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Two adults play Go at a table, with one placing a black stone on a wooden grid board

Sports hobbies

Go: learn liberties with a first-capture game

Cost to start
US$0 with a borrowed set

Borrow a set or use existing card and counters; buying costs extra

Difficulty
Beginner

Learn one capture before playing a short teaching round

First result
30 minutes

Demonstrate a capture and try a first-capture round

Try Go on a small board: learn how stones connect, count liberties and play a first-capture teaching game before learning full scoring.

What you need to know

  1. A 9×9 grid

    Borrow a small Go board or draw nine lines each way on card, leaving a margin beyond the outer lines.

  2. Two sets of flat counters

    Use distinguishable stones or counters that fit the intersections; around 45 per colour is ample here.

  3. A practice partner

    Arrange a half-hour together. If alone today, set up the capture demonstration or try the first two puzzle sheets.

Start with a 9×9 board. In this 30-minute introduction, demonstrate one capture, then play first-capture Go: the first player to take an opposing stone wins. A capture does not end a full game of Go.

See how a capture works

Stones go on line intersections, not in squares. Black plays first on an empty board; players then alternate placing one stone on a vacant intersection. Stones stay where played unless captured. Same-colour stones touching along a line, horizontally or vertically, form a connected group. Diagonal contact does not join them.

A liberty is an empty intersection horizontally or vertically adjacent to a stone or its connected group. Count each empty point once, even if several stones in a group touch it. When a group has none, remove the whole group. The British Go Association’s diagrams show single-stone and connected-group captures.

Set up a demonstration position together; these placements are a teaching setup, not a record of alternating turns. Put one white stone near the centre and black stones directly above, below and left of it. Point to the empty intersection on its right: White’s last liberty. Place Black there and remove White. Then clear the board for the round.

Play until the first capture

Before each move, look for an opposing group with one liberty and ask where the new stone’s liberties will be. After placing a stone, check adjacent opposing groups first and remove any with no liberties. Then check the new stone’s connected group. A move that leaves your own group with no liberty after captures is illegal; choose another intersection. This order matters because a legal capture can open a liberty for the stone just played.

Stop as soon as someone captures an opposing stone. Point out the filled last liberty together. If no capture happens after about ten minutes, stop without a winner and review one group’s liberties. Swap colours for another round if you have time. The first two BGA puzzle sheets give more positions to discuss.

Before a full 9×9 game, use the rules guide to learn ko, passing, ending and scoring. Full-game scoring depends on the rules you choose; this first-capture exercise needs none.

Make a set and learn the rules

Beginner Sports Go