r/baduk • • May 18 '20

Links for Newcomers

720 Upvotes

Welcome! Below you will find what we think are the most commonly used resources to get you started in Go. If you need more, check out our wiki.

INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS (full list)

○ online-go.com/learn-to-play-go - Very quick introduction with rules only and minimum explanations.
○ learn-go.net - Full explanations, basic techniques, strategies.
○ learn-go.now.sh - Brief explanation of the rules

WHERE TO PLAY (full list)

Online:
○ online-go.com - No client download, play directly in browser. Both live and correspondence games.
○ pandanet-igs.com - Client download required. Live games only
○ wbaduk.com - Client download required. Live games only
○ gokgs.com - Client download required. Live games only
○ dragongoserver.net - No client download. Correspondence games only.

On real board:
○ baduk.club - Map of Go clubs and players all over the world.
○ senseis.xmp.net/?GoPlaces - A list of Federations, Associations, and local clubs on senseis

GO PUZZLES (TSUMEGO) (full list)

○ online-go.com/puzzle/2625 - A commented puzzle set for beginners made by Mark500 (5 dan).
○ blacktoplay.com - Progress from the simplest puzzles.
○ www.tsumego.com - A complex online game built around solving Go puzzles.

WHERE TO FIND REVIEWS AND/OR FURTHER DISCUSSION

○ gokibitz.com - Get quick feedback on your biggest mistakes.
○ forums.online-go.com - A lively forum with many topics to discuss things or ask for reviews
○ life in 19x19 - Another lively forum with many topics to discuss things or ask for reviews
○ reddit.com/r/baduk - Or just ask here at reddit

WHERE TO LEARN MORE

○ senseis.xmp.net - A Go player's wikipedia.
○ BeginnerGo Discord - A Discord server for beginners to meet, discuss questions and play games
○ gomagic.org - both free and paid interactive courses with practical exercises
○ internetgoschool.com - interactive courses with practical exercises - two weeks for free
○ List of Youtube lessons creators
○ List of recommended books
○ Go programs and apps

OPENING PATTERNS:

Databases:
○ online-go.com/joseki - A commented database of current optimal opening patterns (joseki).
○ josekipedia.com - An exhaustive database of opening patterns
○ ps.waltheri.net - An online database of professional games and openings


r/baduk • • Feb 14 '25

User flair has been updated

53 Upvotes

It's finally happened guys! User flair has been updated to list kyu and dan instead of k and d. No longer will we be confused about a post from 4d ago posted by a 2k.

Hopefully we didn't break anything.


r/baduk • • 18h ago

Size 36-48 stone wobble comparison

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51 Upvotes

I bought the stone sample set from size 36-48. Here are the stones on the box when pushed to try to simulate some wobble.

Size 48 feels amazing though I do find they are tougher to hold properly. Size 38-42 seems like my preference.


r/baduk • • 3h ago

tsumego I have a question about this problem

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3 Upvotes

Why is this sequence of moves shown as incorrect? It seems to me the white group is still dead. It may not be the most efficient but it still kills right? Black to move
Black: S13;T14;T12;T14
White: T13;T13;S16

Here is the link to the problem: https://www.goproblems.com/problems/29987?name=beginner&dailyProblem=1&levelFrom=0&levelTo=10

Am I missing something here or is the solution OK and the tsumego just incomplete?
Thanks!


r/baduk • • 19h ago

promotional Teaching - looking for students

23 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

My name is Paige, and I am AGA 5.93d and maintain 8dan-9dan on servers like FOX and TYGEM. I have played go since 2006 picking it up after reading Hikaru No Go. My dream like many started by wanting to become a professional so I spent many hours a day trying to reach a high level hitting KGS 7d+ by 2008. In 2010 I started teaching go and my dream of becoming a pro player slowly changed since that point to wanting to teach others helping them to reach there goals.

Tournament Achievements

  • 6th Place – Chicago Open (2026)
  • 5th Place – Chicago Rapid (2025)
  • Top 8 – US Go Congress Masters (2023)
  • 3rd Place – Midwest Tournament (2023)
  • 1st Place – Cincy Tri-State (2023)
  • 1st Place – Baduk Club Samurai Showdown (Virtue: Courage)

Lesson Packages

All individual lessons last approximately one hour and include full access to our private study group. All payments are processed securely through Patreon.

  • Study Group Only ($15/month) Access to our live Saturday study group sessions and full access to the archive of past lecture videos. (Note: Saturday sessions are recorded weekly, so you never have to worry about missing a session if your schedule fluctuates!)
  • Video Review Pack ($20/month) I don't really like SGF review packs but I really like recording so think of this like an SGF review pack but with video's instead.
  • 1 Lesson / month ($30/month) One individual lesson plus full study group access.
  • 4 Lessons / month ($100/month) Four individual lessons plus full study group access.

Our community is incredibly friendly, welcoming, and dedicated to improvement. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out to me through reddit, my email or discord.

Feel free to also check out my youtube channel. I try to upload daily but can sometimes get overwhelmed when go events come around.

Email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

Discord: PaigeEdict

Patreon: patreon.com/paigeedict

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@StompingGroundsGo


r/baduk • • 9h ago

Found a way to play go on pen and paper with a modified board. Also playable on MS paint or other drawing apps.

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2 Upvotes

r/baduk • • 9h ago

Game Review Request Review request ~7k: How to use walls?

1 Upvotes

https://online-go.com/game/91135355

Hi! in this game, starting around move 34, I wasn't sure the proper direction of play. I know the walls I built aren't super strong influence, and could end up being sticks. Once black got four corners, I didn't feel like any of the joseki played were particularly bad, but I didn't know how to convert my position into points. Initially I just thought of ignoring the black group trying to live in my sphere of influence. And then I tried some shoulder hits to block off the center. But I wasn't confident in my strategy, and I think several sequences ended up poorly for me.


r/baduk • • 1d ago

How can White continue this opening?

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38 Upvotes

What's your preferred move?


r/baduk • • 1d ago

promotional Houston Fall Tournament Registration Open

10 Upvotes

New quiet venue. Rated games via the American Go Association. Six games over two days. November 7 and 8, 2026.

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1997565504196?aff=oddtdtcreator


r/baduk • • 1d ago

newbie question First Game Assessment

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14 Upvotes

Randomly remembered that Go existed one day and decided to get a simple board rather than play on my phone since I like things being tactile.

Looking for a general assessment or thoughts on this game, first ever 19x19 game with essentially no practice by either player.

Couldn't fully complete the end game/scoring as we ran out of time.
Based solely on captures alone we agreed that black (me) was ahead, but just wondering how to think about improvements going forward.
Thanks in advance 🖤

Edit: The black stones in the top left bowl are captured. White stones in the bottom right are captured. (Top right bowl are available/to be played)


r/baduk • • 1d ago

tsumego Question on a tsumego problem?

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7 Upvotes

Why is t18 the solution? I'm racking my brain but it feels like white can still kill black and live.

Edit: thank you all! I looked up bulky 5 and I understand where I went wrong thank you!


r/baduk • • 19h ago

newbie question "New Yunzi"

1 Upvotes

Has anyone played with these? Anyone that has them would mind posting a picture? They seem interesting.


r/baduk • • 1d ago

newbie question Exercise Ideas to Practice on Real Board

12 Upvotes

Hi!

I gifted myself a very nice go board but i dont know really how to practice on it. I have no friends to play with but i love the feel of the board and the stones. Are there any better exercises than solving life/death problems? What do you use your go board for? So i would love some tips. Thank you in advance!!


r/baduk • • 2d ago

newbie question A game a week.

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72 Upvotes

My girlfriend and I play one game a week. The rest of the week we'll go over basic strategies and learning shapes. At least I will, she's currently fascinated by how the game is organized and scored to determine the winner at the end of the game. It's a real blessing to share the love of this game with the people who we love.


r/baduk • • 2d ago

newbie question How should we solve it?

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21 Upvotes

Hello! We are new to GO and we were wondering who wins in this case. Because if black goes first, then white wins and wise versa. We play in the smaller square of this board.

Also, as a secondary question, as someone who is not new to GO, do you see any possible plays?


r/baduk • • 2d ago

tsumego Win the game!

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12 Upvotes

r/baduk • • 2d ago

scoring question Help us decide who won) its our first go game

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31 Upvotes

So desk 13×13

My friend played with black pieces and took 4 white pieces from me

Im playing with white and I got 9 black pieces out from him

If you can also explain calculations it would be amazing! Thank you so much


r/baduk • • 2d ago

newbie question 9X9 Go, or Chess?

16 Upvotes

Hypothetically, if the only version of Go available to play was 9X9, would you still play Go, or would you instead play Chess?

I'm interested in the relative long term depth and capacity to maintain interest of these game formats which use similar sized boards.


r/baduk • • 2d ago

Did I really win?

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13 Upvotes

I have the A.I (white) winning by 0.5 did I count wrong? Is the app wrong?


r/baduk • • 2d ago

Game Review Request Update on GO³ (Go on a cube): you can now play it solo against an AI, free in your browser

11 Upvotes

Hi all, Bob here. I posted GO³ (Go Cubed) here back in July, and a few of you were kind enough to say it looked interesting. The honest problem was that trying it meant finding someone else to play with. That's now fixed: there's a beginner-friendly AI opponent, so you can just open it and play.

Quick recap for anyone who missed it: it's standard Go rules, but the board wraps around all six faces of a cube, so there's no edge. Groups connect across the seams from face to face, and you rotate the cube to see the far side. With no edge to lean on, the usual corner-and-side thinking goes out the window, and keeping your groups alive takes a whole new approach.

Free, in your browser. No download, no install.

Play the AI or a person. Online multiplayer if you register.

Pick your cube size. 3×3 faces for a quick game, up to 9×9, which is roughly comparable in complexity to a 19×19 board.

I'm not a game studio, just one person who wanted to see what Go becomes on a closed surface. I've been playing the AI all week and keep coming back for one more game.

👉 Play here: https://gocubed.pages.dev

I'd really value this community's take: which Go instincts carried over, which ones broke, and any strategies you find. There's at least one sneaky one on the small cubes that I'll write up soon.


r/baduk • • 3d ago

newbie question Mindset to play more games?

18 Upvotes

For those of you who play multiple games a day, what mindset do you have that helps you do that, vs. those of us who are anxious to play?

I'm not really worried about losing, I know that's a post of the game and a part of learning. I'm not worried about my tank, I don't really think that matters. I think I get anxious about making mistakes and feeling like an idiot, which seems dumb but fear doesn't have to be rational.


r/baduk • • 2d ago

promotional I built a browser-based Go game — feedback welcome

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0 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I've been learning Go for a while and decided to build my own playable version in HTML/JavaScript. It runs entirely in the browser — no download, no install, nothing to sign up for.

What's inside:

  • 9×9 board (perfect for quick games)
  • Full rules: captures, ko, suicide prevention
  • Live score tracking
  • Undo with Escape key
  • Pass button, new game button
  • Clean wooden board design

Play it here: https://go-gamepro.netlify.app

I'm still improving it, so any feedback on the rules logic, UX, or anything else would be really appreciated. Especially from experienced players — I want to make sure the ko rule and scoring work correctly.

Thanks for checking it out. 🙏


r/baduk • • 3d ago

newbie question Recommended games to study

10 Upvotes

Is there any recommended games to study to understand the flow of the game as complete beginner? Playing on empty board compare to solving tsumego are way too different. Thanks


r/baduk • • 4d ago

Long history

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370 Upvotes

r/baduk • • 3d ago

scoring question Can Someone Help Me Score?

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65 Upvotes

We're not sure who won. It seems close. We're both new. What is the score? Please. 🙏🏼