Hi I am quiet new to GO and I dont know how to:
- count the Points,
- decide who ownes what part of the board
- and which stones are to be removed
Hi!
I’ll answer and explain as best I can, but I also highly suggest you read the following https://senseis.xmp.net/?PagesForBeginners or use the OGS beginner section as they are great guides for establishing the basics of Go.
1.) Points are acquired in two ways, territory and captures. Territory is an unoccupied area that is fully surrounded by a single colour. For example, the bottom left part of the board is fully surrounded by white stones - hence it is white’s territory. You get a point for each point of unoccupied territory.
Captured stones have two categories, stones that have been captured during the game (it looks as if there were some captures in the game, so I’ll assume you understand how captures work) and stones that are declared dead at the end of the game - more on that later. You get a point for each captured stone.
2.) 2 and 3 are very interlinked questions, so I’ll answer them together. As explained before, areas that are fully surrounded by only one colour are that colour’s territory. But let’s consider the lower right side of the board. White has an area that is fully surrounded by white stones, however there are two black stones in that area.
If you understand the principle of two eyes, skip this section - otherwise keep reading. Every group in Go always need at least the potential to make two eyes and any group with two eyes is unconditionally alive. But what do we mean by two eyes? An eye is defined as a single area of territory that is fully surrounded by a single colour. Pictured below are some examples of groups with two eyes. These groups can never be captured, they are unconditionally alive.
Now when a game ends, any group that we believe cannot make two eyes or does not have two eyes is declared dead - the stones are removed from the board and treated as prisoners. Going back to the example of the two black stones on the right, I would say that they do not have two eyes and have no chance of making two eyes - hence they are dead. When there is a disagreement about whether or not a stone(s) are dead the game must resume and the players must prove whether the stones are dead or alive.
There is one group that I would say is questionably alive or dead, the black group top right - it does not have two eyes yet, but it may have the space to live. Moreover, if you look at the top right, you can see that very little of the area there is fully surrounded by either black stones or white stones - there are a lot of points in contention that do not yet belong to either player. There are several other points on the board that are not fully surrounded that are up for grabs, but the top right is the largest point by far. Put simply, at this point you cannot decide who owns a large poirtion of the board - the game should continue until it is fully determined as to who owns every part of the board.
I hope this helps, but again I highly recommend following the link to the beginner study section and reading it through.
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Hello, first off, reverse the order 
Decide who owns what parts and only then count the points.
The game you posted is not finished in my opinion. In the upper right black gave up on his/her group and thinks it is dead? if not there are still unfinished borders around that group and the game is uncountable. If you are not sure if a group is dead or not, do not pass untill it is clear But yes, this part comes a bit with experience, so do not obsess too much over it if you do not see it yet.
Also there is a group in “atari” (danger of immediate capture) whoever plays there first gets (or gets to save) a lot of points. And there are several another places where players can still get a point or two.
So my assesment of this game is it is not finished and you should both continue for a few more moves (thus I do not want to reveal who is winning in my opinion.)
Remember:
All borders need to be clearly defined, otherwise territory cannot be counted if there is still an open “gate” into it.
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Thanks so far for the answers.
They really helped
Upper right corner clearly isn’t finished yet, and there are some end game moves on other parts of the board.
TL/DR: If you don’t know the answers to these questions yet, then don’t pass. Keep playing.
If you don’t know the disposition of some group of stones on the board, and/or you don’t know who owns what part of the board and/or you don’t know which stones need to be removed, then you need to keep playing the game. It’s not time to pass until you do know the answers to these questions.
Does this mean that you will make moves that a more experienced player wouldn’t bother with? Sure it does, but you need to make them because you are at the level you are at.
If your opponent is also new, then the simplest solution is to agree that whoever has the most stones on the board wins.
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