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Electric Go
   

This variation was invented by Ralf Gering in the nineteen-eighties.

Electric Go is like normal go, except every time you put a stone on an intersection, this stone (and only this stone) exerts a force in the directions of the two lines that intersect there. It will attract stones of opposite colour and repel stones of the same color, but only the closest stone in any of the four directions. Attracted and repelled stones run along the line until they encounter an obstacle (another stone or the edge of the board).

[Diagram]
Example: Black plays at a

[Diagram]
The situation afterwards

The marked stones are not affected, either because they are not on the same line as the stone played, or because they are not the closest to it on the line.

After you play a stone,

  • first you move the stones along the lines,
  • then remove any opponent stone without liberties,
  • then remove any own stone without liberties.

[Diagram]
Black to kill

[Diagram]
a doesn't work...

[Diagram]
because W will answer at a.

Zarlan: Magnetic Go would be a better name.

victim: Why? Electricity follows the same logic, and in magnetism any north pole is coupled to a south pole, unlike electric charges and the stones in Electric Go. (Actually, the name Ralf gave it was 10.000 Volt Go, and the name commonly used in Germany is 1.000 Volt Go, but Electric Go is the usual English word.)

There have been European Championships in this, during the European Go Congresses.

Ralf?: Hi, I'm the inventor of the game. I had the idea in the summer of 1988 on a visit in Bonn and the game was described in a short article in the "Deutsche Go-Zeitung (DGoZ)" shortly afterwards ("1000-Volt-Go" - eine elektrisierende Go-Variante"; Heft 4/1988, page 33). My article was considerably changed by Lothar Teikemeier (a former publisher of the DGoZ) without my knowledge or approval. Some formulations still sound rather odd to me as if somebody else had written it. Most important he changed the name of the game from "Magnetgo" ("magnetic Go") to 1000-Volt-Go. BTW, I did never use the name "10.000 Volt Go". Originally the Japanese counting rules were used, but, in fact, the Chinese counting rules make more sense and should be used now. I think I showed the game at the Go Congress in Hamburg, which might have contributed to its success. At this time I was a 2-kyu in Go and studied Geology at Tübingen University, Germany.

Christoph Gerlach: In an actual tournament it is necessary to add more rules. If you can read German, take a look at the rules used at our annualy "Vielseitigkeitsturnier" in Hannover, Germany: [ext] http://www.hannover-go.de/1000-Volt-Go/1000-Volt-Go.html



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