends the game(since Black played first, White must play last).

Any hopeless strings are removed and become prisoners. If you cannot agree whethera string is dead or not, then continue playing; you can then complete the capture of thedisputed strings or confirm they are alive. (Playing after such a continuation does notchange the score as each pass gives up a prisoner.)

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The handicap system

As remarked in the introduction, one of the best features of the game of Go is its handicapsystem. A weaker player may be given an advantage of anything up to nine stones. Theseare placed on the board in lieu of Black’s first turn. Once all the handicap stones have beenplaced in position it is White’s turn to play.

Through the grading system, any two players can easily establish the difference intheir strength, and therefore how many stones the weaker player should take in orderto compensate for this difference. Since a player’s grade is measured in terms of stones,the number of stones for the handicap is simply the difference in grade between the twoplayers.

There is an establishedpattern for the placement ofhandicap stones, shown bythe dots which are marked onany Go board. The placementfor a nine stone handicap isshown in Diagram 15. Smallerhandicaps are placed as follows(Black is facing the board fromthe bottom):

2 stones c and g

3 stones c, g and i

4 stones a, c, g and i

5 stones a, c, e, g and i

6 stones All but b, e and h

7 stones All but b and h

8 stones All but e

Diagram 15

Komi

Black has a natural advantage in playing the first move. So in games between players ofthe same strength, it is usual to compensate White for the disadvantage of playing secondby adding points to White’s score. These points are called komi. From experience thevalue of playing first is about 7 points, so this is the normal size of komi. In tournaments,komi is often set at 7 1

2points to avoid draws.

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AN EXAMPLE GAME

The example game shown here is played on a 9 by 9 board, and illustrates most of therules in action. It is a game played between two professionals. Try to see how the playersuse the threat of capture to develop their positions. Notice also how they try to connecttheir own stones and separate those of the opponent.

Most games of Go start fairly peacefully, with each player loosely mapping outterritory in different parts of the board. In this example on a small board, Black plays firstin the centre. On a larger size board play usually starts in the corners near the handicappoints.

The numbers in the figures show the order in which the stones are played. In laterfigures, stones which have already been played are not numbered.

With � and � in Figure 1, Black exerts influence overthe right side of the board; while with � and �, Whitelays claim to the top left corner. With �, Black aims toexclude White from the bottom half of the board. Whiteleans against the lone Black stone with �, reducing it totwo liberties. With�, Black strengthens the stone at� byextending to�, and now the string has four liberties.

If Figure 2 seems somewhat alarming, you may findit easier to look back at Figure 1 and imagine adding thestones one at a time. Better still, play the game out on aboard.

After the � - exchange, White pushes towards thebottom with . Rather than defending the bottom leftcorner, Black changes direction with �, and now tries tofence off the top right. Again White leans against the Blackstone, and again Black strengthens this stone by extendingto . White pushes into the gap with � and Black blocksat�.

If Black succeeds in surrounding all of the area tothe right and bottom of the board, Black will have moreterritory than White has in the top left. Accordingly, Whitecuts Black into two with �, aiming to destroy the Blackarea at the bottom in the course of this attack. Note thatthe three Black stones to the left of � now have only twoliberties.

Figure 1: 1–7

Figure 2: 8–16

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Black must do something to avoid the imminent capture ofthe three stones cut off by White�. In Figure 3, Black� and� are both threats to capture White, who flees in turn with� and � (can you see why � and � are threats?). With �,Black has stabilised these strings, and White’s three stones aretrapped inside Black’s sphere of influence.

The outcome of the game now hinges on the fate of thesestones. If they die and White obtains no compensation, Whitewill lose. If they live, or can be sacrificed in order to reduceBlack’s territory, White can still win the game.

White plays � in Figure 4 in an attempt to expand theposition along the edge and to reduce the liberties of the Blackstone at a. Black blocks at�, preventing White from forminga living shape along the second line. With�, White threatensto play at �. Due to the presence of �, this play wouldsimultaneously threaten the capture of the Black stone at a,and of the two stones to the left of �. Since either of thesecaptures would save the White stones below, Black plays �himself, putting an end to any possibility of the White stones’escape.

Unable to escape, and with insufficient space to be able toform two eyes, White plays � on the outside. White’s planis to sacrifice the stones on the right and in the process todestroy Black’s prospective territory at the bottom.

Figure 5 shows White’s plan put into effect. Black reallyhas no choice about�. Black would like to defend the stoneto the right of�, but if White gets the chance to block at�,Black’s advantage in the fight will be lost. White’s plays at� and � are a device to increase the value of the sacrifice;Black must play at � to prevent White from getting an eyeby playing there.

With and ", White captures �. Now Black mustensure the capture of the sacrificial White stones with #, %and', while White creeps along the bottom with$ and&.Note that a play to the right of & is White’s privilege. It isnot urgent since it would be a mistake for Black to play there.Can you see why?

With ', the fight in this part of the board comes to anend. Although White has lost 7 stones, White has capturedone of Black’s and succeeded in destroying the bottom area.White has even made a couple of points of territory in thebottom left corner. Furthermore, it is still White’s turn toplay and White is free to take the initiative elsewhere: toexpand White’s own area or reduce Black’s; to exploit Black’sweaknesses or to patch up White’s own.

Figure 3: 17–21

Figure 4: 22–26

Figure 5: 27–39

Before looking at thenext figure, try todecide for youselfwhere it is mostprofitable for White toplay.

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If your guess for White’s next play was somewhere near (in Figure 6 you can congratulate yourself. This is where theboundary between White’s territory and Black’s is still mostuncertain, and the first to play here will make the greatestgain. ( removes White’s only weakness, the possibility of aBlack cut at this point. It also prepares for White to slide intothe top right and destroy prospective Black territory there.

With), Black blocks White’s path, and* to- completethe boundary between the two territories here. The game isalmost over. Can you see the best place for White to playnext?

White. in Figure 7 pushes into the one remaining gap inBlack’s wall. / shuts White out, and 48 prevents the captureof .. Strictly speaking the game is over at this point, sincethere is nowhere that either player can play to increase theirown territory or decrease their opponent’s. Black would liketo play at 2, but if so, the Black stones would have onlyone liberty, and White would capture them with a play to theright of2.

Black1 and2 complete the formalities. After1 and theremoval of the 6 White stones, Black could play at 2. Thiswould make the point to the right of 2 Black territory, soWhite plays at2 to prevent a Black play there.

Similarly, the plays in Figure 8 make no difference tothe score but are played to clarify the situation and makecounting easier. It is not necessary for Black to completethe capture of the isolated White stone on the right —White admits that it is hopeless. There is no point in eitherplayer playing inside the other’s territory. Territory is socalled precisely because it is an area which is secure againstinvasion. Any stone the opponent played inside it wouldbe killed. Neither player can hope either to form a livingstring inside, or to escape from, the other’s territory. Neithercan the players hope to kill any of the opponent’s otherstones. All stones — except White’s hopeless stone — areeffectively connected, forming living strings with at least twoeyes. Black passes, handing a stone to White. White thenpasses, handing a stone to Black, and the game is over.

Figure 6: 40–45

Figure 7: 46–50

Figure 8: 51–52

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Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11

The result

At the end of the game, any hopeless strings are removed from the board. This results inthe position shown in Figure 9.

There are 18 vacant intersections inside Black’s territory, and Black has taken 8prisoners altogether, including one when White passed, making a total of 26 points.White’s total is only 21, made up of 19 points of territory, and 2 prisoners including onewhen Black passed, so Black has won the game on the board by 5 points. The process ofcounting is usually simplified as shown in Figures 10 and 11.

1. Any neutral points, that is unoccupiedpoints which lie between Black stones andWhite stones, are filled by either player. Inthis game there are no neutral points to fill.

2. Each player puts the prisoners they havecaptured into their opponent’s territory.This produces the position shown inFigure 10. The players’ territories arereduced by one point for every stone theyhave had captured.

3. The territories may be re-arranged tofacilitate counting. This produces Figure11, in which we see that Black has 16 pointsand White has 11 points.

The scores in Figure 11 are the result ofeach player subtracting from the value of theopponent’s territory the number of prisonersthey have captured, rather than adding themto their own total, but the end result is thesame: Black wins by 5 points. If komi were 7points then White would win the game by 2points.

This shows the end of a 19x19game with territories re-arrangedinto multiples of tens to makecounting easier.

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PROBLEMS

Have a go at the following! In each problem, Black plays first. The solutions are on thenext page.

Problem 1

There are three places where Black canplay to connect stones and preventimmediate capture. Find all of them.

Problem 2

In this position, three White stones arevulnerable to capture. How shouldBlack play in order to capture them?

Problem 3

How does Black play so that themarked stone is guaranteed to becaptured?

Problem 4

Where does Black play so that theWhite stones cannot avoid eventualcapture?

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SOLUTIONS

Have you been successful?

Problem 1

Black can play at a to connect threestones on the lower edge, at b toconnect four stones on the upper edgeand c to connect six stones on the left.

Problem 2

If Black plays at �, White cannotescape. In the sequence every Blackplay puts White’s string into atari.

Problem 3

Black’s play at � chases White to theedge of the board, and the stonescannot escape.

Problem 4

Black must play at � to capture theWhite stones. A White play at�wouldmake two eyes.

For more information about Go see our website: www.britgo.org or try theinteractive Learn to Play Go site www.playgo.to/index-e.html.

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BRITISH GO ASSOCIATIONWe are a voluntary organisationpromoting the game of Go in the UnitedKingdom. Membership is open to all onpayment of an annual subscription andwe support players of all standards. We:• support the playing and teaching of

Go in the UK and abroad, with otherinternational Go organisations.

• make available a selection of booksand equipment to members atmoderate prices at tournaments andalso offer a discount at selected mail-order retailers.

• produce the British Go Journal, amagazine of news, comment, instruc-tional articles and game commen-taries.

• provide an electronic newsletter formembers.

• help to attract more players to thegame through various promotionalactivities and material

• provide a comprehensive web sitewww.britgo.org

For beginners, we:

• maintain lists of members and Goclubs. These are available to memberswishing to find new opponents.

• encourage the formation of newclubs, especially in schools, byproviding “starter sets” and advisingorganisers.

• provide funds to promote the playingof Go by young people, in conjunctionwith an independent trust fund, theCastledine-Barnes Trust.

Helping players to improve, we

• provide a Game Review serviceby some of the country’s strongestplayers.

• run regular teaching eventsthroughout the UK, as well as the“Online Study Group” with strongplayers as teachers

• encourage strong players to visitclubs to give teaching and simulta-neous games through subsidies.

• arrange teaching visits by profes-sional players from other countries.

• support an extensive programme oftournaments during the year andmaintain a UK tournament schedule.Several tournaments, including aninter-club league, are played overthe internet. Other tournaments areorganised by clubs, supported by us.Most tournaments are organised insuch a way as to allow players of allstrengths to take part.

• organise tournaments aimed specif-ically at younger players, includingthe British Youth Championships andthe UK Go Challenge.

For stronger players we:

• ensure that all UK tournament resultsare included in the European Goratings, an Elo-style system run by theEuropean Go Federation. The ratingsof British players are shown on ourwebsite and players are awarded dandiplomas when they have reached theappropriate level.

• provide specific coaching by profes-sionals.

• run annual British Individual andPair Go Championships.

• organise the UK’s representation atinternational events, such as theWorld Amateur Go Championship.

c©British Go Association - August 2014