Go is sometimes perceived as a more difficult game than chess, where the objective is to checkmate the king, or checkers, in which the winner is the one who removes all of his opponent's pieces from the board. The objective of go is not to destroy your opponent, which can backfire, but to gain more territory. Using fewer moves to surround more territory wins the game. Although the board has 361 intersections, all of them potential territory, games between top players are usually decided by only a few points.

Territory

In go, the term territory is often used to mean "surrounded intersections" and "captured stones" or "dead stones."

Diagram 1: This is a game between two beginners. Black plays conservatively on the 3-3 point while White ventures a little farther away from the corner to the 3-4 point. Black expands his territory with 5 and 7 and later with 9 and 11 but White just keeps defending his turf. In response to white 16 and 18, Black has to defend with 17 and connect with 19 to prevent 17 from getting cut off. Black now has 27 points against White's 29. So White wins. From the outset, Black played too conservatively.

Diagram 2: After only five moves, Black occupies three corners while White has one. White keeps expanding and defending his corner, but cannot compete with Black. White ends up with 20 points while Black has 35 points. It is obvious White did not use his stones efficiently.

Diagram 3: Now let's see what would happen if White gives away the four corners and concentrates on the center, which he does with the moves through 24. However, White is forced to defend his territory with 26 through 30, while Black expands each of his four corners. Who will win?

Diagram 4: In the end, White breaks through on the lower edge and on the right side. White manages to take half a corner (lower left). Note that Black used 75 to defend his own territory and White was forced play at 86. What is the score? White has 31 points, while Black has 48 (47 points + 1 prisoner). Black wins by 17 points.

Diagram 5: In A, B and C, Black has the same amount of territory. Count the number of stones used for each situation. In groups D, E and F, White uses the same number of stones. How many points does he make in each case? Answers: A = 7 , B = 11 , C = 15 , D = 5 , E = 8 , F = 9.

Solutions to last week's problem

1. All groups are alive, so the only problem is in the upper right corner, which is seki (standoff). Black has four points (A, B, C and D), while White has 3 points (E, F and G).

2. Black should start with 1 to connect his stones. This will allow him to connect at 5 after white 2 and 4. White must connect with 6 and 10, and Black should do the same with 9 and 11.

3. Both Black and White use a lot of stones to connect, Black with 1, 3, 5, 9 and 11 and White with 6 and 10.

4. Black wins the game by one point.

Check out Diagram 6 to see what happens in the upper right.

Diagram 6: Territory in the seki in the upper right is not counted so neither player scores points here. Black 1 is not a good idea, although it does not cost him any points. It looks as if he can kill the two marked white stones. But White is ready to play at 2. Black has no choice but to capture with 3. This gives him four points, while white 4 captures the two marked black stones, also worth four points.

Diagram 7: White should not play at 1. If he does, Black captures that stone, which is a prisoner and counted as territory, although territorial points in a seki situation are not counted. In effect, White loses a point.

Problems

Put the situation on a board and then determine:

1. Who owns what territory?

2. What territories are not completed?

3. What happens around A, B, C and D?

4. If it is Black's move, where should he play?

5. Who wins the game?

Want to find out more? Come to Ben's Cafe in Takadanobaba, Tokyo (03-3202-2445), where the English-speaking go community congregates every Sunday. You can enjoy free lessons, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Ben's Cafe can be accessed at www.benscafe.com.

Van Zeijst is a four-time European go champion and European representative at the Fujitsu World Championship.