The Rules of Go
Simplicity that conceals infinity
“Go is a game so simple that its rules can be explained in just a few minutes, yet so profound that a lifetime is not enough to master it.”
— Cho Hun-hyun, Campion Mondial Go
361 intersections, limitless possibilities
The game of Go is defined by a fascinating paradox: its rules can be learned in just a few minutes, yet the strategic depth it contains can be explored for an entire lifetime.
With just a few simple principles — placing stones, liberties, capturing, and controlling territory — Go opens up an almost infinite universe of possibilities. Each game becomes a lesson in patience, balance, and long-term vision, and the journey from the first moves to true mastery is a continuous path of discovery and refinement of strategic thinking.
BASIC RULES
The Board and Stones
The standard board has 19×19 lines (smaller 9×9 or 13×13 boards are also used for beginners).
The game is played with black and white stones. Black plays first.
Stones are placed on the intersections of the lines, not inside the squares. Once placed, a stone cannot be moved.
Liberties
Each stone has liberties — that is, empty adjacent intersections (up, down, left, right). A stone placed in the middle of the board has four liberties; on the edge, a stone has three liberties; and in the corner, only two.
A group of neighboring stones, connected along the grid lines (not diagonally), behaves as a single unit, with liberties counted for the group as a whole rather than for each individual stone.
Capturing
A stone (or a group of stones) with no liberties is captured and removed from the board. Captured stones, also called prisoners, are worth one point each at the end of the game.
Empty Points / Neutral Points
The objective of the game is to control territory by claiming empty points. Empty points are all intersections on the board not occupied by any stones. Territory points are empty points located within a boundary formed by stones enclosing an area.
Neutral points are those with both a black and a white boundary, which do not belong to either player’s territory.
Suicide
A player may not occupy the last liberty of their own group (“suicide is forbidden”) — unless that move simultaneously captures opponent stones, leaving their own group with at least one liberty.
Living Groups
A group of stones that has at least two eyes — two separate internal liberties — or can form two such eyes through alternating play, cannot be captured due to the “suicide” rule. This is called a living group.
Dead Groups
A group of stones that, in theory, cannot avoid capture — having no eyes and unable to form two — is called a dead group.
It is removed from the board at the end of the game, without requiring actual moves to capture it (meaning the player capturing it does not have to play inside their own territory and lose points).
"Seki"
A situation where two opposing groups each have at most one eye, and neither group can capture the other (the first player to play there would lose, so neither plays), is called a seki. In a seki, both groups are considered alive — an exception to the previous rule — and neither player scores any territory there. All points are neutral, even if they are surrounded by one player’s stones.
The "Ko" Rule
A situation where the two players could repeatedly capture and recapture a single stone is called a ko. In a ko, immediate recapture is not allowed; a player must first make at least one move elsewhere on the board, preventing an endless cycle. At the end of the game, all kos must be resolved.
This rule prevents the infinite repetition of captures.
END OF THE GAME
The game ends when one player passes their turn by saying “pass,” immediately followed by their opponent also passing.
If the opponent does not pass, the game continues until both players consecutively declare “pass.”
The game can also be won if one player resigns.
SCORING
Players’ scores are calculated at the end of the game as follows:
- Each player removes from their territory all dead stones of their opponent, adding them to their captured stones.
- The accumulated captured stones are then placed back on the board in the opponent’s territory.
- To compensate for Black’s first-move advantage, White receives a bonus called komi — usually 6.5 or 7.5 points to prevent a tie.
- The remaining empty points (territory intersections) are counted and compared, with komi added to White’s score. The player with the higher total points wins.
- If both players have the same number of points, the game is considered a draw — a jigo.
If you are interested in exploring this strategic game, we invite you to contact us at: secretariat@frgo.ro.