Table of contents | Table of diagrams Two handicap stones Three handicap stones Four handicap stones Handicaps are placed in similar order as on 19x19 board |
Regarding handicap games, the following table gives one possible way of allocating handicap and komi on 13x13 boards. First column: Strength difference on 19x19 goban, second column, handicap on 13x13 goban, third column, komi to white.
Difference 13x13 Komi Difference 13x13 Komi 0 0 5.5 10 4 5.5 1(*) 0 5.5 11 4 2.5 2 0 2.5 12 4 0.5 3 0 0.5 13 5 5.5 4 2 5.5 14 5 2.5 5 2 2.5 15 5 0.5 6 2 0.5 16 6 5.5 7 3 5.5 17 6 2.5 8 3 2.5 18 6 0.5 9 3 0.5 19 6 -3.5
(*) In the case of a one stone difference in strength, the weaker player takes black and plays first.
On RGG, Tim Hunt posted his recommendations
Grade 13x13 board 9x9 board Difference Handicap Komi Handicap Komi 0 1 6 1 6 1 1 2 1 4 2 1 -2 1 2 3 2 4 1 0 4 2 0 1 -2 5 2 -4 1 -4 6 3 2 2 4 7 3 -2 2 2 8 4 4 2 0 9 4 0 2 -2 10 4 -4 2 -4
The Cambridge club (see http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/cugos/ for more details) uses a different system for its end-of-term 13x13 handicap competitions. These are played with fast time limits of 10 minutes each. In that case
2.5 grades = 1 handicap stone
I've thinking about komi settings for smaller boards. The logic behind modifying the number of handicap stones given seems to be that one stone is worth more on a smaller board. By the same reasoning, shouldn't komi be higher for smaller boards, because the one initial black stone will also be worth more?