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Steps between Ranks
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Steps between ranks

The steps between amateur ranks correspond to the handicap difference. When a 6 kyu plays another 6 kyu, either player can take Black (over several games, they would alternate); there should normally be no handicap; and White would get komi to offset Black's advantage in moving first. When a 6 kyu plays a 5 kyu, the 6 kyu always is Black, and there is no komi (or only a half point to prevent jigo); so we see there is a one stone difference in the strength of a 6 kyu player and a 5 kyu player. When a 6 kyu plays a 4 kyu, it is a two stone difference in strength, so the 6 kyu not only takes Black, but puts two stones on the board before White makes a move. (0 or 0.5 point komi.)

6 kyu vs. 3 kyu, three handicap stones; up to 6 kyu vs. 1 kyu = five handicap stones; 6 kyu vs. 1 dan = six handicap stones; and so forth. In theory, a 20 kyu player should take a 19-stone handicap from a 1 kyu, and a 20-stone from a 1 dan. (In practice, handicaps larger than 9 stones are pretty rare. When the difference in strength between the players is greater than 9 stones, we just chalk it up as a Teaching Game, and accept that White will spend a lot of her time proposing better moves for the weaker player, just so she can stay awake.)

The Korean gup ranks work essentially the same way (a 7 gup player would need three stones handicap to have a reasonable game with a 4 gup player).


BillSpight: The traditional handicap scheme gives an advantage to White. In an even game, Black plays first and gives komi. If Black is one stone weaker, then he should take two stones and give komi. Or, reversing colors, White plays second and takes komi. If White is one stone weaker, then she should play first (i. e., play Black) and take komi. Either way, taking Black without receiving komi is an inadequate handicap for a one stone difference in strength. Similarly, taking 2 stones without receiving komi is inadequate for a 2-stone difference. And so on.

Jasonred I think I finally got it. Going first, is worth half a stone, and every rank is worth one stone. And, komi is half a stone, cause if A goes first, his advantage is x, B goind first advantage is x, and the difference between the who goes first is one stone, ie the stone which was placed. So, we should always have komi, cause it's the only way to make up that half stone advantage.

exswoo:

Proper Handicap = (Rank Difference) handicaps stones + 1 additional stone + komi for white.

Jasonred I dunno... I think that Black should be given an "easier" handicap, by giving (rank diff) stones + reverse komi. It might seem like about the same, but IMHO, now Black not only has a territorial advantage, but also can play defensively. "Forcing" Black to make up the komi by playing aggressively seems bad to me. I dunno for sure though.

Charles In my view, one should never lose sight of the purpose of handicaps, which is to make teaching games more interesting and instructive. I don't think go handicaps really lend themselves to tournament systems of any kind (they were used in the Oteai, but eventually phased out). Just about all known handicap systems do favour White; those with suspicious minds will ask Cui bono? about a given system, and will come up with the answer 'stronger players'. That being said, a handicap system that is little light provides a reasonable environment for the rapidly-improving player. The spacing between ranks is a more serious issue than this one of first-play advantage.


If we were to put it into a chart...

Traditional New(?)

1-rank = 1/2 stone 1 stone
2-ranks = 1 1/2 stones 2 stones
3-ranks = 2 1/2 stones 3 stones
4-ranks = 3 1/2 stones 4 stones
5-ranks = 4 1/2 stones 5 stones
6-ranks = 5 1/2 stones 6 stones
7-ranks = 6 1/2 stones 7 stones
8-ranks = 7 1/2 stones 8 stones
9-ranks = 8 1/2 stones 9 stones

(You know, I looked at the chart under this after I wrote all this out and it looks like it does the same thing :) )

TakeNGive: Bill, is there a table somewhere that spells out handicap and komi combinations that give players of different strengths an even chance? The traditional scheme is the only one I'm familiar with.

Andre Engels: The 'class' system that used to be used in Europe, and can still be found in the Netherlands on club level, would be of that kind. In it, each grade is represented by two classes, the lower the class, the higher the grade. Class 20 and 21 represent 1k, the rest can be calculated from there. Handicaps under this system are equal to (d+1)/2, where d is the difference in grades. If this gets to a half number, say 4.5 stones handicap, komi (usually 5 points) is used to get to a full handicap - in this cases either black would get 4 stones plus 5 komi, or black would get 5 stones with white getting 5 komi, depending on the local habits and the preferences of the players.


Skelley: This is the table we use at the Amsterdam Go Club, it works fine.

      Strength difference       Black    White
 dan/kyu  class[1]  EGF rating  stones    komi
    0       0          0-49       1     w + 6,5
            1         50-99       1     w + 0,5
    1       2        100-149      2     w + 6,5
            3        150-199      2     w + 0,5
    2       4        200-249      3     w + 6,5
            5        250-299      3     w + 0,5
    3       6        300-349      4     w + 6,5
            7        350-399      4     w + 0,5
    4       8        400-449      5     w + 6,5
            9        450-499      5     w + 0,5
    5      10        500-549      6     w + 6,5
           11        550-599      6     w + 0,5
    6      12        600-649      7     w + 6,5
           13        650-699      7     w + 0,5
    7      14        700-749      8     w + 6,5
           15        750-799      8     w + 0,5
    8      16        800-849      9     w + 6,5
           17        850-899      9     w + 0,5

[1] The strength difference system that used to be used in Europe, and can still be found in the Netherlands on club level.



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This is a copy of the living page "Steps between Ranks" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2003 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.