What is a 1-2 point? Points in general?

Teaching
1

Hey,

Amateur Go Player here. I still don’t understand the terms like 1-2 points, 3-4 points or any of those number point terms. what exactly constitutes as a 1-2 point?

Thanks

2

I believe you’re referring to board coordinates. They are often referenced like this because they are symmetrical. While 1-2 is technically the point A2, all the 1-2 points are A2 B1 S1 T2 T18 S19 B19 and A18

Likewise, the 3-4 point can refer to any of 8 locations one space closer to the edge from any of the 4 corner star points.

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When we use terms like 3-4 point or sometimes simply 3-4 we are counting the distance from a corner. The system is symmetrical, meaning that it doesn’t matter which corner we count from. A stone on the 4-4 point can be at the top-right, bottom-left, or in any corner on the board.

This is convenient because in most cases we don’t care which corner we’re talking about. We only care about the relationship (distance) between the stone and the two edges. 3 points and below emphasises territory. 4 points and above emphasise influence towards the centre.

Here’s an illustration from the top-right corner:

  • Points A and D are the 3-4 points. They emphasise territory on one side and influence on the other.
  • Point B is the 3-3 point. That stone solely emphasises territory.
  • Point C is the 4-4 point - emphasising influence in both directions, but lacking a strong connection to the edge.
  • Point E is the 5-4 point. A stone here shows reckless disregard for territory. So much so that it may go well with a follow-up stone on the 3-3 point.

You see, all of these facts about influence and territory remain true regardless of which corner we’re talking about. So a coordinate system relative to any corner makes a lot of sense. Players can say things like:

The game was crazy. I played on the 4-4 point in each corner and my opponent just followed me by playing out the 3-3 invasion immediately each time.

Or…

My opponent played the 5-3 approach against my 3-4 stone and wiped me out. How should I respond to that approach?

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4

Sorry for the late reply. I think that explained pretty much everything :slight_smile:

Thank you very much

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