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START PLAYING GO RIGHT NOW!To learn enough to get started and try your hand at a game, follow these two simple steps and you'll be playing in minutes! Learn the rules: if you are a complete newcomer,Click here to choose a video, online tutorial or booklet that will teach you the rules. Play against a computer: Several commercial programs are available in 9x9 shareware versions including Handtalk, Igowin (for Windows), and other programs listed on our Computer Resource Page. Download one and try it out! Seven Steps to ShodanSerious players aspire to reach "shodan", a level of mastery similar to a black belt in the martial arts. No computer program has ever attained this level of mastery (click here to learn why), but serious students have made it in a matter of months, often within two years. Step 1 - Play on the Internet: When you're ready to try your skills against a human opponent, just log onto one of the popular online go servers. Step 2 - Play in person: Internet play has its advantages, but there's nothing like face-to-face play -- the click of the stones on the board, the sweat on your opponent's brow. Click here to see if one of our 100+ official Chapters is near you. If not, don't despair -- someone near you plays Go, or wants to learn! Click here to download a variety of posters, videos and other promotional materials you can use to find fellow Go lovers in your community. Step 3 - Get Equipment: You can get a decent playing set for the cost of a computer game, or you can spend more for special high-quality slate and shell stones and boards from beautiful wood. But good equipment is hard to find in the US. Many game stores carry poor imitations, if anything at all. The best equipment is imported from Asia. Click here to order online or by mail from US distributors of Asian equipment. Click here to print out a board and stones you can paste to card stock, cut out and start using right now! Step 4 - Take Lessons: If you haven't already found another local player or two, it's time to do so. There may even be someone in your community that is a stronger Go player than you. If so, you have found a potential teacher! For formal instruction, you can also contact any of several American players with Asian professional credentials. Step 5 - Study Life and Death: Most top players agree -- practicing life and death problems makes you stronger, at every level. Finding a way to kill the opponent's group can decide the outcome. Even more often, sound play that leaves no vulnerabilities can give you the initiative to win. With a dozen problem collections available in English, you can put away your crossword problems and tune up your skills. You can also find plenty of problem sites online. Step 6 - Review Professional Games: Along with life and death, the other form of essential study is the review of professional games. You don't have to understand them -- just let them unfold, learn the flow of the stones. For game analysis, there are a dozen collections to choose from, and then there's Go World, a quarterly magazine featuring detailed analysis by top players. Click here to download several huge collections of game records, along with lots of other useful information. Step 7 - Play in a Tournament: Competition isn't just for the top players. In the end, every player competes with him/herself, striving to become stronger. Tournaments offer top conditions for testing yourself, plus good fellowship and expanding your world of Go acquaintances. If there isn't one nearby, contact us, and we'll help you start one!
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