The Rules of Go
Go's rules are short but precise. This page lays them out completely and accurately — the same rules our engine enforces move by move.
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The board and stones
Go is played on a grid of lines. Standard sizes are 9×9, 13×13, and 19×19. Stones are placed on the intersections, not the squares. Black moves first; players then alternate.
Liberties and chains
A stone's liberties are the empty intersections directly adjacent to it (up, down, left, right — never diagonally). Stones of the same color that touch along the lines form a single connected chain and share their liberties.
Capturing
When you place a stone that removes the last liberty of an enemy chain, that entire chain is captured and lifted off the board. Captures are resolved before checking your own stone.
Suicide
You may not place a stone that would leave its own chain with no liberties — unless that same move captures enemy stones, which frees up liberties. A move that captures is always legal even if it looks like self-capture.
The ko rule
You may not make a move that recreates the exact board position from before your opponent's last move. This prevents endless recapture loops. GoingBoard enforces positional superko, which forbids recreating any previous whole-board position.
Passing, resigning, and the end
On your turn you may pass instead of playing. When both players pass consecutively, the game ends and is scored. A player may also resign at any time, conceding the game.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you ever capture your own stones?
- No. A move that would leave your own group with no liberties is illegal (suicide) — unless it captures enemy stones in the process.
- What is the difference between ko and superko?
- The basic ko rule forbids immediately recreating the previous position. Superko extends this to forbid recreating any previous position, closing rare long-cycle loopholes.
- Do diagonally touching stones connect?
- No. Stones connect only along the lines (orthogonally). Diagonal stones are related in shape but are not part of the same chain.
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