Yiban
English

6 chapters · 33 lessons

Learn Go

From your first liberty to understanding a whole game. Look something up whenever you need it.

01Start by playing a full game together

Learn the rules and your role, then start playing together. · 8 lessons

  1. 01What is a teaching game, and why play one together?
  2. 02How to help without knowing Go
  3. 03Starting a game
  4. 04What is the aim of Go?
  5. 05Groups and liberties
  6. 06Atari and capture
  7. 07Why some points cannot be played
  8. 08When to finish and how to find the winner

02Connections and shapes

See how stones support each other and where they may be cut. · 5 lessons

  1. 09Connecting and cutting: why stones need support
  2. 10Extensions, diagonals, jumps and knight’s moves
  3. 11Tiger’s mouth: can an empty point protect a connection?
  4. 12Attachment, hane, block and push: what is happening in a fight?
  5. 13Underplay, pressing, crawling and connecting along an edge

03Capturing and saving stones

Use liberties to understand chasing, trapping and escaping. · 5 lessons

  1. 14In atari: what can you do besides run?
  2. 15Double atari: save one group, lose the other?
  3. 16Ladders and ladder breakers: does chasing always work?
  4. 17Nets and failed connections: why liberties may not save you
  5. 18Snapback: give one stone to capture more

04Eyes, life and death

Learn eyes, then life, capturing races, seki and ko. · 6 lessons

  1. 19Why two eyes keep a group alive
  2. 20True and false eyes: is one surrounded point safe?
  3. 21Making and destroying eyes: who takes the vital point?
  4. 22Capturing races: whose liberties run out first?
  5. 23Seki: how can both sides live without two eyes?
  6. 24Ko threats and ko for life: why play elsewhere first?

05From local shapes to the whole board

Understand opening play, direction and priorities beyond capturing. · 5 lessons

  1. 25Opening priorities: corners, sides and center
  2. 26Territory, frameworks and thickness
  3. 27Attack and defense: must you capture everything?
  4. 28Sente, gote and tenuki: when can you play elsewhere?
  5. 29Approaches, enclosures and joseki: must you memorize sequences?

06Position and endgame

See how the lead changes, check the result and review briefly. · 4 lessons

  1. 30Who is ahead now?
  2. 31Endgame and dame: what remains on an unfilled board?
  3. 32Area, territory and dead stones: count correctly
  4. 33Review: what is worth revisiting after a game?