Thank you for visiting the BGA web site to find out about Go.
At the British Go Association we are passionate about the game of Go, and we hope you will find the game just as appealing as we do.
You will have come to this section of our web site with some level of knowledge about the game and the aim of this section is to help you find out more about what you want to know.
You may wish to know some or all of the following:
Go has a long history and is very much a part of oriental culture. It has a history in the UK of nearly 100 years and continues to expand in popularity.
You can read more about the origins and status of Go in our Go Introduction.
This page follows on into an explanation of the rules, or you can read the Introduction and rules all on one Introduction to the game of Go page. This is the same as the booklet we give out to enquirers that you may have seen. An older (1999) version of this leaflet is available as a 863 KB PDF download.
If you are already a Chess player you may be interested in a Chess-Go comparison.
If you want someone to come and visit your organisation and give a presentation on Go and how to play, contact the BGA or one of the Go teachers.
Go has simple rules. That's the good news.
Often they are badly described, especially on rule sheets sold with some Go sets, and hard to understand. That's the bad news.
However we have three different discriptions of the rules that should be easy to understand.
They have minor differences in some areas, such as counting methods, but they all rely on the Go principles of capture and territory, as do all the rulesets in common use around the world.
Here is the simplest to understand, a Go Comic, cartoon introduction to Go written by Andreas Fecke and translated into English by the BGA. A version of this leaflet is available as a 1139 KB PDF download.
If you read the part up to page 6 you will be able to play the simple game called Capture Go or Atari Go, where the aim is to see who can capture the other person's stones first. You can play this first to get the hang of capturing, changing the winning target from one or more to larger numbers as your skill progresses.
The territory aspect of Go is described in the rest of the Comic. If you read and understand that you are ready to try out the full game.
If you have a FridgeGo set or a 9x9 set with exactly 40 stones of each colour you can use the FridgeGo Rules.
You can read a full description of the rules on our Introduction to the game of Go page. This is the same as the booklet we give out to enquirers that you may have seen. An older (1999) version of this leaflet is available as a 863 KB PDF download.
You can skip the introduction by going straight to the how to play page.
If you would like to watch a video tutorial then the "Go Center of Second Life" have set up a two part video for you to watch:
We have a list of other web sites which also present the rules of Go in English in our rules section.
If your would prefer to read in another languages then we have some Foreign Links.
A large proportion of the population in Korea and a smaller proportion, but still many millions, play in Japan and China. Go is less well-known outside East Asia. For example, there are probably a few thousand active players in Britain, but the number of players learning Go is increasing. Now that it is possible to play Go on the internet any time and any place, Go is becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. In fact there are over 70 countries where organised Go is played. For a list of these countries you can visit the International Go Federation website or the
European Go Federation website for the 35 European ones.We have a list of some well-known people who have played Go, as diverse as Albert Einstein and Rod Stewart! You may have seen Go played in the movies, in such as "A Beautiful Mind" or "Pi", or on television in programs such as "24" or "Enterprise", or read about it in a novel such as "Shibumi" or "The Girl that played Go". More and more Go is entering western culture as well as oriental.
You can probably find a Go Club near you as we have Go clubs in most parts of the United Kingdom. They variously meet in halls, pubs or homes in most big cities and a few small places too.
However if there is no club nearby, the BGA maybe able to find a player local to you.
Regardless of whether you can find anyone to play you can play a computer program, such as Igowin available for free download from our software catalogue. Of course programs are not expert players, but are great for beginning against.
You can use also play Go any time, day or night, on an Internet Go or Game server either in real time or play by turn. KGS and IGS are the most commonly used Go servers in the UK, and PlayOK (formerly Kurnik) is probably the best Game Server to use.
It is best to start playing on smaller boards before moving up to the large 19x19 one. Recommended is the 1B set from Payday Games, that has a plywood 13x13 and 9x9 board in it, and the 9x9 magnetic FridgeGo set.
If you join the BGA the BGA shop will sell you one.
Otherwise you might have a local games shop or you can buy it from Payday Games by mail order. There is a list of UK and other suppliers of Go sets.
Or, you can make your own set, as described on our making a Go set page.
How can I learn more about Go?
Once you have read and understood the rules and played a few games, you will realise there is an awful lot to Go and you may need some tips and pointers on how to improve.
Recommended is the page of tips we put together for the UK Go Challenge for schools.
Obviously an existing player can help teach you or give you advice, but you can also study one of the many Go books available. They can be bought from the same places as Go sets as described above.
A book that is a very thorough introduction to the game which can be studied for quite a while is "Teach Yourself Go" by BGA member Charles Matthews. You should be able to get this from your local bookshop.
The BGA book sales list indicates which books are beginner, intermediate and advanced to help you select the correct books for your level.
Another way to learn more is to join a training session which are held from time to time.
Many children play Go in the UK. Of course it is best to learn Go when you are young and Go is suitable from about age 4 or 5 upwards, though the Capture Go game should be the limit for very young children.
We have a Junior Section aimed at young Go players, and also a section with information for Youth Go organisers.
Among the events and activities we run for the children, the UK Go Challenge for schools is the top event, along with the British Youth Championships.
This page is part of the British Go Association website.
Page last updated: 2008-04-17.
If you notice any errors, or have any other comments, please inform the webmaster.