GO Game Rules
Go is generally played on a 19" x 19" game board (grid). Two players (one black & one white) take turns placing a stone (game piece) on the points (or intersections). Black moves first. Each stone or game piece must have liberties (empty adjacent points) to remain on the board.

Stones that are connected by lines are called chains, and therefore share liberties. When a stone or a chain of stones is surrounded by opponent stones creating an area of no liberties, it is captured and must be removed from the board. If a stone has no liberties as soon as it is played, but simultaneously removes the last liberty from one or more of the opponent's chains, the opponent's chains are captured and the played stone is not.

"Ko Rule" means a stone can't be played on a particular point (or intersection) if that move or play would recreate the board position that existed after the same player's previous turn. A player may pass instead of placing a stone. A game ends and is scored at the time in the game when both players pass consecutively.

The number of empty points enclosed by each player's stones plus the number of points occupied by each player's stones is a player's total points or total score. Of course, the player with the higher score wins.

This is the sum of intrinsic properties of the Game of Go. The possibility and threat to capture opposing stones provides strategic variations and makes the game interesting. There are other rulesets which count the score differently, yet almost always produce the same result. Go allows a person to play not only even games (players of similar strength), but also handicap games (players of unequal strength). Although rules of Go can be written very simply, the strategy of the game is extremely complex. Go is a complete-knowledge, deterministic, strategy game, in the same class as chess and checkers (draughts) whose depth can seem to exceed even those games. Go involves a great scope of strategy with its large board and lack of restrictions. In one part of the board a decision may be influenced by an apparently unrelated situation in a distant part of the board. Plays executed early in the game can shape the nature of conflict a hudred moves later. The importance of balance on multiple levels is emphasized and has correlating internal tensions. It is good to play moves close together to secure an area of the board, but a player needs to spread out also to cover the largest area. Expansionist play is required to ensure a player does not fall behind. However, playing too broadly leaves weaknesses undefended that are open to exploitation. Playing too low (close to the edge) secures insufficient territory, yet playing too high (far from the edge) allows invasion by the opponent. People are attracted to the game since they feel it is reflective of polarities also found in life.