The Best of Select: Games 9/CD_1.iso/dosgames/telego/gorules.txt

Text File | 1992-01-31 | 16KB | 289 lines

There are several sets of rules for playing Go.  The ones below were adopted
for a three year trial period by the American Go Association (AGA) at the
1991 National Board meeting.

Note: Telego counts the score using the 'Territory' method described below.
      Since 'Area' counting is not used, the easiest way to use Telego is to
      modify the Official Rules (the outcome of the game will not be
      affected) in two areas:
             1) White is not required to make the last move.
             2) 'Pass stones' are not required.
      Any compensation (see below) is NOT computed by Telego.

*****************************************************************************

AGA Rules Committee                                       September 1, 1991

                           Official AGA Rules of Go

*   The following are the American Go Association Rules of Go for amateur
*  play.  Unless specifically stated otherwise, these rules are in effect
*  at all AGA sanctioned events.  Organizers and tournament directors are
*  free to specify other sets of rules for use in their events.  Each line
*  of the comments to the rules starts with an asterisk.

   Any paraphrase of these rules which is identical in content is acceptable
as a statement of the AGA Rules of Go so long as it makes reference to the
more complete Official rules given below.

*   By "identical in content" we mean that the result of applying these
*  paraphrased rules should give the same result as would the Official Rules
*  in every situation.}
*
*   These rules are supplemented by the Official AGA Tournament Regulations
*  governing time control, player conduct, role of monitors, etc.

   1) The Board and Stones: Go is a game of strategy between two sides
usually played on a 19x19 grid (the board).  The game may also be played on
smaller boards, 13x13 and 9x9 being the two most common variants.  The board
is initially empty unless a handicap is given (see Rule 4).  The two sides,
known as BLACK and WHITE, are each provided with an adequate supply of
playing tokens, known as STONES, of the appropriate color.

*   For recording purposes, the horizontal lines of the board are designated
*  1,2,3,...,19, starting from the bottom as seen by Black.  The vertical
*  lines are designated A,B,C,...T (skipping 'I'), starting from the left as
*  seen by Black.  Points on the board are identified by their coordinates,
*  e.g. A-1, C-3, T-19, etc.

   2) Play: The players alternate in moving, with Black playing first.  In
handicap games, White plays first after Black has placed his or her handicap
stones.  A MOVE consists in playing a stone of one's color on an empty
intersection (including edges and corners), or in PASSING.  Certain moves
are ILLEGAL (Rules 5 and 6), but a pass is always legal (Rule 7).  POINTS
are awarded for controlling space in a manner described below (Rule 12).  The
object of the game is to end with the greater total number of points.

  3) Compensation: In an even (non-handicap) game, Black gives White a
compensation of 5.5 points for the advantage of the first move.  This
compensation is added to White's score at the end of the game.  In handicap
games Black gives White 0.5 point compensation.  This avoids draws.

   4) Handicaps: The game may be played with a HANDICAP to compensate for
differences in player strengths.  The weaker player takes Black, and either
moves first, giving only 0.5 point compensation to White, as in Rule 3 (this
is known as a "one stone handicap"), or places 2 to 9 stones on the board
before the first White move.

*   The nine intersections corresponding to the horizontal lines 4, 10, and
*  16 and the vertical lines D, K, and Q are called STAR POINTS and are
*  ordered as follows:
*             1st star point   Q-16     5th star point  Q-10
*             2nd star point   D-4      6th star point  D-10
*             3rd star point   Q-4      7th star point  K-16
*             4th star point   D-16     8th star point  K-4
*                   9th star point   K-10 (center point)
*   The handicap stones are traditionally played as follows:
*       2 stones -- on the 1st and 2nd star points
*       3 stones -- on the 1st through 3rd star points
*       4 stones -- on the 1st through 4th star points
*       5 stones -- on the 1st through 4th star points and the center point
*       6 stones -- on the 1st through 6th star points
*       7 stones -- on the 1st through 6th star points and the center point
*       8 stones -- on the 1st through 8th star points
*       9 stones -- on the 1st through 9th star points
*   Unless otherwise specified, handicap stones shall be placed in this
*  fashion.  Handicaps greater than nine stones and handicaps on boards with
*  fewer than 19 lines are not standardized.

   If the players have agreed to use area counting to score the game (Rule
12), White receives an additional point of compensation for each Black
handicap stone after the first.

*   Black would otherwise gain an additional point of area for each handicap
*  stone.

   5) Capture: Stones of the same color are said to be CONNECTED if they
are adjacent along horizontal or vertical -- not diagonal -- lines on the
board.  A STRING of connected stones consists of those stones which can be
reached from a given stone by moving only to adjacent stones of the same
color.  A string of connected stones is SURROUNDED by stones of the
opposite color if it has no empty points horizontally or vertically -- NOT
DIAGONALLY -- adjacent to any of its member stones.  (Such adjacent empty
points are known as LIBERTIES of the string.)

   After a player moves, any stone or string of stones belonging to the
opponent which is completely surrounded by the player's own stones is
CAPTURED, and removed from the board.  Such stones become PRISONERS of the
capturing player.  It is ILLEGAL for a player to move so as to create a
string of his or her own stones which is completely surrounded (without
liberties) after any surrounded opposing stones are captured.

*   This means that it is possible to fill an empty space within an
*  opponent's group and capture even if the player's own stone or stones
*  would momentarily be surrounded by the group being captured. See Figure 2.
*  But SELF-CAPTURE IS ILLEGAL.

   6) Repeated Board Position (Ko): It is ILLEGAL to play in such a way as to
recreate a previous board position from the game, with the same player to
play.

*   The most typical example is a situation where the players can each
*  alternately capture and recapture a single stone.  This is known as "ko"
*  (See figure 3).  After the first capture the player moving next may NOT
*  capture immediately, as this would repeat the board position; instead,
*  that player must play somewhere else on the board (or pass).  The player
*  who first captured may then "fill" the ko (or otherwise resolve it), or
*  play elsewhere as well (often in response to the other player's previous
*  move.) If the board position has changed, and the ko has not yet been
*  resolved, the opponent is then free to capture, and it is the original
*  player who may not then immediately recapture.  This process is known as a
*  KO FIGHT, and the moves played away from the ko itself are known as KO
*  THREATS.
*
*   Rarely, multiple kos or other repetitive situations will arise; the
*  principle for handling them is always the same: the players must avoid
*  repeating the full-board position, so they are periodically, and
*  alternately, forced to play away from the repetitive situation before
*  responding.

   7) Passing: On his or her turn, a player may PASS by handing the opponent
a stone, referred to as a PASS STONE, rather than playing a stone on the
board.

*   Normally neither player would choose to pass if there were any worthwhile
*  moves to be made on the board (even if they did not have to give up a pass
*  stone).  Thus, the exchange of a pass stone with the opponent also serves
*  as a signal that the player passing believes that the game is