I agree. I haven't really looked up many videos before finding this one (along with the previous two), but you really explained a lot of important points within a short time. This is easily one of the best tutorials there is in English. I was looking for some beginner videos to teach some friends I'm introducing Go to, and I'll definitely use these three videos. Thank you for posting these! They're really helpful 😄
This would be ideal.. always read about intellectual characters studying this game and always wanted to learn how but I was blessed to learn chess for a while and now I have found this channel!
I've been dabbling in Go and trying to get my head around the rules. You just summarised and clarified everything I'd picked up - and introduced a few new ideas - in 10 mins. Awesome video, guys 😎
to be honest , I learnt Go when I was in high school back then 2002. and the instructions , tutorial were so complex took me long time to understand the rules, and even to understand rules, I had to play go in KGS server and ask for guidance in the novice room there. If this tutorials of yours were there that time, I could spend way less time to understand. Good job! Easy to understand and good video editing there.
It sounds like you really went through the grind to learn Go back in the day-KGS novice room brings back memories! Thanks so much for the kind words! 😊
I just started trying to learn go yesterday and this totally changed my perspective on how to play. Before my boards would just end up like complete scattered nonsense, but I just had my first win against a bot with a very clean looking board like the one you showed. I bet it still gets chaotic on bigger boards, but now i at least understand the concept of attacking and defending territory!
Hi I come from China. The rules for scoring of territory is very different there. We score the entire area. We count both the empty space and the stones on board, and we don’t count the stones that were captured. For example, if I count the black territory, I would include the empty spaces belong to black, the isolated black stones in this territory, and the black boundaries. During the game, captured stones would be simply put back into the bowl, ready to be reused.
Hi, in these videos we explain counting according to Japanese rules. But we tried to explain Chinese rules too in this video - th-cam.com/video/crO1rXNkH7o/w-d-xo.html What do you think?
I tried playing Go in the past and could never wrap my head around it. But these videos are so helpful. Things that went completely over my head I finally understand and for the first time I feel like I can actually play a game of Go! Thank you so much!
I found a complete 19 x19 Go game with all the chips and instructions. Since I didn't know how to play, I decided to watch your videos because the instructions are somewhat complicated, but thank you very much.
That was the most simplified tutorial I ever saw for counting points, especially that fluid animation thing for territory was cherry on the top. Thank you for that !!😊🙏 Have shared this with my friends too :)
Just discovered your videos. Great! Best Go tutorials and explanations i have seen. But also some of the best structured content in general. Great job and thanks for making these videos!
Thank you for the fantastic explanations and helpful animation! A perfect example of presentation! I feel I finally started to grasp the rule of scoring. 🤩
At 6:50, isn't it advantage for white to go on playing pieces inside black and forcing black to add pieces and capture, because then black will have more pieces in his territory and have a lower score?
It evens out. White plays a stone inside this black territory = since this stone will die, Black will get one point for it at the end, but Black responds and loses that extra point. So...nobody gained anything.
@@GoMagic here is what i don't get doe, you just removed the stones because you said both players agree they would eventually be removed anyway. But by doing that does it not mean white loses 2 points even doe they could have played until black had to remove them by playing.
@@storm-ed9ht Mo, because black too loses 2 points by playing stones in it's teritory, making it smaller - with a bit of visualisation you can find, that it all evens out while the difference in teritories still stays the same
I've watched 3 of your videos and actually feel like I could give go a shot now. I've watched several other tutorials and always felt confused, don't know how, since your video makes so much sense. Anyway, thank you!
You did a good job with the 3 videos i just watched about Go. I always thought Go was a different game with drawing lines to create squares, but this clears things up. And this version also looks more fun. Thanks
7:15 Wait, why are the 2 white stones taken off the board? They weren't captured. And if white tried to create a bigger structure with them, sure they might get captured in the end, but black will also have to put his stones down in his own territory to capture them and take away points from his territory, no?
Short answer - no =) It's an agreement that both players share. White can't find a way to escape out of there OR make two eyes to live, so how can those two stones survive? It's as if Black will tell you: 'Hey, can you make those stones live? If not, they're dead' =)
I liked your way of explaining this game I have already learned some of the basics of this game and played it a few times Unfortunately, I didn't go into it very deeply I follow some explanations from time to time, but I liked your explanation and I liked your channel So I subscribed to your channel And I hope that you will make lessons with the same simple and distinctive explanation Thanks
You explain the game much better than many other people on TH-cam. My only constructive criticism is that it might be good to briefly mention different rulesets (mainly Chinese vs Japanese) - that can be very confusing to new players watching lots of different beginner content from a variety of sources. Particularly neutral points and territory counting at the end of the game.
that's funny. i checked the rules of go, because i play in a DnD campaign set in a japanese fantasy setting. and my character is of noble birth and go (or similar board games) are teaching tools for strategy and diplomacy. but now i'm genuinely interested in this game. funny how a coincidence can change one's self.
Great video series and supreme editing, awesome!.. Do please help me refresh, I thought the best way to count, is including all your stones and the ones captured, on top of the empty spaces?! If in your example the black space was fully filled with black stones except for two eyes, it would be weird to say black only has two points, while it would clearly occupy the most space and win.. Not fully sure but this could be the difference between Chinese and Japanese counting, please do correct my wrongs.. I just happen to get confused when only counting empty spaces.. o,0..
In Japanese rules we don't count living stones as either territory. In Chinese rules we count living stones, but we don't count the captured ones - just the spaces. For example, a captured stone in Japanese rules gives you 2 points: 1 for the stone and 1 for the territory, because the stone is removed and now it's your territory. But in Chinese rules it gives you only 1 point, only for territory. However, in Chinese rules your living stones give you points, even in your territory. If you have any questions, we'll be happy to help :)
@@GoMagic Thank you very much for reaching out!.. Great explanation, this should add some more value to this video.. So the counting can be considered a personal preference I assumed, it should have the same outcome - points in difference that determine win/loss and rank.. However the counting method should be considered before the game itself.. Since the Japanese and Korean standard would be 6.5 Komi and the Chinese standard would be 7.5 Komi.. Not sure where this difference comes from, but I should assume both counting methods are just balanced if taken into count?! But can you elaborate some more why to choose Japanese/Korean rulesets over Chinese? Since the game of Go/Baduk originated from Weichi China.. When it comes to craftmanship surrounding GO, I already figured the Japanese added some significant value to the game and philosophy of the finest.. I guess the rules used at the world championship, should be the global standard would make sense.. Further wondering if the standard happens to be Japanese, if we also convinced the founding Chinese to play that way, haha.. Interesting and fundamental, Cheers!
I personally like the idea of being careful when playing inside my own territory. Extra moves inside cost extra points. It just seems to add extra elegance to the game.
I understand everything in this video. But what I don't understand, and one of the big reason my board/stones sit collecting dust, is how to actually tell when the game is over. How do I actually know when to pass when I'm too new to figure out if I can live in an area? How can I tell when I should invade? I'm sure these concepts are simple to an experienced player but looking at a board, I have zero idea of what's actually still possible and when is the correct time to actually pass (and thus conclude the game).
Oh, trust me, you’re not alone in feeling that way. It’s one of those things that becomes clearer with experience. The general rule is that the game is over when there are no more useful moves to make-meaning there's no way to gain more territory or attack your opponent’s groups. As for invasions, it depends on whether the area is fully secure or if there’s still a chance to live.
1:39 Stuff like this is why teaching Go seems really hard, because I don't doubt that this is really obvious to someone who's played a bunch, but I'm looking at it and it's wild to me that that's just obvious. Like, if I play it out in my head I can see how white would just creep around in black's territory while being connected to a living group, but it's weird to think that someone would just know that instantly.
Yeah, we do realize that it is not obvious to someone who is learning the rules for the first time. But some corners had to be cut not to explain every single bit of Go oddity. Trust me, this WILL become obvious after a short while.
Hi.. just started play GO with my daughter and found your channel. I'm completely beginner and would you mind to elaborate in quick detail at minute 5:44, you mentioned "All of blacks territories are basically gone"? if there are 2 white eyes inside? As I learned from other tutorial, the black still has its territories and deduct those all white stones (2 eyes) which mean black stone doesn't loss its territories right? Perhaps I missing something here, would you mind to elaborate. Thank you and appreciate it!
If that white group is not there, Black has more than 30 points. But if White is alive inside there, Black won't get any points that are directly adjacent to the white group, right? So how many points will Black have? Maybe 2-3-4...that's a lot less than the original 30...
@@GoMagicThanks for your reply 👍 And I have follow up question for clear understanding. Let say white is alive there (minute 5:44) is it correct that black will only has 19 points because bottom left is not counts as black and white directly adjacent there? Please correct me if I'm wrong, I hope you will help my understanding. Thank you
I have no idea how you counted 19 points. It's a bit hard to explain without diagrams and coordinates. But if White makes life (like at 5:44), Black will barely have 2-3 points, maybe barely alive.
There are different rules based on country? This makes it a lot harder to learn. How can I learn the original Chinese game rules only, do you have a video explaining the differences?
I love your videos! Fantastic work on these tutorials! One thing wasn't clear in this video: why did black play in the neutral territory? It didn't seem to add any benefit for it.
Thanks! Do you mean why Black took the neutral point that didn't belong to anyone? Technically it's not necessary. Players sometimes do it just to make the finished game look more "clean", this way the territories are more obvious, as there are no empty spots between them.
It seems like black doesn't actually have any territory when there are 2 white stones there on the left (at the 2:00 mark). Because black doesn't have any territory totally surrounded as long as those 2 white stones are there. Instead of just giving up those 2 white stones, why not make black surround and capture them, thus significantly reducing the "open" black territory.
Thank you so much for this video! I have a question: In the case of the invasion at the end of the game, even though white knows they can't make two eyes inside black's territory, what's to prevent them from forcing black to play out the position and actually capture their invading stones? This guarantees that black would lose several points by having to place stones in their own territory, which in a close game on a small board like this could actually make the difference and allow white to win. It seems like white is giving black a potentially outcome-changing amount of free points at the end of the game purely out of a sense of etiquette? Or are there actually rules about this?
Forcing your opponent to capture invading stones can cost them points, especially in close games on smaller boards. BUT, it's important to note that White need to force Black to capture the invading stones without adding extra stones inside. If white continues to play inside black’s territory without creating a threat that black must respond to, it could actually give black more points, because Black gets a point for every stone they capture (or remove from the board at the end of the game).
Really great video! I've been playing a lot of Shogi over the years and wanted to learn more about Go. These are the most straight-forward videos I've found on the rules!
Thanks for this video. Very helpful for a newbie like me. Can you please make a video on the differences between Japanese rules and Chinese rules and why your videos (I think) follow the Japanese rules? I see from the scoring system that it appears to be so, but I am a newbie, so I am unsure. I really like your 9x9 board and 13x13 board demonstrations (between professionals). really helps. Will subscribe!
Yes! I actually saw this video today, so I apologize for not seeing this video earlier. Very helpful. I prefer the Chinese rules myself. But it is interesting to note the similarities between Shogi rules and Go Japanese rules. Kind of reminds me of prisoners of Native Americans.@@GoMagic
You don't really have to say it in chess either, but it's common. In Go we only said it in the video to make it easier to follow, players don't normally say "atari".
Yeah, Go can seem quite complex when you watch numerous videos about it. Instead, consider playing a few games yourself. Don't worry about future difficulties. If the game captivates you, you'll naturally learn the complexities over time, often without even realizing it. Eventually, you could become a very skilled player.
Hello Go Magic !! This video is great for me! But one part that I doesn't understand is, why did white not keep playing, since everytime white put stones its a minus score for black?
I'm glad you're enjoying the video! If White played inside Black's territory, Black could capture these stones, thus gaining points. Stones can only survive if they have "eyes," which would be impossible to build in such a small area.
If white has a square. And black has a square around that square and there’s one spot open in the middle. Can black play in the middle spot to take the white pieces even though it’s an eye?
In your example it’s easy to see black has more territory than white and gets the win. What about when it’s more of 50/50 split and each color controls the same amount of territory?
go looks interesting if dry. I dont think id have the patience to get really good at this game though i can see how it could be fun for two well versed players
I have been wanting to learn how to play Go for so long now! Thank you for the awesome videos!! I have a question about a certain rule. In the video you said that if white makes the two eyes in blacks territory during a late invasion all of blacks territory is basically gone. How does the eyes make blacks territory void if black still has a border? Is it just a rule of the game or did I miss something? Thank you so much for the help!
Hello. It’s great to know you enjoy our videos 😊 When White makes two eyes in Black's territory, it means that the White group is alive and cannot be captured. As a result: 1. Any Black stones within that territory that don't have two eyes or can't make two eyes will be considered dead and removed from the board at the end of the game. 2. Even if Black manages to connect all their stones and build two eyes, the presence of White stones in their territory means that this territory is no longer entirely theirs.
Haha good point, I had to check and count there. Those 33 points at 6:47, that is if we count the two dead white stones for black. At the end however those stones are subtracted from White, not added to Black. Plus White also has a captured stone that gets subtracted from Black. That's how we get 30.
I like this tutorial a lot! I only get confused at the point when the game is reaching its end. When you talk about white making several moves in a row inside of Black's territory: is that something that can actually happen? If black were to pass would white just have free reign over whats left of the board, and able to make several uncontested moves? Furthermore once black passes are they allowed to take turns at a later time, in the event that white makes moves like in this video? I've looked for rules about passing and haven't found anything definitive about this.
Great question! In Go, once a player passes, they can still play later if the opponent makes a move. So, if Black passes and White decides to make a move inside Black's territory, Black can respond on their next turn. However, if both players pass consecutively, the game ends and the board is scored as it is. In the scenario you mentioned, if Black passes and White starts playing inside Black's territory, Black would typically respond to prevent White from reducing their territory. If Black continues to pass while White makes effective moves, Black could lose significant territory.
@@GoMagic thanks so much for replying! Me and a friend just got into go together but neither of us have any experience with the game and the amount of resources out there is a little overwhelming and not always as direct as I'd like. This channel has been really helpful so far!
I'm really glad to hear that you and your friend are finding our channel helpful! Go can indeed be a bit overwhelming when you're starting out, but it's great that you're diving in and learning together. In addition to our videos, I highly recommend checking out our website gomagic.org. There you'll find practical exercises that can significantly help improve your understanding of Go. Remember, every Go player was once a beginner. Keep playing, keep learning, and most importantly, keep enjoying the game. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions. Happy playing!
Great video ! I have a very dumb question, but if black plays inside his own terrory, black’s losing points, then why isn’t white playing inside black’s territory only to make black respond and so, lose points on purpose ?
Because 1. play inside opponent's territory and they respond - you both lose one point, so the score is the same 2. play inside opponent's territory and they don't respond - you lose one point so gotta be careful with that =)
I'm just starting to get into go and I'm having trouble with some of the same concepts as the people who have posted in the comments. (Like, why not place stones in your opponent's territory). But one thing I haven't heard explained clearly is the definition of "territory." When I first started, I thought an area had to be completely surrounded with stone on four (or more) sides to be considered mine. But the example above (and most other videos) seems to say that if you make a line of stones all the way across the board, anything on one side of the line belongs to a particular color--with no need to place stones on the edges of the board. I can't get my head around this.
Any fence of stones that is put on the board might claim what's behind it as territory. And that claim remains valid until the opponent comes along and lives inside. So it's only territory if the opponents admits they can't invade and live inside. And it's my job as a player to make my territory as big as possible without risk of losing it over an invasion. It's a beautiful rope walk without simple definitions.
Yeah, it's something that comes with more experience. A way to look at it is that it's basically an implicit agreement between both players that the territory is theirs or not. That was exemplified in 4:55. where Black said "this is my territory" while White disagreed and tried invading, but soon came to the conclusion that "it's yours indeed" and stopped the invasion. The more you play, the more you start to get a feel for things like that.
Now i understand I've always struggled why I cant just prevent points with entering the enemy territory, since he need much more stones to capture mine and meanwhile blocking himself. So it is valid to say, they are prisoners as long as the enemy does not have 2 eyes?
I can see how this game is filled with strategy, but I find chess to be a lot more intriguing. I like the fact that the pieces in chess all have different "powers" and you need to take that into consideration with each move. Go is, in essence, trying to simply surround your opponents stones. Not nearly as dynamic.
I get why you feel like that. I also thought that but digging deeper it's just a drastically different game. Chess is more linear while Go is more fluid. Go incorparets tactics that someone would you use on a larger scale with a much slower pace in a long war while chess is more about tactics in a straightforward battle against the enemy.
Question: in the example of white trying to invade black territory at the end of the game you state that every piece black puts down to defend reduces their points at the end of the game. So why wouldn't white press the attack even knowing its hopeless? By doing so it would force black to put down more pieces and lose more points. I feel like im missing something here
haha we need to make a separate video answering this and a couple other typical questions we get asked all the time =) every time white plays a stone inside black's territory (those white stones will die, remember?), white loses a point...then black responds and loses a point too...so the score stays the same
I'm really confused about the meaning of territory. Is it a subjective determination between the two players? Is it defined as the number of intersections that can't touch a certain stone color without passing through another? Also, wouldn't white in your example game always have an incentive to keep playing, because they could at least lessen the size of black's territory with their own pieces and have a chance at surrounding them? Because the choices are either loose for sure or keep playing? Is the reason they stopped just because they didn't feel like playing anymore? What does territory even mean?
Territory can definitely be confusing at first. Territory is defined as the empty intersections completely surrounded by one player’s stones (and secured from invasion). At some point players realize there’s no point in playing inside the opponent’s territory because their stones simply won’t survive there. This kind of judgment comes with experience-it’s about knowing when a situation is truly lost and when it’s worth continuing to fight. It’s a balance of knowing when the game is over and not extending it unnecessarily.
@@GoMagic Interesting, I think that makes sense now! Thank you so much for your fast reply, and for explaining it to me so well! I appreciate your time, and your videos about this interesting game!
I'm still struggling to figure how come playing in the opposite territory is either neutral or counterproductive. Given that a single centerboard stone has four liberties, wouldn't capturing it remove four points while only giving back two? Could you make a full video explaining this whole dynamic? Thanks!!
Thanks for the suggestion. We might make a short video on this one day. In short, you play a stone inside opponent's territory and IF you can't prove it's alive, IF you can't save it, your opponent will just claim it to be dead without spending a single stone capturing it.
@@GoMagic Thank you for your answer! It does help, although I still got so many questions! Such as: - Why was this rule invented? For example, is it a way to bar the possibility of both adversaries just playing in the opposite territory to alter their score (and ending up just making the game longer without changing the result)? - What happens when you keep playing and try to make them alive, though end up failing? Wouldn't there be cases where you still end up gaining score by forcing them to play in their territory? When a beginner such as I look at a professional game of go, it often feels like there is some kind of "etiquette" to it, which makes it appear like they are playing suboptimal strategies. For me, this is what prevents my entry into learning the game more seriously.
In short, there is some elegance in knowing that you "can't" just play inside any territory or do anything...some of that could be punished by loss of points...but some of that could also be rewarded. When you're a beginner, there's no need to hold back from any invasions. Experiment is the best teacher here. Alright, experiment and Go Magic, tied.
@@GoMagic Thanks for the explanation! It's a relief to know that experimentation is alright and could end up rewarding. With that said, this is still by far the strangest and most arbitrary rule of Go.
This is the best tutorial on TH-cam. Can't believe how few views it has
Maybe because it's not a guitar tutorial? =)
Am also thinking why
Maybe people are afraid of Go
5-10 years later return here and he will be one of the biggest board game channels.
I agree. I haven't really looked up many videos before finding this one (along with the previous two), but you really explained a lot of important points within a short time. This is easily one of the best tutorials there is in English.
I was looking for some beginner videos to teach some friends I'm introducing Go to, and I'll definitely use these three videos.
Thank you for posting these! They're really helpful 😄
Still waiting for the ghost of a Japanese Go Master to haunt me and teach me Go.
Aren't we all =) might as well learn some basics while waiting 🤩
This would be ideal.. always read about intellectual characters studying this game and always wanted to learn how but I was blessed to learn chess for a while and now I have found this channel!
I've been dabbling in Go and trying to get my head around the rules. You just summarised and clarified everything I'd picked up - and introduced a few new ideas - in 10 mins. Awesome video, guys 😎
Thanks! That was the plan exactly!
to be honest , I learnt Go when I was in high school back then 2002. and the instructions , tutorial were so complex took me long time to understand the rules, and even to understand rules, I had to play go in KGS server and ask for guidance in the novice room there.
If this tutorials of yours were there that time, I could spend way less time to understand. Good job! Easy to understand and good video editing there.
It sounds like you really went through the grind to learn Go back in the day-KGS novice room brings back memories! Thanks so much for the kind words! 😊
I just started trying to learn go yesterday and this totally changed my perspective on how to play. Before my boards would just end up like complete scattered nonsense, but I just had my first win against a bot with a very clean looking board like the one you showed. I bet it still gets chaotic on bigger boards, but now i at least understand the concept of attacking and defending territory!
That's awesome to hear! 🎉 Congratulations on your first win! It sounds like you're already making great progress.
I'm finally understanding the game now. Thank you so much.
Happy this was helpful!
I love how Go ends with an exchange of prisoners…quite poetic.
Hi I come from China. The rules for scoring of territory is very different there. We score the entire area. We count both the empty space and the stones on board, and we don’t count the stones that were captured.
For example, if I count the black territory, I would include the empty spaces belong to black, the isolated black stones in this territory, and the black boundaries. During the game, captured stones would be simply put back into the bowl, ready to be reused.
Hi, in these videos we explain counting according to Japanese rules.
But we tried to explain Chinese rules too in this video - th-cam.com/video/crO1rXNkH7o/w-d-xo.html
What do you think?
i will probably never play this game but this was a relaxing video to watch
Why not, give it a shot!
True
I tried playing Go in the past and could never wrap my head around it. But these videos are so helpful. Things that went completely over my head I finally understand and for the first time I feel like I can actually play a game of Go! Thank you so much!
🧐
I found a complete 19 x19 Go game with all the chips and instructions. Since I didn't know how to play, I decided to watch your videos because the instructions are somewhat complicated, but thank you very much.
Hey, great to hear that. Try watching all the videos from the Rules of Go playlist, it helps a lot. And be sure to check out our platform.
This is such a great video and Go chanel! Well done!
🤩
谢谢！
不用谢！
That was the most simplified tutorial I ever saw for counting points, especially that fluid animation thing for territory was cherry on the top.
Thank you for that !!😊🙏
Have shared this with my friends too :)
we keep working on new cake recipes! 🙃
This is the learning style i need. I need yo get a feel for how a game is. Sometimes seeing mistakes and how to recover from them helps too.
I am just starting to learn about Go. The editing and explanation here is great. Thank you.
🤩
Thank you for teaching me about go, I never would have guessed it would be so simple to understand how to play.
We’re really happy we could assist.
Just discovered your videos. Great! Best Go tutorials and explanations i have seen. But also some of the best structured content in general. Great job and thanks for making these videos!
Thanks a lot for such high praise!
Thanks for the instructions. You have answered all my questions.
☺
Thank you for the fantastic explanations and helpful animation! A perfect example of presentation! I feel I finally started to grasp the rule of scoring. 🤩
Scoring can be tough at first, just try it out a few time and you'll get the hang of it =)
Thank you for the great 9x9 content!
😉
At 6:50, isn't it advantage for white to go on playing pieces inside black and forcing black to add pieces and capture, because then black will have more pieces in his territory and have a lower score?
It evens out. White plays a stone inside this black territory = since this stone will die, Black will get one point for it at the end, but Black responds and loses that extra point. So...nobody gained anything.
@@GoMagic Thanks, I got it now!
@@GoMagic here is what i don't get doe, you just removed the stones because you said both players agree they would eventually be removed anyway. But by doing that does it not mean white loses 2 points even doe they could have played until black had to remove them by playing.
@@storm-ed9ht Mo, because black too loses 2 points by playing stones in it's teritory, making it smaller - with a bit of visualisation you can find, that it all evens out while the difference in teritories still stays the same
i like your way of teaching
i watched so many videos but unable to learn this game
but now i have a lot of clearity because of you
thank you
sounds greaaaat!
Hey are you from India too ?
Finally I saw someone from India who plays Go too!! Let's make this Go community in India bigger 🙌
This is so underated. very good and simplified explanation keep it up❤
It's great to know our video was helpful for you ☺
I love your tutorial and your vedios
This series was so easy to understand
You are the best
Thanks for this great job!!!!!!!
Thank you! We're glad you found our video helpful 👍
Love the simple and interactive teaching ❤ U got a new subscriber
Glad to hear that. Welcome!
I've watched 3 of your videos and actually feel like I could give go a shot now. I've watched several other tutorials and always felt confused, don't know how, since your video makes so much sense. Anyway, thank you!
Now give it a shot and keep watching the series with Fundamentals on 13x13. This should make it pretty smooth =)
Great video, i dont play 9x9 a lot but basically 19x19 but just bigger lol
It's faster and less scary for beginners =)
9x9 has a lot of fighting and contact, 19x19 has a lot of strategy (which can be confusing at first), you'll like 9x9
You did a good job with the 3 videos i just watched about Go. I always thought Go was a different game with drawing lines to create squares, but this clears things up. And this version also looks more fun. Thanks
This is Go. So simple, yet so challenging =)
Always wanted to learn that game, thnx4 sharing! Great tutorial 👍
Thanks so much for your kind words! 😊 We’re thrilled you enjoyed the tutorial.
I actually enjoyed these videos a lot. Thanks
🤘
Notable, muy bien explicado.
¡Gracias!
So good!
I just started this game very tricky. But your video help to understanding the movement and blocking the opposite one.
Glad you liked it! 😊
You are a superb teacher!
You're too kind =)
Awesome video! Thank you for the explanation, subscribed!
Ooof! Happy to help!
Great tutorial, thank you
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it.
brilliant explanation
Thanks =)
The best tutorial in any languajes
Thanks! 😊
Thank you. You made sense of the game.
Now you play some more until it stops making sense...
Then it starts to become really fun =)
Its so interesting that you respond every single comment.
:)
7:15 Wait, why are the 2 white stones taken off the board? They weren't captured. And if white tried to create a bigger structure with them, sure they might get captured in the end, but black will also have to put his stones down in his own territory to capture them and take away points from his territory, no?
Short answer - no =)
It's an agreement that both players share. White can't find a way to escape out of there OR make two eyes to live, so how can those two stones survive? It's as if Black will tell you: 'Hey, can you make those stones live? If not, they're dead' =)
@GoMagic, but the two black stones within his territory can still be captured by white, can't they? And then white can make two eyes.
I liked your way of explaining this game
I have already learned some of the basics of this game and played it a few times
Unfortunately, I didn't go into it very deeply
I follow some explanations from time to time, but I liked your explanation and I liked your channel
So I subscribed to your channel
And I hope that you will make lessons with the same simple and distinctive explanation
Thanks
we have plenty of lessons explaining many things in Go
you can check them out on gomagic.org
You explain the game much better than many other people on TH-cam.
My only constructive criticism is that it might be good to briefly mention different rulesets (mainly Chinese vs Japanese) - that can be very confusing to new players watching lots of different beginner content from a variety of sources. Particularly neutral points and territory counting at the end of the game.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
We have a separate video for that, and we wanted to keep these first videos as simple as possible.
that's funny. i checked the rules of go, because i play in a DnD campaign set in a japanese fantasy setting. and my character is of noble birth and go (or similar board games) are teaching tools for strategy and diplomacy. but now i'm genuinely interested in this game.
funny how a coincidence can change one's self.
Indeed! Life actually seems to be full of such incredible coincidences, which is incredible in its own right.
Great video series and supreme editing, awesome!.. Do please help me refresh, I thought the best way to count, is including all your stones and the ones captured, on top of the empty spaces?! If in your example the black space was fully filled with black stones except for two eyes, it would be weird to say black only has two points, while it would clearly occupy the most space and win.. Not fully sure but this could be the difference between Chinese and Japanese counting, please do correct my wrongs.. I just happen to get confused when only counting empty spaces.. o,0..
In Japanese rules we don't count living stones as either territory. In Chinese rules we count living stones, but we don't count the captured ones - just the spaces. For example, a captured stone in Japanese rules gives you 2 points: 1 for the stone and 1 for the territory, because the stone is removed and now it's your territory. But in Chinese rules it gives you only 1 point, only for territory. However, in Chinese rules your living stones give you points, even in your territory.
If you have any questions, we'll be happy to help :)
@@GoMagic Thank you very much for reaching out!.. Great explanation, this should add some more value to this video.. So the counting can be considered a personal preference I assumed, it should have the same outcome - points in difference that determine win/loss and rank.. However the counting method should be considered before the game itself.. Since the Japanese and Korean standard would be 6.5 Komi and the Chinese standard would be 7.5 Komi.. Not sure where this difference comes from, but I should assume both counting methods are just balanced if taken into count?! But can you elaborate some more why to choose Japanese/Korean rulesets over Chinese? Since the game of Go/Baduk originated from Weichi China.. When it comes to craftmanship surrounding GO, I already figured the Japanese added some significant value to the game and philosophy of the finest.. I guess the rules used at the world championship, should be the global standard would make sense.. Further wondering if the standard happens to be Japanese, if we also convinced the founding Chinese to play that way, haha.. Interesting and fundamental, Cheers!
I personally like the idea of being careful when playing inside my own territory. Extra moves inside cost extra points. It just seems to add extra elegance to the game.
Thank you
👍
Thanks for the info about go. I'm already struggling in searching good go course.
I guess you've just found some =)
I understand everything in this video. But what I don't understand, and one of the big reason my board/stones sit collecting dust, is how to actually tell when the game is over. How do I actually know when to pass when I'm too new to figure out if I can live in an area? How can I tell when I should invade? I'm sure these concepts are simple to an experienced player but looking at a board, I have zero idea of what's actually still possible and when is the correct time to actually pass (and thus conclude the game).
Oh, trust me, you’re not alone in feeling that way. It’s one of those things that becomes clearer with experience.
The general rule is that the game is over when there are no more useful moves to make-meaning there's no way to gain more territory or attack your opponent’s groups. As for invasions, it depends on whether the area is fully secure or if there’s still a chance to live.
Awesome 👏 Thanks 🤙
1:39
Stuff like this is why teaching Go seems really hard, because I don't doubt that this is really obvious to someone who's played a bunch, but I'm looking at it and it's wild to me that that's just obvious. Like, if I play it out in my head I can see how white would just creep around in black's territory while being connected to a living group, but it's weird to think that someone would just know that instantly.
Yeah, we do realize that it is not obvious to someone who is learning the rules for the first time. But some corners had to be cut not to explain every single bit of Go oddity.
Trust me, this WILL become obvious after a short while.
Great tutorial thanks a lot.
You're welcome!
3:33 could you have placed the black stone one more to the left? Would that also be a good option or no?
The last move? But then White could capture the stone.
Hi.. just started play GO with my daughter and found your channel. I'm completely beginner and would you mind to elaborate in quick detail at minute 5:44, you mentioned "All of blacks territories are basically gone"? if there are 2 white eyes inside? As I learned from other tutorial, the black still has its territories and deduct those all white stones (2 eyes) which mean black stone doesn't loss its territories right? Perhaps I missing something here, would you mind to elaborate. Thank you and appreciate it!
If that white group is not there, Black has more than 30 points. But if White is alive inside there, Black won't get any points that are directly adjacent to the white group, right? So how many points will Black have? Maybe 2-3-4...that's a lot less than the original 30...
@@GoMagicThanks for your reply 👍 And I have follow up question for clear understanding. Let say white is alive there (minute 5:44) is it correct that black will only has 19 points because bottom left is not counts as black and white directly adjacent there? Please correct me if I'm wrong, I hope you will help my understanding. Thank you
I have no idea how you counted 19 points. It's a bit hard to explain without diagrams and coordinates. But if White makes life (like at 5:44), Black will barely have 2-3 points, maybe barely alive.
Tiemu is 7.5, all international tournament and organization rulesets follow this rule.
Yeah, but we're talking about Japanese rules.
There are different rules based on country? This makes it a lot harder to learn. How can I learn the original Chinese game rules only, do you have a video explaining the differences?
best tutorial yet I cried the moment I need to multiply as hell
Multiply as hell lol
Great video man
Thanks!
I love your videos! Fantastic work on these tutorials!
One thing wasn't clear in this video: why did black play in the neutral territory? It didn't seem to add any benefit for it.
Thanks!
Do you mean why Black took the neutral point that didn't belong to anyone? Technically it's not necessary. Players sometimes do it just to make the finished game look more "clean", this way the territories are more obvious, as there are no empty spots between them.
@@GoMagic Yes, that's what I was referring to. Thanks for the clarification!
I used to think Go was a game similar to checkers or chess. Then I watched this and you started talking about territory and my mind went "What?"
Yeah, it's only similar to chess or checkers in a sense that they are all mind games. Other than that the rules of Go are quite unique =)
It seems like black doesn't actually have any territory when there are 2 white stones there on the left (at the 2:00 mark). Because black doesn't have any territory totally surrounded as long as those 2 white stones are there. Instead of just giving up those 2 white stones, why not make black surround and capture them, thus significantly reducing the "open" black territory.
The main point here is to demonstrate the consequences of trying to save your stone that got caught on the second line.
really well explained
Thank you!
Would be nice if you did a vid. on the origins of the game too. 😊
We’re planning to dive into Go’s fascinating history in the near future, so stay tuned for that!
Thank you so much for this video! I have a question: In the case of the invasion at the end of the game, even though white knows they can't make two eyes inside black's territory, what's to prevent them from forcing black to play out the position and actually capture their invading stones? This guarantees that black would lose several points by having to place stones in their own territory, which in a close game on a small board like this could actually make the difference and allow white to win. It seems like white is giving black a potentially outcome-changing amount of free points at the end of the game purely out of a sense of etiquette? Or are there actually rules about this?
Forcing your opponent to capture invading stones can cost them points, especially in close games on smaller boards. BUT, it's important to note that White need to force Black to capture the invading stones without adding extra stones inside. If white continues to play inside black’s territory without creating a threat that black must respond to, it could actually give black more points, because Black gets a point for every stone they capture (or remove from the board at the end of the game).
Really great video! I've been playing a lot of Shogi over the years and wanted to learn more about Go. These are the most straight-forward videos I've found on the rules!
Thank you!
Thank you very mush
Is there a way to link or at least name the link of the "next lesson" you mention at the end of each video? So I can find the right one. TY
If you take this as a course on gomagic.org, it will be easier to follow along =)
Thanks for this video. Very helpful for a newbie like me. Can you please make a video on the differences between Japanese rules and Chinese rules and why your videos (I think) follow the Japanese rules? I see from the scoring system that it appears to be so, but I am a newbie, so I am unsure. I really like your 9x9 board and 13x13 board demonstrations (between professionals). really helps. Will subscribe!
th-cam.com/video/crO1rXNkH7o/w-d-xo.html
Are you talking about something like this?
Yes! I actually saw this video today, so I apologize for not seeing this video earlier. Very helpful. I prefer the Chinese rules myself. But it is interesting to note the similarities between Shogi rules and Go Japanese rules. Kind of reminds me of prisoners of Native Americans.@@GoMagic
Do you have to announce atari like in chess where you say "check" or is that just you verbalizing it for the demonstration? Jc
You don't really have to say it in chess either, but it's common. In Go we only said it in the video to make it easier to follow, players don't normally say "atari".
Fun fact, the game ZURROUND was inspired by go and is in its own way very territorial but not in the exact same way as go.
Finally makes sense
👍
Is Komi applied to every game. I ask because if black wins by 1 point then white gets that added on they then win right?
Yes, komi is applied to every EVEN game (if there is no handicap). And yes, if Black wins by one point, White will get +6.5 and win the game by 5.5
The game itself is simple but after seeing a lot of videos it feels strategically overwhelming. I don't think I can do it.
Yeah, Go can seem quite complex when you watch numerous videos about it. Instead, consider playing a few games yourself. Don't worry about future difficulties. If the game captivates you, you'll naturally learn the complexities over time, often without even realizing it. Eventually, you could become a very skilled player.
6.5 points for white is the rule for 19 by 19. Should it be different with different size of the board?
We get asked this a lot =)
Nope, 6.5 is standard for all 3 boards.
Obrigado por disponibilizar legendas em português brasileiro😊
👍
@@GoMagic Faz vídeos de Hikaru no Go
We're actually planning on doing one soon.
What do first and second lines refer to? The actual lines on the board or metaphorical lines of territory?
Lines are counted from the edge of the board. The one closest to the edge is first line, next one is second.
Have I missed something....but in the next game would players switch colours, black then taking a turn as as white and white then playing as black?
It depends. There might be no next game between these players
Hello Go Magic !! This video is great for me! But one part that I doesn't understand is, why did white not keep playing, since everytime white put stones its a minus score for black?
I'm glad you're enjoying the video!
If White played inside Black's territory, Black could capture these stones, thus gaining points.
Stones can only survive if they have "eyes," which would be impossible to build in such a small area.
If white has a square. And black has a square around that square and there’s one spot open in the middle. Can black play in the middle spot to take the white pieces even though it’s an eye?
Yes, they can.
In your example it’s easy to see black has more territory than white and gets the win. What about when it’s more of 50/50 split and each color controls the same amount of territory?
That's why White always gets 6,5 points of compensation, so somebody always wins at least half a point.
go looks interesting if dry. I dont think id have the patience to get really good at this game though i can see how it could be fun for two well versed players
Indeed!
Nice
You are so good
Thank you so much!
Can you recommend a good online option to play + vs AI?
Have you tried OGS?
I have been wanting to learn how to play Go for so long now! Thank you for the awesome videos!!
I have a question about a certain rule. In the video you said that if white makes the two eyes in blacks territory during a late invasion all of blacks territory is basically gone. How does the eyes make blacks territory void if black still has a border? Is it just a rule of the game or did I miss something?
Thank you so much for the help!
Hello. It’s great to know you enjoy our videos 😊
When White makes two eyes in Black's territory, it means that the White group is alive and cannot be captured. As a result:
1. Any Black stones within that territory that don't have two eyes or can't make two eyes will be considered dead and removed from the board at the end of the game.
2. Even if Black manages to connect all their stones and build two eyes, the presence of White stones in their territory means that this territory is no longer entirely theirs.
Ok cool. Thank you for clearing that up for me!!!😊
6:47 how has black 33 points there but at the end he gets subtracted 1 point and starts with 30 points when counting?
Haha good point, I had to check and count there.
Those 33 points at 6:47, that is if we count the two dead white stones for black. At the end however those stones are subtracted from White, not added to Black. Plus White also has a captured stone that gets subtracted from Black. That's how we get 30.
@@GoMagic Ahh right, I counted 31 for black in the end, I was missing that white stone that had to be subtracted.
I like this tutorial a lot! I only get confused at the point when the game is reaching its end. When you talk about white making several moves in a row inside of Black's territory: is that something that can actually happen? If black were to pass would white just have free reign over whats left of the board, and able to make several uncontested moves? Furthermore once black passes are they allowed to take turns at a later time, in the event that white makes moves like in this video? I've looked for rules about passing and haven't found anything definitive about this.
Great question! In Go, once a player passes, they can still play later if the opponent makes a move. So, if Black passes and White decides to make a move inside Black's territory, Black can respond on their next turn. However, if both players pass consecutively, the game ends and the board is scored as it is.
In the scenario you mentioned, if Black passes and White starts playing inside Black's territory, Black would typically respond to prevent White from reducing their territory. If Black continues to pass while White makes effective moves, Black could lose significant territory.
@@GoMagic thanks so much for replying! Me and a friend just got into go together but neither of us have any experience with the game and the amount of resources out there is a little overwhelming and not always as direct as I'd like. This channel has been really helpful so far!
I'm really glad to hear that you and your friend are finding our channel helpful! Go can indeed be a bit overwhelming when you're starting out, but it's great that you're diving in and learning together.
In addition to our videos, I highly recommend checking out our website gomagic.org. There you'll find practical exercises that can significantly help improve your understanding of Go.
Remember, every Go player was once a beginner. Keep playing, keep learning, and most importantly, keep enjoying the game. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions. Happy playing!
Is Komi 6.5 regardless of the board size - 9x9, 13x13, 19x19?
It's often decided by opponents. On 9x9 it can be 3.5, for example
Great video ! I have a very dumb question, but if black plays inside his own terrory, black’s losing points, then why isn’t white playing inside black’s territory only to make black respond and so, lose points on purpose ?
Because
1. play inside opponent's territory and they respond - you both lose one point, so the score is the same
2. play inside opponent's territory and they don't respond - you lose one point
so gotta be careful with that =)
I'm just starting to get into go and I'm having trouble with some of the same concepts as the people who have posted in the comments. (Like, why not place stones in your opponent's territory).
But one thing I haven't heard explained clearly is the definition of "territory." When I first started, I thought an area had to be completely surrounded with stone on four (or more) sides to be considered mine. But the example above (and most other videos) seems to say that if you make a line of stones all the way across the board, anything on one side of the line belongs to a particular color--with no need to place stones on the edges of the board. I can't get my head around this.
Any fence of stones that is put on the board might claim what's behind it as territory. And that claim remains valid until the opponent comes along and lives inside. So it's only territory if the opponents admits they can't invade and live inside. And it's my job as a player to make my territory as big as possible without risk of losing it over an invasion. It's a beautiful rope walk without simple definitions.
Yeah, it's something that comes with more experience. A way to look at it is that it's basically an implicit agreement between both players that the territory is theirs or not. That was exemplified in 4:55. where Black said "this is my territory" while White disagreed and tried invading, but soon came to the conclusion that "it's yours indeed" and stopped the invasion.
The more you play, the more you start to get a feel for things like that.
That's exactly what it was in the lesson and yes, a few more games, some more experience and you'll be able to tell which is which.
Okay, thanks! I'll keep playing and hopefully I'll get the feel for the game.@@GoMagic
Now i understand I've always struggled why I cant just prevent points with entering the enemy territory, since he need much more stones to capture mine and meanwhile blocking himself. So it is valid to say, they are prisoners as long as the enemy does not have 2 eyes?
Yes, if you can't prove life of your stones by creating two eyes, the stones will be considered dead.
I can see how this game is filled with strategy, but I find chess to be a lot more intriguing. I like the fact that the pieces in chess all have different "powers" and you need to take that into consideration with each move. Go is, in essence, trying to simply surround your opponents stones. Not nearly as dynamic.
Try to get to know the game a little better. You'll be surprised at how dynamic and deep it can be. 🧐
I get why you feel like that. I also thought that but digging deeper it's just a drastically different game. Chess is more linear while Go is more fluid. Go incorparets tactics that someone would you use on a larger scale with a much slower pace in a long war while chess is more about tactics in a straightforward battle against the enemy.
Question: in the example of white trying to invade black territory at the end of the game you state that every piece black puts down to defend reduces their points at the end of the game. So why wouldn't white press the attack even knowing its hopeless? By doing so it would force black to put down more pieces and lose more points. I feel like im missing something here
haha we need to make a separate video answering this and a couple other typical questions we get asked all the time =)
every time white plays a stone inside black's territory (those white stones will die, remember?), white loses a point...then black responds and loses a point too...so the score stays the same
Although normally white would get 6.5 points on a 19×19 board I think that would be a bit high amount on this smaller board
Everyone feels that. Just roll with it =)
The scoring is so ooooooo confusing, I hope this clears it up.
I'm really confused about the meaning of territory. Is it a subjective determination between the two players? Is it defined as the number of intersections that can't touch a certain stone color without passing through another?
Also, wouldn't white in your example game always have an incentive to keep playing, because they could at least lessen the size of black's territory with their own pieces and have a chance at surrounding them? Because the choices are either loose for sure or keep playing? Is the reason they stopped just because they didn't feel like playing anymore?
What does territory even mean?
Territory can definitely be confusing at first. Territory is defined as the empty intersections completely surrounded by one player’s stones (and secured from invasion). At some point players realize there’s no point in playing inside the opponent’s territory because their stones simply won’t survive there. This kind of judgment comes with experience-it’s about knowing when a situation is truly lost and when it’s worth continuing to fight.
It’s a balance of knowing when the game is over and not extending it unnecessarily.
@@GoMagic Interesting, I think that makes sense now! Thank you so much for your fast reply, and for explaining it to me so well! I appreciate your time, and your videos about this interesting game!
You're very welcome! 😊 I'm so glad the explanation helped.
6:58 - Couldn't white have attacked the 5 black stones in the bottom left corner there?
They could give it a try, but Black is too strong there and their bottom group has way too many liberties.
I'm still struggling to figure how come playing in the opposite territory is either neutral or counterproductive. Given that a single centerboard stone has four liberties, wouldn't capturing it remove four points while only giving back two?
Could you make a full video explaining this whole dynamic? Thanks!!
Thanks for the suggestion. We might make a short video on this one day.
In short, you play a stone inside opponent's territory and IF you can't prove it's alive, IF you can't save it, your opponent will just claim it to be dead without spending a single stone capturing it.
@@GoMagic Thank you for your answer! It does help, although I still got so many questions! Such as:
- Why was this rule invented? For example, is it a way to bar the possibility of both adversaries just playing in the opposite territory to alter their score (and ending up just making the game longer without changing the result)?
- What happens when you keep playing and try to make them alive, though end up failing? Wouldn't there be cases where you still end up gaining score by forcing them to play in their territory?
When a beginner such as I look at a professional game of go, it often feels like there is some kind of "etiquette" to it, which makes it appear like they are playing suboptimal strategies. For me, this is what prevents my entry into learning the game more seriously.
In short, there is some elegance in knowing that you "can't" just play inside any territory or do anything...some of that could be punished by loss of points...but some of that could also be rewarded.
When you're a beginner, there's no need to hold back from any invasions. Experiment is the best teacher here.
Alright, experiment and Go Magic, tied.
@@GoMagic Thanks for the explanation! It's a relief to know that experimentation is alright and could end up rewarding. With that said, this is still by far the strangest and most arbitrary rule of Go.