Japanese Rules
Japanese rules are the rules used in Japan. Japan had no written rules until 1949. They were revised in 1989. The new rules are rather different from the old rules, but have the same effect for nearly all games. Other parts of the world have often also adopted such rules. Korean rules are particularly similar. Furthermore, sets of rules similar to those used in Japan are often casually referred to as Japanese (style) rules.
Under Japanese rules:
- Scoring is by surrounded territory plus dead or captured stones, which is called territory scoring. (See also: Japanese Counting).
- There are no points in a seki.
- Suicide is not allowed.
- Longer repetitive situations, like triple ko, can cause a game to have no result.
- Resolving disputes about life and death or protective plays depends upon traditional Japanese rulings that are consistent with rationales presented as global hypothetical play with special ko rules.
Table of contents |
Official Rule Sets
- Current official rules for professional play in Japan (established in 1989). Note that these rules apply to both Nihon Ki-in and Kansai Ki-in:
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WAGC 1979 Rules
Commentaries
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Jasiek's Commentary on the Japanese 1989 Rules
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Verbal Japanese Rules (Robert Jasiek, 2010)
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Commentary on the New Amateur-Japanese Rules
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On the rules of Go (Ikeda Toshio, 1968-9, 1991)
Other Japanese Style Rule Sets
- Interpretation: Japanese 2003 Rules (Robert Jasiek, 2004)
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New Amateur-Japanese Rules (Robert Jasiek, 2004)
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Applicable Traditional Japanese Rules (Robert Jasiek, 2008)
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Simplified Japanese Rules (Robert Jasiek, 2008)
- Logical Japanese Rules of Go (Robert Pauli, 2002-2004)
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Ikeda Territory Rules II (Ikeda Toshio, 1968-9, 1991)
- Lasker-Maas rules (Edward Lasker, 1968?, Robert Maas, 1995)
- Spight Japanese style rules
See also
Subpages
Summary and commentary
- Specific features:
- Group status cannot be determined by resuming play, due to the fact that this would alter the score and possibly the result of the game.
- While a special procedure for determining life and death exists, decision by a referee may be required in amateur play to decide whether a group is alive.
- Scoring method: Territory
- Counting method: Japanese
- Superko: No (a game with a repeating position is declared to be without result and repeated)
- Komi: 6.5
- Suicide: Forbidden
- Points in seki: Do not count
- Cost of moving in one's territory: 1 point
- Life and death settled by: Hypothetical play with special ko rules
- Ko threats do not count when determining life and death.
- Illegal move: Forfeits the game
Full text in English
- Used in: Japan