Video Tutorial for the Game of Go - Part I, Overview (WeiQi, Baduk)

[SuperAramis2000]

Wonderful Tutorial!

[bucetapussy]

very very good explanations.. thanks for the post. good job.

[krat0s77]

balance and judgement over calculation and capture nwo i see why chess is more famous...

[hyperflexharrington5]

Thanks for the tutorial. I tried to learn the game 10 years ago, but didn't have a teacher that could explain it this clearly. Never knew the game was about balance, not capture.

[TubeYouTricky]

Why is this not the FIRST video on explaining go? It's clearly the best, the best rated, the most comprehensive, and the most current (read: not from 1996)?

[RebelAngel4321]

I prefer Skyrim..

[Trotskisty]

Very solid intro to the game. It gave some clear perspective. Kudos!

[USERNAMEKLEMPTOR]

this game just pissing me off cuz i keep loosing to a computer in like littlest things..... makes me want to play chess......

[Animelover7192]

Thanks! Go looks like a lot of fun, I am very excited to play.

[murrieta123]

excellent video. i learned alot, and i liked the introduccion you provide with the history of the game. i am definately going to watch your other videos. thanks for this video. i am in mexico, and i can't find the game anywhere, or people who know of it. but i will start teaching some friends. the vision is to spread the game, i feel that the virtues of balance and judgement can use some re-enforcement in my country. i think of it as my grain of sand. thank you once again.

[rolf1304]

Thanks!

[TheMajestic9]

This is the very best breakdown i've heard thus far.Thank you for taking the time out to make it.To reveal the essence of the game as you have.

[TheSdem]

What are the other three treasured arts?

[Ossan1987]

@TheSdem In ascending order of how respectful the art is, the four treasured arts are: painting and/or handwriting (count as one same art), poetry, Qi(Weiqi/Go), Qin(a music instrument). So Qi comes the second among the four treasured arts. It is said the order also reflect how difficult to master the art. i.e painting/handwriting is the easist, then language(poetry), then logical thinking(Qi), last music is the most difficult one.

[TheSdem]

@Ossan1987 Thanks, that is something good to think about.

[technicalerr0r]

@TheSdem The four arts of the scholar are:

- Qín (a musical insstrument akin to a guitar)

- Qí (The Game of Go)

- Shū (The art of Chinese calligraphy)

- Huà (Chinese painting)

its a slight mistake in the video, they are the Four arts of The Scholar, I think the poster has slightly confused his terminology with "The Four Treasures of the Study" (Brush, Ink, Paper and Stone)

[56bluegold]

Interesting Game !

[ninjamonkeys13]

thanks for the vid but im a slow learner lol

[andylinkproductions]

nice

[samreznek]

Great Introduction! Thanks!

[sockyquest]

Good video, but there's a mistake.

At 6:30 black doesn't have all those points of territory in the top right as the game is not completely finished.

As you show in part 2, once the central neutral point is filled, black needs an additional play in his territory to keep the white stones dead, thus his true territory is one point less than shown.

[innkrebel]

Awesome video! I learned a lot, and the way you categorized everything made it both easy and fun to learn :) I have a question, though. At the game displayed at 4:01, what would happen if White played in the middle instead of Black? I don't think White would be allowed, because then it would basically be suicide on White's part, so that would basically make the group of White stones dead, right?

[GoshawkHeron]

@innkrebel I'm glad you liked it. You're basically right about both sides of killing your own group. In virtually every case this is a nonsense move and most rulesets disallow it. But you're also right that it doesn't have to be illegal, and in fact the Korean rules allow it; it turns out that if it is allowed then there are a few corner cases where it makes some sense - in some unusual cases you can actually get an extra ko threat from killing your own group (see part II about ko threats).

[123321123peter]

@GoshawkHeron at 5:16 i dont quite understand what it means by it being dead



[grolich]

@GoshawkHeron

Actually you have a small mistake. The Korean rules totally disallow suicide moves. Only the Ing rules allow them (of the commonly used rule systems).

Nice introduction.

[phinny5608]

Thank you for making this.

[darkmager111]

Impresive tutorial , Easy to learn !! could i translate your tutorial to another language?

[GoshawkHeron]

@darkmager111 I'd love to see these translated; in fact, I have some materials that would make translating easier to do and come out better. Let me get them together and I'll get them to you to look at.

[dogweather]

AMAZING video. Thank you so much. This speaks to *exactly* the issues I wanted to hear about: balance, and the culture of implicit agreement between the players.

[warrsor92]

i just started playing this and i love it.. still i have to save for board game, i still play on internet vs computer atm wich suck...

[Kroatek]

i was just wondering,, that is the japanese way of counting right?

Chinese uncludes the living stones in the points. but what im wondering is are the captured stones counted in chinese?,,,

Or am i totaly lost?^^

[GoshawkHeron]

@Kroatek In a nutshell, Chinese counts everything you occupy on the board - stones and surrounded territory - and ignores prisoners. Japanese counts territory + prisoners. These obviously don't come out to the same number, but the *difference* between black and white will be the same (or sometimes + or - 1). After all, you've both had the same number of turns, so the total number of stones involved is the same - Chinese counts the ones ON the board, Japanese the ones off the board.

[Kroatek]

@GoshawkHeron Hmmm.. I think I got it.

wich one is the most regulary used?

is one easier than the other? I kinda like the chinese one but im not sure wich one to use.

[Kroatek]

@GoshawkHeron Hmmm.. I think I got it.

wich one is the most regulary used?

is one easier than the other? I kinda like the chinese one but im not sure wich one to use.

[GoshawkHeron]

@Kroatek Go came to the West mainly through Japan; in my experience you see Japanese counting more often. Also, in the US the AGA tournament rules use a variation on the Japanese method. If you want to use Chinese just make sure that you and your opponent agree beforehand. Oh, and if y'all rearrange the stones to make counting easier, make sure your opponent does it right - many people play mostly online nowadays, and they often don't know the right way to do this.

[goodymfla]

Thank you!

[RuvenCH]

I still dont quite get it with the dead stones at the end. Do they count as prisoners then and does the area they once occupied also count? cause it seems, if black would have to play it out, he/she would get fewer points as he'd have to reduce the territory in order to caputre the stones..

so, what am I missing?

[GoshawkHeron]

Yes, the stones count as prisoners and the points they're on count as territory.

While it's OK to concede your stones to be dead, if you want to claim that they're alive you need to prove it by finishing the group, with space for two eyes. In fact, Black couldn't even "concede" that the stones are alive; there's no way to count territory until it's finished. So White needs to move there next, and if it eventually fails then he's given up one extra prisoner for every space Black had to fill in.

[Kenisis88]

Thank you so much for the tutorials! I got Go as a Christmas gift, and after reading through the rules several times I was a bit confused with just about everything. Looks amazing! Good job!

[ChromeBallz]

@professorjackasss There's 30 'amateur' ranks, 30th (30k) to 1st kyu (1k). Then you start at 1st dan (1d) and go up. Amateurs can never attain a rank higher than 7th dan, which is roughly equivalent (iirc) to first dan pro (1p). Pros can go as high as 9th dan, though there is a way to attain 10th dan, but only one person in the world can claim it at any one time, they have to prove they are worthy.

Kyu grades are never official, you have to 'guess' your own.

[iloveyou8770]

ok, Iv read alot on the rules and territory, capturing and making eyes. but my problem is, when playing a game im so confused, i need someone to tell me when they move somewhere, why they moved there, like since its about claiming all the places on the bored. how do you start? you can just keep going in a strait line till you caim an area right?

[GoshawkHeron]

@iloveyou8770 When you ask questions like that, I can tell you're going to love this game. For some resources to start with, see the end of Part II of the tutorial. I especially recommend working through both halves of Bruce Wilcox's Go Dojo.

[keniichi]

Can you please tell me the differences between Chess and Go/Weiqi, and which one is harder, I keep hearing from players who dont play the games, that one is harder than the other, and my friend who Plays Chess(doesnt play Go) mocks Go, and says its easier? Hes never played, so in your opiniion which one is harder to play? Does it depend on the player?

[GoshawkHeron]

@keniichi There's not a simple answer to this - to hash out the arguments, you may want to check out the forums at godiscussions (.com). My personal $0.02 would be that Go is harder (and more fun) because it requires a "broader" sort of thinking, including left-brained skills in addition to right-brained ones. That's why computers are better now than even the best chess masters, but still aren't particularly good at Go.

[keniichi]

@GoshawkHeron thankyou sir. I will go check that. :D

[a552bcx]

@keniichi chess has far less moves than "go", in fact the number moves in go exceeds the total number of atoms in the entire universe. secondly, at the present moment no computer has yet beaten the world best go player. the highest level it can go is the top amateur rank, not quite pro rank yet. look in wikipedia or an official encyclopedia if you have any doubt

[hydrosbon]

i don't really understand how to count the dead stones. couldn't you techincally trick your opponent into believing that certain stones are dead while they really aren't?

this caused me to always play a game till the very last spot is filled, just to make sure i don't get screwed over by some tricky player.

[GoshawkHeron]

@hydrosbon This is an interesting point. When we study life and death, the discussion is in absolute terms - this group is alive, that group is dead. But in a game it often boils down to the skill of one player to save a group relative to the opponent's ability to kill it. When in doubt, play it out - either the group will get captured or not.

As you get better at reading out eye shape, you'll become more confident in telling whether a group is alive or dead.

[marjan15]

7:07 - which black stone is captured by white in board at 7:00 ? Mistake? Don't know, im new to Go. :)

[GoshawkHeron]

@marjan15 I didn't look real close at the transcript of the game that this example came from... but presumably there was a black stone at the 2-4 point in the lower-left corner, which white captured and then connected in that spot. That corner doesn't make much sense otherwise.

[bluefoxicy]

This is excellent and I'm showing this series to my friends. I also recommend the book "Learn to Play Go" ... 5 in the series. Play several games after reading each; they cover the whole game incrementally, rather than fully covering each part. So the first book grazes opening, capturing, ending, etc; the second covers the same stuff, but with more strategies and more depth.

[Simpson654]

Go is not a "solved" game, like checkers, where certain moves will guarantee victory (think of 3 by 3 Tic-Tac-Toe). Go is more complex than chess, actually, but it's a great game when playing with people who are as skilled or unskilled as you are. A skilled Go player will beat you in a minute. Playing on a small board at first is essential, as it's easier to see where the stones go and get territory.

So if you have a competition-size board, 19 square, rule off some of it for practice plays.

[grolich]

@Simpson654

Definitely not "essential". just recommended for many people. I've known many people who preferred to play on the 19x19 from the very beginning and it has not hurt them at all. It's just that most people find the large board scarier, or lack the patience to complete a full 19x19 game when they hardly understand it. Many people are fine with it.

Also calling it "competition-size board" is strange: even on friendly games on the net and in Go clubs, you'll be playing 19x19

[StubHorn]

Your video explanations are just so great and clear, thank you !!

[jlel]

I've learned the basics from a website but didn't understand most of what was going on when I started playing against the computer. I didn't understand why I was losing etc but after watching your video, I have a better understanding now! Thank you so much!

[WanderingPictures]

Respond to this video... While scoring, you forgot Komi. If Black gets a handicap, using the Star Points to get ahead, Komi doesn't count. If there is no handicap, White gets 6.5 points because Black went first. The extra half is to avoid ties. Those 6.5 points are called Komi.

[lance1236451]

i think people can only enjoy go when they are 15k or higher

[Jasonp49]

I enjoyed the video. I've played a few times and I think I would enjoy pursuing it more and improving my play. Do you have any suggestions for online sites or live games in the LA area?

[TheZakkair]

@Jasonp49 ru able to read chinese? There are quite a lot of chinese sites for go lol

[GoshawkHeron]

@Jasonp49 For online, I think most people find KGS (gokgs.com) the easiest to start with, but there some others as well. For local play, you might start with checking the list of American Go Assn. chapters; that will at least get you connected with someone local. Happy go-ing!

[984ial]

Actually, in the 9x9 scoring example you provide, white can fill the dame and force black to make one more move inside his territory. That's 19 points for black.

[latintantramaster]

This looks really good (the tutorial I mean- I already liked the game). I´m gonna have a look to the other parts to see if I manage to stop losing all the online games.

[Phaqui]

This is a great tutorial, no question about it. However, you say that the game is not about capturing stones. This is a bit simplistic, in my opinion. It is certainly true that one should emphasize balance when playing, as in building territory, connecting loose groups, etc. But when you see a good chance to capture a lot of enemy stones, there is nothing wrong in really going for it. This is especially true for newer players, as defending can get pretty complicated.

[ryosukekaneshiro]

you spelled judgement wrong

[GoshawkHeron]

@ryosukekaneshiro Thanks for the input. Actually, both are correct - with "judgment" generally listed as preferred. There is a real typo in Part II, though. Makes you wish YT let you edit your videos...

[benroolz]

@ryosukekaneshiro actually it's spelt not spelled XD

[nossmax]

what program u used for making the video?

[GoshawkHeron]

@nossmax The visuals of the boards are just a series of screenshots (tedious, but the only way I could get enough control over the outcome). The audio was recorded separately, and the final video was stitched together using Windows MovieMaker.

[faunflynn]

Thank you for this, it was most helpful. Sun Tzu rides again somewhere on the far side of the abstraction layer.

[raostar]

I just watched all parts, and as a dan player I'd like to say that this is an excellent tutorial, well done.

[Espeon2958]

Thank you this helped me sooo much. I first learned about go from Hikaru no go but i didnt know how to play. This helped a lot.

[gunninlinguist]

CHECKERS FTW!!!

[DomDollx]

thank you, great tutorial and very well paced =)

[phalluses]

so i have a question for you. in a typical game, how many go stones are used for each side? because i just bought a set that comes with 160 stones for each side

[GoshawkHeron]

A "full" set of stones is generally considered to be 181 black and 180 white - but this is something of a theoretical maximum because that lets you have a stone on every point on a full-size board. In any real game there are going to be a number of unoccupied points so 160 should be fine in practice. If you go over that, it probably means that there were a lot of captures and in a pinch you can reuse the prisoners (just keep track of how many were put back in play!) Happy go-ing!

[horriblylongusername]

@phalluses Just swap some captured stones between players (as long as the trade is even; e.g., "you give me 10, i give you 10") if someone starts running out of stones, this is easy and the relative difference between the two sides' scores won't change after doing this so this won't affect the outcome of the game at all (e.g., trading 10 stones each would mean you each lose 10 points in captured stones, but if you would have lead by 5 points to begin with you'll still lead by 5 after the trade)

[elephantsailor]

cool!

[felipooooo5]

what an amazing service you are providing! thank you so much :)

[UnderDog988]

I agree whit everything except the judgment and calculation part... Caculation is counting the number square and and anticipating it true statistic. Judgment is weighing your option ( calculating ) and making a decision. Ther both the same.

[Chibichibipause]

On a 19x19 board, there are about 3361*0.012=2.1x10170 possible positions, most of which are the end result of about (120!)2 = 4.5x10397 different (no-capture) games, for a total of about 9.3x10567 games. Allowing captures gives as many as 107.49*1048 possible games, most of which last for over 1.6x1049 moves! (By contrast, the number of legal positions in chess is estimated to be between 1043 and 1050, and physicists estimate that there are not more than 1090 protons in the entire universe.)

[UnderDog988]

I dont understand how this can mean anything to anyone 3361*0.012=2.1x10170... your telling me that is the number of possible postion but the total number of position is not a variable. It just 1 clean number. If your trying to compare white to black well that not realy a position it just about counting random squares. Also i dont understand why you comparing protons to chess legals move that just randomly compiling numbers.

It great that you put statics but put it in a logical form.

[Chibichibipause]

Its simple sientific notation and the physicists estimate is exaderated to if you bring down the numbers the move would be acounted to that.

[UnderDog988]

This is probebly the hardest game to master ever. Ther just way to many possiblitys

[JCYK90]

probably*

there are*

too*

possibilities*

[pfctsqr]

@dmed312

Chess in its present form is not.

[Trilbysoul]

This was VERY interesting.

[Luero]

Go is the most fun board game in the world if you know how to play well (15 kyu+)

[wickeddigidestined]

problem is finding an opponent to actually play against

[wickeddigidestined]

when beginning

[heyyal311400]

online?

im sure there is a website online

[1pieceisdareasoniliv]

i do not mean to be discouraging but 15k is not very good. i would say 1 dan+ is a good rank

[Luero]

I agree, I mean 15 kyu as the minimum rank required to appreciate the game as the best board game.

[clizzaster]

Great video!

I do have a couple of objections though. I disagree with your assertion that balance is the object of the game. The object is to secure more territory than your opponent. Balance is important, but it isn't "the object" of the game.

Also, you've probably noticed that black needs to play another stone in the example at 6:30, giving him one less point. I realize that a newer player may not notice this, but I feel it's important to have examples which are correct.

Nice work overall.

[icslook]

Nice video! I have embedded it in our club website.

[Speirs248]

this game is EXTREMELY hard to learn, but these videos are also EXTREMELY helpful

[tpiom]

This is why Youtube is awesome sometimes...

A very complicated game, but it could be really neat if you know how to play.

I might have to learn it in the future!

[ETChungsta]

Awesome vid man

answered a lot of questions

[chakal1986]

Muy buen video

[Omaplata41]

Hey, what's your KGS account?

[joeyvic]

Thank you, this is very helpful.

[madcowman19]

My girlfriend bought Go a couple months ago. It was just kinda sitting there until I finally decided I wanted to try and learn it today. Your video has been the most useful one I have seen so far on youtube. Good job!

[wbkmyr]

yes the game could have gone farther i also thought that the blacks up top were gone at first. i bought a board a year ago. i paid 20 bucks for mine. its not a verygood board. cheap wood and plastic stones.

[InCharacter]

Well your completely right in that if white played e7, black would need to defend, and in doing so, shrink his territory one point. However, remember this video is geared towards first timers, who would most likely not see this, (let alone easily understand it). So it's not a glaring flaw. Infact, it represents how a beginner game might actually be played, with either player missing it. So in actuality, such a feature is appropriate. Possibly considered as a hidden subliminal lesson!

[72u7H]

This first part sounds simple, but playing it in real life with another person can confuse you. Have fun and be confused.

[InCharacter]

Yes, the key to go is not paying too much attention to your confusion, and focasing more on what you do know, and slowly adding to that stock.

[KeremR]

sry missclicked. i wanted to rate your comment as a good one. i'm sorry. i will rate it again sometime ;)

[Funaru]

hello, i'm a passionate player with 6 years experience. if anyone wants to play a training game, just mail me.

[shunkwugga]

Hm...

Considering I'm incredibly cheap, I'm probably going to try to play with this one friend of mine using a piece of graphing paper and a pencil.

Sounds pathetic, probably is on some level, but at least it's an attempt, considering I have no idea where to find a reasonably priced set.

[Nadim]

you can find a cheap one easily under 15$

[Scarvernoin]

This is a great video, Thank you!

[nibbler66]

I've been playing Go for a couple years now. And it truly is a great game. Try it!!! itz fun :3

[jesse101995]

nice job i love go

[ThunderingBiscuit]

This was a great vid goshawk! I had never even heard of Go until now, so this vid got me started on a great boardgame.

[eggory]

I've already played my first two games just now but this is very helpful.

[sagov9]

great vid, very clear. Thanks!

[paintballa995]

Yes Yes thank you very much this video is just the thing i needed before i start my trek in understanding and mastering this game see you in 90 years where i will be world champion

[animeblade48]

THANK YOU I was loking all over for how to play go

[skecr8r]

Finally a video that explains the premise of this excellent game. Thanks!

[pijuan03]

Go isn't the oldest boardgame chess is.

[GoshawkHeron]

Hi, pijuan! References to Go from ~2500 years ago indicate that it was well-established even then. Chess is a relative pup at only ~500 years old. Even if you include the predecessors of chess it only goes back ~1500 years. Wiki can fill in the details.

[santanafreak57]

chess was made around 800 AD in India, Go is older

[sanoblaze23]

go is 4,000 years old!

[superjeff14]

this is a great review that clearly goes over the rules of go from the very begining, possibly the best starter for beginers on youtube

[chaoticon]

I'm sorry for not understanding your clear presentation. But what did you mean by "the capture is counted first" in rule #3?

Thanks!

[chaoticon]

Did you simply mean that you should remove the captured (whites in your presentation) from the board before counting the liberties (of blacks)?

[GoshawkHeron]

Hi, chaoticon. Yes, this is all it meant. Players often take this for granted, but many newcomers don't. And, technically, it doesn't HAVE to be true, so it really is a separate rule.

[Gamesophile]

I really like this approach to presenting Go. It nicely leads a learner though the ideas so that everything clicks. Thanks for a great new resource!