Go Rules: How to Play, Capture and Count
Go (baduk in Korean, weiqi in Chinese, igo in Japanese) is a two-player board game in which Black and White take turns placing stones on the intersections of a grid, capture stones by surrounding them, and try to control more of the board. On Ttakji you play on a 9×9 board with Chinese-style area scoring and komi 7: two passes in a row end the game and the server counts it automatically.
- Area scoring: stones on the board plus surrounded empty points.
- Komi 7 for White; equal totals are a draw (jigo).
- Ko: no move may repeat an earlier board position (positional superko).
- No suicide: a move must leave your stones a liberty, unless it captures.
- Two passes in a row end the game; the server counts it.
The board
The board has 9 horizontal and 9 vertical lines, which cross at 81 points. Stones are played on the points, not in the squares. The five dots are star points that help you find your way; they have no special rule. Columns are named A to J without I, rows 1 to 9 from the bottom, so a point is named like D5.
How to play, step by step
- Start on an empty 9×9 board. Black plays first.
- On your turn, place one stone of your colour on any empty point, or pass.
- Stones never move. Stones of one colour that touch along the lines form a group and share their liberties, the empty points next to them.
- If your move fills the last liberty of an opponent group, remove those stones from the board.
- Do not play where your own stones would have no liberty unless the move captures, and do not repeat an earlier board position (ko).
- When nothing useful is left to play, pass. Two passes in a row end the game.
- Count stones plus surrounded empty points; White adds komi 7. The higher total wins; equal totals are a draw.
Liberties
A liberty is an empty point directly next to a stone along a line, not diagonally. Stones of the same colour that touch along the lines are one group and share all their liberties. A single stone in the middle has 4 liberties, on the edge 3, in the corner 2.
Capturing
A group with only one liberty left is in atari. If the opponent fills that last liberty, the whole group is captured and taken off the board. The captured stones are shown in a counter, but under area scoring they are not points by themselves — the board you control is.
No suicide
You may not place a stone that leaves your own group with no liberty — unless the move captures opponent stones: the captured stones are removed first and give your group new liberties.
Ko
Ko is the shape in which the two players could capture one stone back and forth forever. After a capture in a ko, the other player may not take back at once: they must play elsewhere first (a ko threat) and may retake on a later turn once the board has changed.
Ttakji uses the general form of this rule (positional superko): no move may recreate a board position that already occurred in the game. On the board, a small square marks every point where this rule forbids a move right now. A pass is always allowed.
Two eyes: how groups live
An eye is an empty point surrounded by your own stones. A group with two separate eyes can never be captured: the opponent cannot play in either eye, because the stone would have no liberty and capture nothing. A group with only one eye can be captured once its outside liberties are filled.
Seki: both groups live
Seki is mutual life: two groups without two eyes share their last liberties, and whoever plays there first puts their own group in atari and loses it. So neither plays there: both groups stay on the board as alive, and the shared liberties count for nobody.
How the game ends
You may pass instead of playing. A pass is a move: it uses your turn. When both players pass in a row, the game ends and is counted.
- Two passes in a row: the board is counted.
- Resignation: the other player wins.
- Online, each move — a pass too — has 30 seconds; running out of time loses.
- A draw offer is accepted: draw.
- After 300 moves in total the game is counted as if both had passed.
Before you pass, Ttakji shows a preview such as "If the game ended now: Black 41 – White 47 (komi 7)"; after your opponent passes it appears by itself. If you disagree with the count, do not pass — keep playing.
Counting the score
Ttakji counts by area, as in the Chinese rules: each side scores its stones on the board plus the empty points surrounded only by its own stones. Empty points that touch both colours — neutral points and the shared liberties of a seki — count for nobody. White then adds komi 7.
Stones that are clearly dead are removed before counting, and their points go to the side that surrounds them. A fixed, repeatable calculation decides this, the same on both screens: a group is removed only when it is clearly dead, and any doubtful group counts as alive.
Play it out: under area scoring, playing inside your own area or capturing dead stones costs nothing. If the preview counts an opponent's dead stones as alive, do not pass — capture them first, then pass. That is why Ttakji needs no dead-stone marking.
Komi: why White gets 7 points
Black moves first, which is an advantage. To make the game even, White receives komi: 7 points added to White's total. The opening analysis of KataGo, a strong open-source Go program, found that with best play on 9×9 Black ends about 7 points ahead under area scoring, so 7 points make the game fair.
Because komi is a whole number, totals can be equal. An equal score is a draw, called jigo. It is rare, and it counts as a draw for the rating.
Area or territory scoring: the winner is almost always the same
Korean and Japanese rules count territory — the empty points you surround — plus the stones you captured. The Chinese rules used here count area — your stones plus the empty points you surround. Both players place about the same number of stones, so the two methods almost always give the same winner.
| Topic | Area (Ttakji) | Territory (Korea, Japan) |
|---|---|---|
| What counts | Your stones + empty points you surround | Empty points you surround + stones you captured |
| Captured stones | Not counted (only shown) | 1 point each |
| Playing inside your own area | Costs nothing | Costs 1 point |
| Dead stones at the end | Removed automatically; or capture them first, it is free | Agreed by both players |
| Komi on 9×9 | 7 (draws possible) | Usually 6.5 (no draws) |
A one-point difference between the two methods can come from who placed the last stone or from neutral points; a different winner is rare.
Basic strategy
Five ideas that win most beginner games on 9×9:
Corners first
In a corner two edges help you, so it takes the fewest stones to make territory and two eyes. On 9×9, C3, G3, C7, G7 and the centre E5 are good first moves.
Make two eyes
Before you attack, make sure each of your groups can make two separate eyes or connects to one that has them.
Never fill your own eyes
Filling your own eye leaves the group with one eye and lets it be captured. It gains nothing under area scoring either.
Atari and ladders
Put a stone in atari only when it cannot simply escape. A ladder is a chase in which the fleeing stones keep getting just one liberty and run to the edge; read whether the path meets one of their friends before you start it.
Count before you pass
Look at the preview before you pass. If dead stones are still counted as alive, capture them first — it is free. Fill the neutral points between the groups too: under area scoring each one you fill is a point.
Go and gomoku: what is the difference?
Go and gomoku use the same stones on a similar grid but have different goals. In gomoku you win with exactly five in a row and stones are never captured; in Go you surround area and capture stones, and the game is counted at the end.
Playing on Ttakji
- Against the AI there is no clock; choose Black, White or random, and undo your last move (a stone or a pass). Levels: Easy, Normal and Hard — Hard is strong for beginners and casual players.
- Online and with friends: 30 seconds per move; a pass is a move with its own 30 seconds. Running out of time loses, even when you are ahead on the board.
- If you disconnect, your clock keeps running; reconnect in time to continue.
- Colours are random and swap on every rematch. Komi is always 7, with no handicap stones.
- You can resign or offer a draw. When both players pass, the server counts the game and both of you see the same count.
- Ranked games (Google sign-in) use an Elo rating that starts at 1,200 and a 9×9 leaderboard; a jigo counts as a draw.
Frequently asked questions
Is Go on Ttakji free? Do I need to install anything?
Yes. It is free and runs in your browser with nothing to install. Choose a nickname to play the AI, a random opponent or a friend by link. Sign in with Google only for ranked games and the leaderboard. When no other player is available, some random-match opponents may be AI.
Which rules does Ttakji use: Chinese, Japanese or Korean?
Chinese-style area scoring on a 9×9 board: stones plus surrounded points count, komi is 7, a move may not repeat an earlier position (superko), suicide is not allowed, and two passes in a row end the game. Korean and Japanese rules count territory and captures instead; the winner is almost always the same.
How does a game of Go end?
When both players pass in a row, the game ends and the server counts it. Pass when no move gains anything — under area scoring, fill the neutral points between the groups first. A game also ends by resignation, by running out of time online, by an accepted draw offer, or at the 300-move limit.
How is the score counted?
Each side gets one point for every stone on the board and every empty point surrounded only by its stones. Clearly dead stones are removed first, and White adds komi 7. Example: Black 45, White 36 + 7 = 43 — Black wins by 2.
What is komi, and why is it 7?
Komi is the points White receives for moving second. KataGo, a strong open-source Go program, analysed 9×9 openings and found that with best play Black ends about 7 points ahead under area scoring, so komi 7 makes the game fair. Some sites use 7.5 to avoid draws; we allow draws instead.
Can a game end in a draw?
Yes. With komi 7, equal totals such as 44 – 44 are a draw (jigo). It is rare. A game is also drawn when both players agree. A draw counts as a draw for the rating.
Why can't I mark dead stones at the end?
Because Ttakji counts automatically. After two passes a fixed calculation removes only stones that are clearly dead and counts every doubtful group as alive, so both screens show the same result. If the preview counts dead stones as alive, capture them before you pass — under area scoring that costs nothing.
Why 9×9 and not 19×19?
A 9×9 game takes about 5 to 15 minutes at 30 seconds per move and uses every rule of the full game: capture, ko, life and death and counting. It is also the board most beginners start on.
What is the difference between Go and gomoku?
Both use black and white stones on the points of a grid, but the goals differ. In gomoku you win with exactly five in a row and stones are never captured. In Go you surround area and capture stones, and the game is counted at the end. Gomoku is also on Ttakji.
Can I play Go alone against the computer? How strong is the AI?
Yes. The AI runs in your browser on three levels and needs no account. Easy and Normal suit beginners; Hard is strong for beginners and casual players, but not for strong club players. You can undo your last move against the AI.