IGS

    Keywords: Online Go, Software

http://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/images/igspandanet2.gif

[ext] IGS, the Internet Go Server, is a real-time go server. IGS, the first Internet go server, was established in February 1992 and switched from SGF to UGF Format when acquired by PandaNet.

Connect your Go client (or telnet) to igs.joyjoy.net port 6969 or port 7777 (port 6969 may not work sometimes).


[ext] IGS offers amateur rank diplomas for a fee. See [ext] here. [ext] IGS is also the sponsor and main venue for the IGS World Rapid Championship.


Who are the top IGS players?


ABOUT RATINGS:

On April 1st, 2005, IGS changed its [ext] rating system to more accurate and more clearly defined. Several steps are being taken to achieve these goals.

  1. ratings will be calculated at the completion of each game rather than once a day
  2. ratings will have an indicator for strong players at each rating, signified by appending a '+' to the player's rating (3d+ vs 3d)
  3. unrated players will be indicated by having a '?' appended to their rating (3d? vs 3d or 3d+)
  4. ratings changes will be 'protected' by a guard band which introduces a measure of [ext] hysteresis into the system
  5. the effect of a single game at the correct handicap on each of the players will be symmetrical, increasing the winner's rating by 100 points and decreasing the loser's rating by 100 points.
  6. ratings will have a lower bound of 22k
  7. players below 22k will be placed into a 'Beginners Class'

easter: The 27 mars 2007 a modification took place. The new lower bound is 17k. The rating classes from 8k+ to 22k was affected and points were added according to a sliding scale to make them fit in the interval from 8k+ to 17k.


EdwardHammerbeck: Just to clarify a few points regarding the new rating system. If you have 20 rated games, but do not have 5 wins in rated games, then you will not have a numeric rank. You will have a 'BC' rating until you have 5 wins in go games. This was confusing to me until I experienced it myself. So if you have 20 rated games, and you have 5 wins among these rated games or other non-rated games, then you will have a rank of 20k or 20k+ or 3d or 3d+, or whatever your rank is. If you have 20 rated games but less than 5 wins out of all your rated and non-rated go games, then you will have a rank of BC. Wins in any type of standard go game count toward getting you out of the beginner class even if they come from smaller board sizes, e.g. 9x9, or from players with whom your game would otherwise not count as rated, e.g., ? or BC players. In terms of the Beginner Class win requirement, a win is a win.

If you have less than 20 rated games, you will be given a provisional rank based on what you entered using the "rank" command or the system's best guess as to your rank. These provisional ranks will be followed by a question mark, "?". In other words, your rank will look like this: 22k?.

To sum up, a typical newbie's progression might look like this:

  • Register for a new account and use rank command to seed your rank at 22k. Rank shows as 22k?.
  • Play 20 rated games and lose a lot. Your mentor lets you win a couple 9x9 games. BC win count goes up to 2. Rank = BC.
  • Play some more. Win some, lose some more rated games. BC wins finally reach 5. Rank = 22k or whatever. Congratulations. You no longer have a provisional rank or a beginner's rank. You have a real, honest-to-goodness rank and now go up and down like everyone else on the server.

The whole point, from what I understand, is that the rating algorithm needs a certain minimal amount of data to get a good estimate of how you rank compared to your peers. Twenty rated games isn't good enough because you could (like me) lose all 20. You need to have some wins in there to say, "OK, she's better than this guy and this guy but not this guy.... She's 20k+."


Removed 'ratingstats' as the function no longer works and information was several years old.


IGS compatability & Telnet

There are many clients available for IGS. However, IGS started with a simple Telnet interface which is still usable. This means that the server is backwards compatible; people with less powerful computers can use telnet or one of the older clients to access IGS. Unfortunately, this can mean that there are commands available which seem obtuse to the new user. If you're interested in what is available, type help commands into your client's terminal window while connected to the server.


Questions & Tips (wanted)


Tip: Ratings questions

Before posting any questions about ratings, try reading about the [ext] New IGS Ratings System.


Simultaneous Games: Nacho: I had an interesting (yeah, let's call it that) experience today on IGS. I sent match requests to two people, and both accepted!! I thought that it was not possible. Anyway, I had to play both games simultaneously (I didn't want to be rude to anyone), which obviously resulted in a 20 point loss in each game. Well, I think it was good practice, but my nerves can't resist another day like this. So, my question... how can avoid that happening again? Any tips? Thanks in advance! Well, now I think, I could add this to that page with the excuses for losing... what was the name?

Answer : Yes, you can play simultaneous games on IGS. Your command is: toggle singlegame on in the terminal window so you don't accidentally start two games. (or just resign one of the match, games within 4 moves won't count to your rating).


Handicap Games: How do I play a handicap match on IGS? (At KGS the handicap stones are put on the board automatically.)

Answer : Use the 'handicap' command just after the game starts (type 'help handicap' into the terminal window for more info).


P-A?: Another question.. How is the rank updated? I believe it is clear for the rating... but I end up having quite consistently a ranking different from my rating.. Any way on how I can resolve that?

Answer: Please expand upon your question. I am guessing the promotion/demotion line is the cause of your confusion. The [ext] New IGS Ratings System link should explain things.


LeisureGuy?: I'm very new to IGS and find that frequently the links in the Panda home page's documentation lead to a page in Japanese--which for me is no help. I have been searching for an explanation of the 'Flgs' shown in the player list. I understand a few: -- = open for game, -X = no match wanted, -! = seeking a match. But I also see S- and Q-, and nowhere in the documentation do I find an explanation. One other question: I'm currently 20k?, and possibly actually 19k. When a 14k player proposes an even match, how can I counter-propose a match with a reasonable handicap?

Answer: One interesting thing about IGS is that it can be played using a simple telnet window. This allows people worldwide who might have older computers and older clients to play on the same server. S- and Q- are leftovers that aren't really used anymore. S- was to eliminate shouts, but that command has been disabled. Q- will eliminate system messages about players logging in/out, games ending/starting. You don't need to worry about it if you're using a newer client such as glGo. Type 'help commands' into the terminal window to find more information.

Answer: As for handicap games, read 'help handicap'.

Tip: Your old game records

You can list and download your previous IGS games by using your IGS userid and password at the [ext] My PandaNet web page. ( Game files in UGI format.)

Tip: Scoring Mode Tip -- by Scartol



This is a copy of the living page "IGS" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2007 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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