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How to record a Kifu
  Difficulty: Beginner   Keywords: Equipment

Using a Kifu is a good way to record your game if you don't have an SGF editor at hand. Kifus also have more charm than a computer file and the name sounds really cute.

The Kifu-paper has 19x19 circles (as with the kifu on the SL Kifu-page) or 19x19 lines (like a common goban).

Black moves are entered with a black pen and White moves with a different color such as red. Don't try to draw Go-stones, just enter the digit corresponding to the move. The first black stone is a black "1", the first white stone is a red "2" etc.

If a stone is placed on a point previously occupied by another stone (e.g. in a ko) you write the number of this new stone (with it's correct colour) underneath the diagram and the number of the older stone. If Black 49 takes a ko on the point where Black 37 previously was, you write "49 at 37" or even "49 takes ko at 37".

If the move is a pass you just write "Black 183 pass" underneath.

-- Jonatan Lindstrom


Q: How to mark handicap stones?

unkx80: The SL diagrams will look like the kifu, except that you don't make the kifu as neat. As for handicap or setup stones, simply draw a black filled circle for black stones, and an empty circle for white stones.

Scryer: Q: If a handicap stone is captured, how do you mark a new move on that point?

Arno: There is an old unwritten rule in handicap games that White doesn't capture handicap stones when the game is recorded so as not to put the recorder in this unpleasant situation. Seriously though, I never experienced that. I guess I'd write something like "89 at handicap in upper right corner" or shorter as "89 at h/ur". Alternatively, write "89 left to 75" if 75 is right to 89 :o)

Benjamin Geiger: Why not something like "89 at Q16"?

Jason Morris: Or, record handicap moves as having negative numbers. In a 4-stone handicap, moves -4 through -1 would go (in the appropriate colour of ink) on the star points. Then, it can be recorded as 89 at -3, or as appropriate.


Benjamin Geiger: If passes are recorded with their own move numbers, why would one need two colors to record moves? Wouldn't all odd numbers be Black moves and all even ones White, or vice versa?

unkx80: It is possible to record a kifu with only one colour, just that it makes reading the kifu a bit more difficult.

Bill: In my experience, it is easy to lose count. If you do not use two colors, it is a good idea to circle White's plays, just in case you are one number off.

Nacho: If you can, always use a pencil and not a pen. It's easier to correct mistakes.



This is a copy of the living page "How to record a Kifu" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2003 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.