How to Play Go

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Go is a two-player strategy board game played on a grid of intersecting lines. Players place stones one at a time, trying to claim territory and capture opposing stones by surrounding them. The rules take minutes to learn, but the game rewards a lifetime of study, which is why it retains a devoted following across the world.

Go is played in homes, clubs, and online, with organised competition at every level from local club nights to professional international tournaments. It is especially popular across East Asia and has a substantial and growing community in Europe and the UK.

A little history

Go is one of the oldest board games still played in its original form. It originated in China, where it is known as Weiqi, and is documented there for well over two thousand years, with written references dating to at least the 4th century BCE. It spread to Korea, where it is called Baduk, and to Japan, where it became deeply embedded in court and later popular culture during the first millennium CE. Its precise earliest origins are unclear, with some traditional accounts placing them much earlier, but its long documented history in China is not seriously disputed.

Setting up

1. Place the board flat between the two players.
2. The player with the black stones sits opposite the player with white stones.
3. On a standard 19x19 board, nine marked points called star points (hoshi) are visible; these are reference points and require no special setup.
4. If a handicap is agreed, Black places the agreed number of stones on the designated star points before play begins.
5. If komi is being used (the point compensation given to White for moving second), agree the value before the first move. 6.5 points is the most common modern komi on a 19x19 board.
6. Black always moves first in an even game.

How to play

1. Players alternate turns. Black plays first. On your turn you must either place one stone on any empty intersection on the board, or pass.
2. Stones are placed on the intersections of lines, not inside the squares.
3. Once placed, stones are not moved. They are only removed if captured.
4. Stones of the same colour that touch horizontally or vertically form a connected group.
5. Every stone or group of stones must have at least one liberty: an empty intersection directly adjacent (horizontally or vertically) to the stone or group.
6. If a move results in an opposing stone or group having no liberties, those stones are captured immediately and removed from the board. The capturing player keeps them as prisoners.
7. A stone may not be placed on an intersection where it would have no liberties immediately after placement, unless that same move captures opposing stones and thereby creates liberties. This is the suicide rule: such moves are illegal in most rulesets.
8. The ko rule: a player may not make a move that returns the board to exactly the position it was in on the previous turn. This prevents infinite capture-and-recapture loops.
9. The game ends when both players pass consecutively. This normally happens when both agree no further territory can be gained.
10. After both players pass, remove any dead stones (stones both players agree are captured in the final position) from the board and add them to the relevant prisoner piles.
11. Score the game according to the chosen scoring method (see Winning).

Winning and scoring

There are two main scoring methods. Under territory scoring (used in most Japanese and Korean rules), each player counts the empty intersections enclosed by their own stones, then subtracts the number of prisoners and stones removed as dead. Under area scoring (used in most Chinese rules), each player counts both the empty intersections they surround and the number of their own stones on the board. Both methods produce the same result in most games. White adds the agreed komi to their score to compensate for Black moving first; 6.5 points eliminates draws. The player with the higher total wins. On a 19x19 board, a typical game is decided by a margin of a few points, though larger margins are common when players are mismatched.

The fine points

Ko is the rule that generates the most disputes. Ko forbids a move that recreates the immediately preceding board position. However, in complex positions, larger repeating cycles involving more than two moves can arise; these are called ko threats and triple ko or multi-step ko situations. Most rulesets handle these with specific provisions, and the exact ruling varies by ruleset, so players should agree which rules they are using before the game begins. In competitive play, the referee or agreed ruleset resolves these situations.

Determining which stones are dead at scoring time is a common source of disagreement among beginners. If both players cannot agree whether a group is alive or dead, the standard resolution is to resume play and fight the disputed position out on the board before rescoring. A group is alive if it contains, or can create, two separate enclosed empty points called eyes, which cannot both be captured simultaneously. A group with fewer than two secure eyes is dead once the opponent can fill in around it without that opponent's stones being captured first.

How to win more often

• Play on the third and fourth lines from the edge early in the game. The edge is inefficient for claiming territory; the centre of the board matters more than beginners expect.
• Prioritise making two eyes in your groups. A group with two separate enclosed liberties cannot be captured; without them your stones are permanently at risk.
• Do not over-concentrate your stones. Spread influence across the board rather than piling stones into small areas, which gives diminishing returns.
• Respond to your opponent's largest moves. If your opponent stakes out a large area of the board, reducing or invading that area usually matters more than extending your own smaller positions.
• On 9x9 and 13x13 boards, practice reading ahead: visualise the sequence of moves before you play. Counting liberties accurately before committing to a capturing sequence prevents costly mistakes.

Variations

9x9 Go

Played on a 9x9 board with the same rules as the standard game. Games typically last 20 to 30 minutes. The smaller board suits beginners and children because positions resolve quickly and tactical reading is more manageable. It is widely used for teaching the fundamentals before moving to larger boards.

13x13 Go

An intermediate board size offering more strategic depth than 9x9 while keeping games to roughly 45 to 60 minutes. It is a practical option for club evenings when time is limited and is often recommended as a stepping stone between the beginner 9x9 game and the full 19x19 experience.

Handicap Go

When players are of unequal strength, the weaker player (Black) places between 2 and 9 stones on designated star points before White makes any move. White then begins the game. The number of handicap stones is based on the difference in rank between the players, typically one stone per rank of difference. Handicap play allows games between players of different levels to remain genuinely competitive.

Rengo (Pair Go)

A team variant in which two players share a colour, alternating moves between teammates. One partner plays one move, then the other partner plays the next move for the same colour. Partners may not communicate during play. Rengo is popular at social and family events and is also played at a competitive level in organised tournaments.

Go: frequently asked questions