Own goban

After a long struggle with my own fears, I still started to play Go . Dmitry Skiryuk provided invaluable assistance in this difficult task for me. I play so far not so much, but I am not going to quit what I have begun. I hope that constant practice and (moderate) reading of educational literature will help raise my level so far.

In this article, I will not talk about the game itself, its varieties, tactics and strategies. I want to tell only about one tool that is absolutely necessary for the development of each novice player (there are a lot of pictures under the cut).

New Brave World

My acquaintance with Go began with a KGS server. Although Dmitry claims that finding a partner for the game, in Kazan, is not a problem, virtual communication, at the initial stage, seems to me a more convenient alternative. The KGS server provides everything needed for this. In addition to the active (and quite friendly) community, the opportunity to play with bots of various levels is provided. For a Russian-speaking player, the KGS server is attractive due to the presence of the “Russian Room”.

The game interface is available, in the form of a Java applet, directly from a web browser. You will need to install Java and add the address of the KGS server to the “Exception Site List” of its security settings:
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If everything is done correctly, we will see the following:



Initially, you can go as a "guest". The possibility of registering a permanent account will be provided later. Communication with the players on the server takes place in the "rooms". These are specialized chats with the ability to track games between players. You can fight with your opponent waiting for a call (in the list they are in bold) or create your own party. You can also join (as an observer) to the game of other players (in case the game is not private).

Those who wish to try their hand at bots will have to connect the “Computer Go” room, which can be found in the “Communication” tab. You can manage the list of available rooms using the main menu:



The choice of bots of various levels is quite wide (the level of the bot, like any other player, is indicated in square brackets after its name), from 30k (30 kyu) IdiotBot, to fairly strong bots 1-3 dans. You can choose to play a weak bot, or play with a strong one by setting odds from 1 to 9 stones.

Participation in rating lots is determined by account settings:



Setting the flag will include more stringent restrictions on the size of the odds, but will also allow you to track the growth dynamics of your level, in a convenient graphical form:

All moves are recorded!

KGS plays with great care. Not only all the games played, but also the results of their analysis will be saved on the server. Each of these entries, at any time, can be viewed (and edited) by uploading it to one of the rooms (possibly in private mode):



On the analysis of the parties should be mentioned. In Guo, especially after playing with a stronger player, it is customary to disassemble the games. During the game, as a rule, the player is limited in time to think about his move (of course, the game clock is also provided by the KGS server). Often, this leads to errors (especially in beginners parties who are not used to time control). Having completed the game, you can return to especially unsuccessful moves and leisurely consider alternatives, after consulting with the game partner and the observers. All comments in the game chat are tied to the moves and recorded in the batch record. Here’s what a parsed game might look like:



By the way, the splitter, highlighted in the picture with a red rectangle, is used to “collapse” downwards, which can lead a person who has not gotten used to the KGS interface, to some embarrassment. In this case, we see a fragment of the lecture, not a game, but the set of available tools does not change. Using the "tree" and navigation buttons, you can go to any move, make alternative moves (creating new branches), record comments to the moves, and use various explanatory icons common in the world of Go:

Own goban

The KGS web interface is good, but not perfect. The commands of maximization and closing of windows do not work out correctly, some of the functions (requiring access to the local file system) are not available from the applet. The implementation of the KGS client in the form of a standalone Java application is deprived of all these shortcomings. Installation under Windows can be done directly from a web browser. Linux users also did not remain offended.



This application allows you to do everything that was available from the Web interface and even more. It allows you to upload and edit SGF files! What is SGF? This is a common notation format for games like Go, Renju, Hex, etc. Here is what a fragment of such a file looks like:



As you can see, this format is intended more for the computer than for the person, but it is for the better, because it allows you to save all the information associated with the game (such as alternative game branches or text comments). CGoban is a complete SGF editor for the Go game. In it, you can create new SGF-files, edit existing ones, download batches in SGF-format to your disk, etc. Of course, this is not the only implementation of an SGF editor. Alternatives can be found here .

The importance of such a utility for a newcomer to Guo is difficult to overestimate. More experienced players can easily read kifu , but beginners can hardly perceive such a record. The sequence of moves, as a rule, is perceived normally. The difficulty is related to the perception of later moves as empty space on the board. In order to understand the move of the game on kifu, a beginner needs to restore the sequence of moves on a goban - a board for playing Go, but the goban costs a lot of money. His virtual alternative, for a beginner, may be more acceptable and, moreover, more functional.