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How to play Go 9×9

An ancient game of territory. The 9×9 board plays in 10 to 20 minutes.

Setup

An empty 9×9 grid of intersections. Black plays first; stones never move once placed.

On your turn

  • Place one stone on an empty intersection, or pass.
  • A group with no empty neighbouring points (liberties) is captured and removed.

Special rules

  • Ko: a move may not recreate an earlier board position.
  • No suicide: a move that leaves your own group without liberties is illegal unless it captures.
  • Komi: White receives compensation points, around 7 on 9×9.

Winning, draws and losing

  • The game ends after two passes in a row. Area scoring counts stones plus surrounded points, plus komi for White.
  • Resigning or running out of time loses.

Online rules and fair play

  • Byo-yomi time periods suit Go; territory is shown clearly at the end.
  • Play is compared against AI suggestions on flagged games.
  • A disconnected player has 60 seconds to return before forfeiting.
Go to Go 9×9