Ing 1991 rules

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Here are excerpts of the Ing 1991 Rules

the complete rules can be found [ext] here and [ext] here

At the moment (February 2009) these rules are not often used anymore. They are as Ing rules superseded by the ING 1996 rules but also these are not much used anymore. See the rules page for an overview of the different rule sets

Feel free to add the missing text and diagrams.

Be aware that the terms here can have different meaning from the same term in other rulesets or what is now seen as the meaning.

Table of contents


                                                    Ing's SST Laws of Wei-Chi 
                                                               1991
                                                      No special rulings
                                                     Almost no drawn games
                                                        By Ing Chang-ki
                                                           Translated by
                                                           James Davies

Terminology

1 SST Laws: the complete SST Laws of Wei-Ch'i, which are free of special rulings and produce almost no drawn games. These laws were developed over a 16-year period by Ing Chang-Ki, who devised the fill-in counting system and the principle that the move is unrestricted except for invariation in 1974, and added the division of ko into fighting ko and disturbing ko in 1990.

2 Board and pass plays: Moves are classified as board plays and pass plays.

3 Unrestricted except for invariation: A player can play on any point that produces variation. Traditional rules had many unnecessary restrictions, including setup stones and forbidden moves, but lacked necessary restrictions, as in ko annulment.

4 Contest for territory: Wei-ch'i is a contest for territory. Territory has been defined in different ways at different times. In the first period it was Chinese lu, which became Korean hu and Japanese me; all three characters mean "space." In the second period, which began with the SST rules in 1974, territory consists of points.

5 Board point: an intersection of horizontal and vertical lines on the board. During the game stones are played on board points. In fighting, board points become breathing points. When the score is counted at the end of the game, board points become points of territory.

6 Game: In wei-ch'i, competition takes place in games; a single competition is a single game. A game is the basic unit of competition; one game has one outcome.

7 Move: also called play. There are board plays and pass plays. A game starts with a board play and ends with pass plays.

8 Board play: a play that changes the position on the board and increases the number of moves played. The only restriction on a board play is that it must not cause invariation.

9. Pass play: a play that only increases the number of moves played, without changing the position on the board. Like a board play, a pass play is a move.

10 Ko removal after passing: Removal of a hot stone is generally called ko removal. The ko rule states that hot stones cannot be removed until after an interval of one board play or pass play, so after each side passes once, ko removal is naturally possible. Those who have not studied the rules may think incorrectly that ko removal is possible only after a ko threat has been made and answered. See Dias. A3-A8.

11 Setup stone: In old Chinese game records both even games and handicap games started from setup stones instead of from an empty board. Japan eliminated setup stones from even games and the whole world has done likewise. Setup stones are still frequently used in handicap games.

12 Forbidden point: Traditional rules forbid self-removal.

13 Ko annulment: Annulment is a special Japanese ruling. The SST rules have no special rulings at all.

14 Resignation: is indicated by placing two stones on the go board.

15 Mandatory pass play: See Dia. A1.

16 Handicap game: traditionally played with setup stones, but not in the SST laws. The SST handicap rule conforms to the following three principles; (1) Black first, White second; (2) one move at a time; (3) unrestricted except for invariation. Traditional rules violate these principles.

17 No points to contest; one-sided neutral points: See Dia. A2.

18 Play pauses when each side passes once, making two consecutive pass plays. If there is disagreement about life and death, play can resume.

19 Play ends when each side passes twice, making four consecutive pass plays. Play cannot resume for any reason, so the game ends.

20 Breathing point: or "breath." A space next to a stone in a life-and-death situation. For the different types of breaths, see Dias. B11-B20.

21 Breathless: the state in which the breathing points surrounding a stone or stones have all been occupied, including internal breathing points.

22 Permanent breath: A group of stones with permanent breaths is independently alive.

23 Balancing breath: A group of stones with balancing breath is alive in coexistence.

24 Fighting breath: Stones with fighting breaths are alive in ko.

25 Interchangeable breath: Stones with interchangeable breaths are in a state of unalterable life or death.

26 Unreal breath: Stones with unreal breaths are dead.

27 Removal: Breathless stones are removed from the board.

28 Life and death determined by removal: Whether stones are alive or dead is determined by applying the rule of removal.

29 Live and death determined by ruling: The Japanese rules, which count spaces, cannot determine life and death by removal, so they have special rulings about life and death.

30 Ko prevents invariation: Endless removal gives invariation through repetition of the same position or recycling. The ko rule restricts removal in order to prevent invariation.

31 Fighting and disturbing ko: A fighting ko involves repetitive removal; immediate removal of hot stones is prohibited. A disturbing ko involves cyclic removal; the disturber is prohibited from recycling.

32 Ko stone: a stone that can be removed repetitively or cyclically.

33 Single Ko stone: See Dia. C1.

34 Double ko stones: See Dia. C2.

35 Triple ko stones: See Dias. C3-C4.

36 Ko configuration: a position with ko stones; see Dias. C5-C15.

37 Hot stone: a stone repeatedly contested by both sides.

38 Single hot stone: See Dia. C5.

39 Double hot stone: See Dia. C6.

40 Twin hot stone: See Dia. C7-C8.

41 Disturber: a player who creates a disturbing ko with no hot stones by cyclic removal, either by attacking his opponent or by using a double ko.

42 Recycling: Cyclic removal is limited to one cycle. In the second cycle and subsequent cycles every move causes invariation; this is called recycling.

43 Stones and spaces are both territory; all stones are filled in to count: the fill-in counting procedure is the ultimate counting method, clearly expressing the definition of territory as both stones and spaces.

44 Bowls with measuring frames: necessary items for fill-in counting, showing at a glance whether there are 180 black and white stones without the need to count the stones.

45 Winning space: a space left when a player's stones have all been filled into that player's territory.

46 Losing stone: a stone left when a player's stones cannot all be filled into that player's territory.

47 Shared space: a space adjacent to both black and white stones in coexistence, shared equally by both sides. See Dia. D2

48 Compensation points: points given to the opponent to equalize the game.

49 Time-difference penalty points: An SST rule provides for time-difference penalty points. Ing timers are necessary.

50 Difference value: The fill-in counting method counts only the difference value, consisting of the winning space, losing stones, compensation stones, and penalty stones. Other filled-in black and white stones need not be counted because they cancel out and do not contribute to the difference.

Chapter 1 Rules of Competition

Article 1: The move

Moves are board or pass plays. Moves are unrestricted except for invariation. Wei-ch'i: Wei-ch'i is a contest for points. The points gained, whether stones or spaces, are called points of territory. The winner is the side with more points of territory.

Game: In wei-ch'i, a single contest is called a game. The game starts from an empty board. Black and White play one move at a time, Black playing first and White second. When the score is counted by filling in after the end of the game, the winner is said to have won by counting. When the score is not counted, the winner is said to have won without counting.

Move: Moves, also called plays, are classified as board plays and pass plays. A move must provide variation. Moves not resulting in variation are prohibited, because if such moves were to continue, the game would have to be annulled. A board play changes the position on the board and increases the number of moves played; a pass play only increases the number of moves played. A game starts with a board play and ends with pass plays.

Board Play: In these laws the move is unrestricted except for invariation, so a board play can be made on any point that does not cause invariation through repetition of the same position or recycling. Self-removal of a single stone, immediate removal of hot stones, and recycling are prohibited because of invariation. Self removal of a group of stones does not cause invariation so it is not prohibited.

Pass Play: A player passes when resigning, in which case play naturally stops. If one player passes but does not resign, play continues. After the neutral points have been filled, both players pass and play pauses. After the dead stones have been taken away, both players pass again and play ends.

Article 2: Removal

Breathless stones are removed. Determine life and death by identifying breath types. Breathless: Spaces next to stones in a life-or-death situation are called breathing points, or breaths. These laws classify breaths according to life and death: permanent breaths for independent life, balancing breaths for coexistence, unreal breaths for non-life, fighting breaths for ko life, and interchangable breaths for disturbances that do not alter life and death. Stones that have lost all their unreal breaths are said to be breathless.

Removal: Breathless stones are taken off the board by the player who eliminated their last breath, whether the stones belong to that player or his opponent. This is called removal. When the stones of both sides become breathless simultaneously, the player removes his opponent's stones. Removals that would cause invariation are subject to restriction; to prevent invariation, they are played out as ko, divided into fighting ko and disturbing ko.

Life and Death: Stones live or die according to whether they can be removed. Stones that can be removed are dead; stones that cannot be removed are alive. These are the only crieria for life and death. Disputes about taking away dead stones cannot be settled by special rulings.

Article 3: Ko

Ko prevents invariation. Ko is classified as fighting or disturbing. Ko stones: Stones that can be repeatedly or cyclically removed are called ko stones. There are three types: single ko stones, double ko stones, and triple ko stones.

Ko position: A position including ko stones is called a ko position. These laws divide ko positions into fighting and disturbing ko. Every ko position must have an outcome; the game must not end without result.

Fighting ko: When life and death are not settled, repeated fighting for breaths is called a fighting ko. The ko stones in the repeating fight are called hot stones. Hot stones cannot be removed until after an interval of one board play or pass play.

Hot stones: A single ko stone that has removed a stone in a single ko becomes a single hot stone. When one stone is added to another to make double ko stones in an eternal life position, these become double hot stones. In a triple ko, besides the single hot stone there is another single or double ko stone; these are also regarded as hot stones, called twin hot stones. Twin hotstones are thus used in triple ko, which was left unresolved by traditional ko rules.

Disturbing ko: When life and death are settled, recycling of interchangable breaths is called a disturbing ko. The player who starts a disturbing ko is called the disturber. By attacking his opponent or using a double ko, the disturber creates a disturbing ko with no hot stones. After one cycle, the disturber is never allowed to continue disturbing.

Article 4: Counting

Stones and spaces are both territory. All stones are filled in to count. Criteria: The counting criteria in these laws are that stones and spaces are both territory. The sum of the points in both sides' territory is always the total number of points on the board, and the difference is the margin of victory.

Procedure: The counting procedure given by these laws fills in all stones without moving any stones in the original configuration, making the score clear at a glance. Fill-in counting is done using bowls with Ing's measuring frames.

Filling in: After both players have filled in their stones, any remaining spaces are called winning spaces and any remaining stones are called losing stones. Spaces adjacent to both black and white stones in coexistence are called shared spaces; each player fills half of them. If there is only one shared space, neither player can fill it.

Positioning: Winning spaces are positioned in a corner, or on a side if no corner is available. Losing stones are filled into the opponents winning spaces. For compensation points and time difference penalty points, one stone for every two points is filled into a separate area near the winning or shared space.

Counting: The score of the game is the difference value. The difference value includes one point for the winning space and two points for each losing stone, compensation stone, and penalty stone. A game with no difference is a draw, both sides having equal amounts of territory.


Ing 1991 rules last edited by toma on July 19, 2017 - 12:06
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