Copyright: WindiGO Copyright ©1995 by Lemanowicz & Miranda


Index
WindiGO Help Index

The following Help Topics are available:

Glossary

How To Play GO

A Description of the Software

Registration Information

Technical Support Information

For Help on Help, Press F1


Glossary

The following are a glossary of terms associated with WindiGO:

The Board

The Stones

Handicap Game

Capture

Tool Bar

Registered User

Shareware


The Board

The board is a grid of 19x19 lines, forming 361 intersection points.  On the board there are nine star points.  The columns are labeled A-H, J-T starting in the upper left hand corner.  The rows are labeled 1-19 starting in the lower left hand corner.


The Stones

361 stones ( 180 are white and 181 are black ).  In playing the game, black and white stones are used, and the stronger player uses white stones.


Handicap Game

The weaker player plays Black and therefore goes first.  This is considered to give the weaker player a slight advantage.  If the player is much weaker he or she can be compensated by obtaining a 2 to 9 stone advantage.

A player moves up or down in handicap after winning or losing three consecutive games to the same opponent.  For example, if Player A loses to Player B three times in a row, the handicap moves one notch in A's favor, either A's handicap increases or, if B had the handicap, B's handicap reduces by one.

The Black player does not have a choice where the extra stones are placed.  The Black stones are placed symmetrically around the board on the star points.  For additional information see the Handicap menu command.


Capture

When all of the intersections adjacent to a stone or a group of stones are occupied by stones of the opponent, that stone or group of stones is considered captured and is removed from the board.


Tool Bar

The tool bar provides you with quick access to commonly used menu commands.


Registered User

A registered user is one that has paid the registration fee and is running a registered copy of this software application.  See Registration Information for information on registering.


Shareware

Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register.  The authors are not compensated for their efforts unless you register.  Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights.  Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software.  The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy.


How To Play Go

The following topics will assist you in learning how to play Go:

Object of the Game

Rules of Play

Captured Stones

Illegal Play Rule

Safe Territory

Situations

Scoring

Strategies -

Opening Moves

Basic Tactics


Object of the Game

Go is a game played between two players.

The object of Go is to secure territory as represented by the number of the unoccupied points of intersection .  At the end of the game, the amount of vacant space is calculated, and the stones that have been captured are used to fill up the vacant spaces claimed by the opponent.  The winner is the player who has succeeded in occupying the larger territory after the captured stones are used in this way.

With this ultimate object in view, two plans of action are followed, one being simply to rail off space by forming walls of stones around the area which the player desires to occupy, and the other that of capturing the stones  or space of the opponent.  The game is concluded when 1. a player runs out of stones; or, 2. neither player is able to secure further unoccupied territory and when neither is willing to hazard further attacks on the territory already surrounded by his opponent - this occurs when both players Pass.


Rules of Play

1. The stones are played on the points of intersection  of the lines.  Once placed they are not moved except when captured .

2. The weaker player gets the black stones and the first move.  The players now alternate turns; except in the case of a handicap game .

3. When all of the intersections adjacent to a stone or a group of stones are occupied by stones of the opponent, that stone or group of stones is captured and removed.

4. It is forbidden to play on any point which is completely surrounded by the opponent's stones and there is only the one point vacant, unless the play results in the capture of all or part of the surrounding stones, because no stone may remain on the board if it is completely surrounded by stones of the opposite color - in other words, suicide is illegal.

5. If a group of stones contains two separate "eyes," it is permanently safe from capture, regardless of the enemy stones surrounding the group.

6. In a ko position, a player cannot repeat his previous move without first playing at some other part of the board.

7. The game is concluded when 1. a player runs out of stones; or, 2. neither player is able to secure further unoccupied territory and when neither is willing to hazard further attacks on the territory already surrounded by his opponent - this occurs when both players Pass.


Captured Stones

When all of the intersections adjacent to a stone or a group of stones are occupied by stones of the opponent, that stone or group of stones is considered captured and is removed from the board .

The following diagram shows one white stone in the upper left corner.  To capture this single stone, all of the four points immediately adjacent to that stone (on the horizontal and vertical axis), which are called "liberties" of the stone, must be occupied by black stones, as shown in the upper central part of the diagram.  When this condition is met, the white stone is removed from the board by the black player as a captive.  The upper right hand corner of the diagram shows the position after the capture and removal.

The central left hand corner of the diagram shows four black stones, each on a diagonal from the one white stone.  Since the liberties of a stone only apply on the horizontal and vertical axis, the white stone still has four open liberties.  The other figures in the center of the diagram demonstrate how a stone can obtain additional number of liberties by being connected horizontally and vertically with stones of a like color.

The bottom portion of the diagram shows a few examples in which a group of single/connected white stones become captives.


Illegal Play Rule

You are not allowed to place a stone on a point which is completely surrounded by your opponent's stones - suicide is illegal.  This rule can be ignored if the placement of your stone allows you to capture all or part of the surrounding stones.

The upper part of the following diagram displays three examples where White is not allowed to place a piece.  A White placement in each of the positions where the white stone with the red outer rim is located would be "suicide" - and thus, illegal.  The lower part of the diagram displays two examples which appear to be "suicide" for White but are really legal moves.  In each of these examples, White's placement (the white stone with the red outer rim) allows it to capture Black pieces.


Safe Territory

In order for a group of stones to be truly safe, they need to have two or more points on which the illegal play rule  applies.  The diagram shows some examples of Black's "live" positions, with each group having two eyes.  An "eye" is a vacant point.  With each of these positions, White cannot surround the black stones and attempt to capture them.  For in order to do that, it would have to break the illegal play rule.

The left hand side of the following diagram displays false eyes for the black stones.  These are unsafe territories.  White can capture these black stones.  On the left hand side, if Black was able to replace the white stone with the red outer rim with a black stone, the Black territories would then be safe.  The right hand side of the diagram shows where White would be able to play (the white stone with the red outer rim) in order to capture the black stones with the red outer rim.  White is able to do this without breaking the illegal play rule.


Scoring

1. Every vacant intersection inside your territories counts for one point.

2. You also get one point for every stone you capture during the game

From this information you can get a rough idea of the score.  You can obtain this information from the Status Window.  Scoring basically falls into two camps.  Your score is either the number of pieces you have on the board + the number of vacant points you surround OR it is the number of vacant points you surround - the number of pieces captured by your opponent.  These two systems are potentially equivalent, meaning that although they don't provide the same score, anyone who wins under one system would win under the other system as well.

If a group or a single stone is surrounded by enemy stones in such a way that it cannot avoid capture ( even though it may have several liberties), it is said to be dead.  At the end of the game the player surrounding a dead group removes these stones as if they had been captured and you would proceed with the normal counting rules.  Stones are "dead" only if both players regard them as such.  Their owner is quite entitled to try and save them, even if he is wasting his time.


Opening Moves

Opening moves should be played at strategic points , to map out prospective territories .  The game typically starts with the players "staking out" territory around the board's star points.  The corners are the easiest areas in which to form territory and the simplest to defend.  The next most advantageous sections are the sides, while the center of the board is the most difficult area in which to form territory.  The following diagram shows an example of an opening move procedure.

Black's play in the upper left corner is similar to the knight's move in chess.  If the stones are one point farther apart, what white has done in the upper right corner, this is called the "great knight's move".  The placement illustrated in the lower left corner is called "skipping one point."  Note: in each of these three scenarios, the moves were centered around surrounding a "start point".  The placement in the lower right corner is called "skipping two points" and this move also demonstrates how you can protect a "star point" by placing a stone on it.  Once the corners were "staked" out the players moved on to the sides; e.g. moves 9-12.


Basic Tactics

Corner, Side, then Center

You should extend from the corners you occupy to the side, rather than just play anywhere on the side.  And then you should advance towards the center by extending from your side positions.

Start on the 3rd and 4th lines

You should appreciate that a stone on the 4th line is looking towards the center, while a stone on the 3rd line is oriented towards territory on the edge.

You should also realize that it is bad to allow your opponent to seal off side territory on the 4th line, and that at the beginning it is a waste of time to make territory on the second line.  It is better to stake out territories loosely than to form impenetrable walls around one corner.


A Description of the Software

How to start a new game

How to open a game in progress

Menu Commands

File Menu

New

Open

Save

Save As

Wait

Exit

Edit Menu

Undo

Handicap

Pass

Comment

Set-Up

Practice Mode

Status Window


How to start a new game

There are three modes of play that this program supports: single PC, LAN, and eMail (Remote PC). Which method you use will depend largely upon where your opponent is.  Each mode is interchangeable.  You can start in one mode and finish via another; e.g. one can play a game on a single PC, continue it over the LAN, and then take the game home and play by sending the game file to your opponent via a modem.

Once you have an opponent you must determine who will go first.  Generally the weaker player goes first.  Then to start a new game simply select New from the file menu.  An empty Go board  should be created along with the tool bar .

At this point you might want to use Set-Up  from the Edit menu to set the player names.

Also, if the weaker player will receive a handicap then you would now set the handicap by selecting Handicap from the Edit menu.  Selecting a handicap gives the first player a 2 to 9 stone head start by placing the stones in pre-determined positions.

If there will be no handicap, you're now ready to make the first move as is indicated by the cursor which is supposed to be a hand holding a black piece.  Select an intersection point  with the mouse and click the left mouse button.  This places a black stone on that intersection.

At this point, handicap or not, it is the white players move as indicated by the cursor which is now holding a white piece.  What you do now depends on the mode of play.

Single PC mode:

Either hand the mouse to your opponent or, if your opponent will make a move at a later time, save the game using Save (or Save As ) from the file menu.  Your opponent will have to know the name and location of the file to re-open the game.  In this mode, players take turns making moves on the same PC.

LAN mode:

You would either select Save (or Save As) or Wait from the File menu.  Save the game if you are going to close the program.  Use Wait if you and your opponent will be playing interactively.  Your opponent would then open the game on his/her PC.  This mode assumes separate PCs which are connected via a network and have common access to the game file.  In this mode a player goes into a "wait" state, via the Wait command, in order to relinquish the turn to the opponent.  If it is not your turn, you are in a "wait" state.

eMail (Remote PC) mode:

Save the game using Save (or Save As) from the File menu.  The game file is in text format and can be mailed/delivered through any eMail system.  This mode assumes separate PCs which are not connected.  This mode operates in the same way as the LAN mode except the game file must be "delivered" to the other PC after a move has been made.


How to open a game in progress

To open a game in progress select Open from the file menu.  You will then get a fairly standard file open dialog box with which you can select the game file desired.  If you have previously "opened" some games, the bottom portion of the file menu will list the last four games you played.  You can automatically open a previous game by selecting one of the items from this list.

When you open a game in progress you will get a dialog box telling you whose turn it is and giving you the option of Continuing or Waiting.  You would only wait if you are playing on a LAN, it is not your turn and you want to be notified when your opponent moves.  Otherwise select continue.

If you selected "continue", you will now be informed of your opponents last move.

You can now make your move.  Otherwise, if you selected "wait", you are now in a "wait " state.

You can create an icon for the the WindiGo game in one of your Windows program groups.  There are two command line arguments which you can add: 1. the game file name, and, 2. your user name or color.  For example, using the following command line c:\game\go.exe game1.go WHITE. automatically opens the game1.go game file and informs WindiGo that you are WHITE.  Both command line arguments are optional.  The user name or color command argument must follow the game file command argument if you plan on using it.


Undo - menu command

Undo undoes the last unsaved move.  Undo will not be possible after saving the game or entering wait mode.  Either of those actions commit the last made move.


Handicap - menu command

Handicap gives an advantage to the weaker player by giving that player a 2 to 9 stone head start.  It can only be used on a New game, that is, a game with no previous moves.


Comment - menu command

Comment is used to send a short comment to your opponent.  Comments are sent as attachments to moves.  There is no way to send just a comment.  The comment will be seen the next time your opponent opens the game or makes his/her move.


Set-up - menu command

Set-Up allows you to set options such as the player names and the polling time (used when you are in the LAN playing mode ).  It also allows you to specify the backup directory.  The default backup directory is the same directory the current game file is located at.  The Set-Up information is specific to a game.


Practice Mode - menu command

Practice mode places you into a practice session.  During practice mode you may place visually distinct stones on the board to experiment with ideas.  None of the stones count as a move and they are all removed when you leave practice mode.

Stones of your color are dropped with the left mouse button.  Stones of the opponent's color are dropped with the right mouse button.  You clear a stone, practice or real, by trying to place a practice stone on top of it.


Status Window - menu command

Status window toggles a window of the same name.  This window gives statistics about the currently loaded game  These statistics give you an idea how well you are doing.  This window also displays the comment field.  See Scoring .


New - menu command

New is used to start a new game.  If a game is currently loaded it must be saved because it is not possible to have two games loaded at once.


Open - menu command

Open is used to continue a game that is already in progress. If there is already a game in memory it will have to be saved because it is not possible to load multiple games.


Save - menu command

Save is used to save the currently loaded game.  In order to save a game at least one move had to be made.  If the game has not been given a file name yet you will be presented with a dialog box so you may give it one.


Save As - menu command

Save as is used to save the currently loaded game under a new name.


Wait - menu command

Wait is only used for games that are being played over a LAN.  It is similar to Save in that it writes the current state of the game out to the game file.  The difference is that the game then goes into a "wait" mode until your opponent makes a move and selects Wait.  While in the "wait" state, you can Exit the game or enter Practice mode .


Exit - menu command

Exit closes the program.  If the currently loaded game has unsaved moves you will be given a chance to save the game.


Pass

Pass will allow you to forgo your turn and allow your opponent to make another move.


Situations

Atari

Ko


Atari

A player is in "atari" if one of his stones or group of stones is or are in a state of being "checked" (similar to chess); i.e. one more of the opponent's stones means death for the player's stones.

In the following diagram, the two figures on the left show the white stones are under the threat of being captured by Black's one more move.  The figures in the center of the diagram show's the Black move - the black stone with the red outer rim - which would capture the group of white stones.  The figures to the right show what White can do to save his stone or stones from being captured; e.g. extending White's liberties.


Ko

Both players are in a ko situation when they could capture/re-capture each others stones on successive moves.  This could be an endless loop.  In order to allow the game to continue, the following rule was established when a player has captured an enemy stone in a ko position, his opponent may not recapture until he first makes at least one play elsewhere on the board.

The following diagram demonstrates a ko situation.  The figure in the upper left hand corner shows one white stone in atari, therefore, Black may capture it if he wishes.  The figure to it's right shows the aftermath of Black's capture - the black stone with the red outer rim. This also shows that the black stone with the red outer rim is now placed in an atari situation.  Due to the ko rule, White is not allowed to retake the Black piece until he has played elsewhere on the board first.  The third figure shows White - the white stone with the red outer rim, immediately retaking the Black stone - as you can see, this reverts to the formation shown in the first figure on the left of the diagram - an endless loop could occur; thus, the ko rule was created.  White could break the ko situation as demonstrated in the figure in the lower left part of the diagram.


Technical Support Information

We will provide technical support to un-registered users on a limited basis.  All registered users are entitled to 100 days of free technical support.

You can reach us via US mail at the following address:

Lemanowicz & Miranda

3330 Forest Overlook Drive

Seven Hills, OH 44131 USA

You can also reach us via:

Internet:	db385@cleveland.freenet.edu

Compuserve:	72142.2367@CompuServe.com


Registration Information

This WindiGO application is a "Shareware" program.  You are encouraged to try it for free.  You are also encouraged to pass it along, unaltered, to anyone else you feel may be interested.

If, after a reasonable time you decide to continue using it please register it by sending $24.95 to Lemanowicz & Miranda, at the address listed below.  Please specify your name, return address, and the type of floppy diskette you prefer when you send in your registration.  Also, we are interested in finding out what features you would like to see in future releases.  The file GO_REG.FRM may be printed out and used for registering.

You will be sent the latest, registered version of the WindiGO application.  Your registration will also entitle you to 100 days of free technical support.  You will also be notified of, and be eligible for a discount on, any possible future versions of WindiGO.  More information about shareware and liability is available in the GO_RDME.TXT file.  Any correspondence should be addressed to:

Lemanowicz & Miranda

3330 Forest Overlook Drive

Seven Hills, OH 44131 USA


General Information

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