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"Why is 9x9 recommended for beginners? One newb once said that he didn't understand the point til he played on 13x13. on a 9x9 the moves just seemed random. and starting on 9x9 makes ppl scared of 19x19. Please help me understand. -Shawn"
Bob McGuigan: Nobody is forced to play on smaller boards but I think 9x9 is good at the beginning because it is easier to see how a move in one part of the board affects what is going on elsewhere. In fact, even on a 19x19 board each stone played has a relationship to every other stone played. When you are just starting out as a go player it is hard to appreciate this on a 19x19 board since there can be so much space between stones.
9*9 is smaller. This makes it a quicker game. Also it is a better size to understand the basics, like eyes, connection and all that. On a 19*19 the board is so big that a lot of people feel lost in the beginning. At times we all still do I guess.
Yeah, I agree with Hicham. The 9x9 has less intersections to confuse, and maybe overwhelm, a beginner and you get into fights early and thus learn basic tactics relativly quickly.
Starting on 9x9 doesn't necesarliy make people scared of 19x19. They'll probably get more scared of it when they are introduced to it, then when they switch to it after 9x9 (and maybe 13x13)
A 19x19 game takes a very long time! A mistake in the opening might not have bad consequences until 100 moves later--this makes it very hard to learn from your mistakes.
perhaps a 19x19 is too big to start on. but what about a 13x13? it has a dash of the stategy you will need to play on a 19x19 and a pinch of tactics you get from 9x9.
I started on the 19x19 board because that's what the computer program I had at the time was. I didn't even know about 9x9 back then (1995ish).
In fact, personally I think I'd recommend it. I took a long break without anyone to play with, but the two best tools for learning the basics of the game are igowin (9x9) and GnuGo (or better, a weaker PC program - I used Nemesis in '95).
13x13 is pretty useless... I never recommend it except for kids. It may help your concentration reach the 19x19 level, but it doesn't really help your game.
9x9 is for everyone. It's tactical and a good (short) introduction to the game (in a lecture/demo situation). I wouldn't recommend it for beginners after the rules have been learned, though... it builds tactical ability, but tsumego does a better job of that! IMHO 19x19 is the way to start.