What are the rules?

General Go Discussion
1

Few times I had the opponent passing then I proceeded to pass, then he goes back to the game. Can they do that?

2

You can resume after passing.

The game can even go back to play after both players have passed in succession and looked at the scoring - you can choose to resume play at that point.

There are some rule-sets where you pay your opponent a stone each time you pass (AGA at least).

3

Resuming the game should be reserved only to solve potential disputes about what is or isn’t alive. By passing consecutively both players agree that the game is over, it should not be resumed just because you don’t like the score and want to try something crazy to reverse it.

If you encounter such behaviour with amateurs I would reccomend politely informing them.

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4

True, but from a rules perspective…

5

I am not that skilled in all the rulesets but AFAIK two consecutive passes end the game in most of them and resuming the game is for special cases only. In japanese rules for example the game can be resumed to solve a dispute but the score is then counted from the original position before resuming. (again if I remember correctly.) The point is, resuming the game should be an extremely rare event.

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6

But yeah, technically it is possible I guess, but not liking the result should not be a reson for resumption :smiley:

7

You are, of course, correct, but I have observed many games (mostly but not entirely among high DDKs) in which the losing player resumes to try “something crazy.” In virtually all cases the loser loses anyway, but it must be an annoying waste of time to the winner.

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8

Something that seem crazy in the audience/stronger player’s eye might be some feasible attempt in high ddks eye, so if you’re playing against a much weaker player there’s no need to call mod if your opponent is trying some ‘crazy’ attempts that’s reasonable for his/her level (unless it’s obviously stalling/filling stone). I recall having a game reversed at ~13k when my opponent turn his dead stones into seki after I passed when I shouldn’t (thought he’s doing something stupid). I learned a good lesson about seki from it. That’s the first time I realized that your opponent can make seki inside you even when you have 2 solid eyes.

I would say for high ddks, those after-endgame attempts could be potentially be educational. If you’re not sure whether something works or not, it’s worth it to try it out once.

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9

Wait, that shouldn’t be possible. Seki happens because neither of you can atari the other without entering self-atari. If you have two eyes, you can never self-atari.

Edit: Unless you’re counting the space in which your opponent made an eye as an eye too.

10

That is true, and I support it too. But there is a fine line between trying something maybe viable, and just playing into an obviously dead space to see if your opponent will make a mistake. The latter is just tiresome.

11

I agree as well, but not after both players have passed (which is the original issue being discussed). If you count the score (or use the estimator for all I care) see that you are behind and try some feasible invasion, that’s of course fine.

However doing this after both players pass I find very disrespectfull if not an attempt to be cheating. Many possible issues come from resuming a finished game. (As in whose turn it should be, trying to make the game endless or run your opponent out of time etc.) As I said before resuming the game should be only for solving disputes about positions.

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12

I’m glad this was flushed out: I didn’t have that clarity before but I see now that Adam’s interpretation is most in the spirit of the actual rules.

13

I noticed that since showing as ?.. I dont get to play much. Also, believe that there are cheaters here and also some disrespectful. I think those should be stopped from playing for a time. Hence, when one reports someone and it is found that they are at fault one should expect some consequence. Especially, when a person is a beginner one does not know what to expect. Perhaps they should have an agreement for people to be aware of before they sign to play online.
Thank you all for replying to my former questions.

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14

Yea my description might not be that accurate: https://online-go.com/demo/view/267895. Not sure if you see black as having two eyes or one eye.

15

I guess it’s a matter of perspective. It was a big eye until white made seki. Then it stops being an eye. shrug

16

Very interesting seki. I’ve never seen that described. Thank you.

17

Hi Conrad. I am very new here and to the game. You were nice to play with me the other day. I noticed your remark concerning that you never ask for an “undo” I would like to bring to your attention that sometimes our fingers slip and they fall in some ridiculous spots on the board. I dont know how old you are, but I am mature. My reflexes are not like that of young people. It is different than playing in a regular board(not online).
When beginners play with stronger players, we tend to be intimidated and nervous- Hence, the reason for having difficulties controlling our muscles. I suppose that is the reason for which there is an “undo” button (thanks goodness) to ask for mercy? I believe that we are all here to better ourselves and not to prove how good we are?

Lavinia

18

I’m 63. I simply decided when I began here not to ask for undos, even on a misclick. I feel that it is my responsibility to click correctly. However, I will grant undos without prejudice, as I believe if someone is cheating, then it just makes me stronger to play against a better move. (Yes, people ask for undos sometimes when they realize they made a mistake—a long pause between the move and the request is a “tell.”) Admittedly, I don’t have much experience with go online, as I play largely IRL on weekends. Too tired during the week.

By the way, it must have been another Conrad who played with you. However, I am hoping to play some fast, unranked, practice games without rank restriction, which I’m titling “Anybody,” so maybe we’ll meet across the board one day.

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19

I agree with Conrad_Melville, I will not ask for an undo, but I will grant one if asked by my opponent since I would rather lose to an opponent granted a break than win due to some foolish “What was I thinking?” blunder of my opponent. I have also, with beginners, looked at a move and said “You really don’t want to do that. Why? Because…” I guess I don’t fall into the “Win At Any Cost” mentality I see so often nowadays. It just doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of GO.

But I was surprised to read that a game can resume after both players have passed. I was always taught that both players passing signaled the end of the game…regardless. I was taught that if your opponent passes, you must look at the board really, really well and only pass when you sincerely believe the game is indeed finished. Among my buddies, we had a rubber Wakizashi that was handed to the loser.

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20

It is considered impolite to resume a game just to get more points.

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