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3 <!-- Mirrored from users.eniinternet.com/bradleym/InternetGo.html by HTTrack Website Copier/3.x [XR&CO'2014], Sun, 06 Nov 2022 06:49:09 GMT -->
4 <head>
5 <title></title>
6 </head>
7 <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">
8
9 <p><hr>
10
11 <br wp="br1"><br wp="br2"><font color="#0066ff">
12 <p><strong>HOW TO PLAY GO ON THE INTERNET</strong></font>
13
14 <p>&copy; 2006 Milton N. Bradley
15
16 <br wp="br1"><br wp="br2">
17 <p align="center"><strong>NEVER HAVE TROUBLE FINDING AN OPPONENT! </strong>
18
19 <br wp="br1"><br wp="br2">
20 <p align="center"><strong><font size="+3">PLAY GO ON THE INTERNET</font></strong>
21
22 <p align="center"><strong><font size="+1">24 HRS/DAY</strong></font>
23
24 <p align="center"><strong><font size="+1">EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR</strong></font>
25
26 <br wp="br1"><br wp="br2">
27 <p><strong>WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY GO ON THE INTERNET</strong>
28
29 <br wp="br1"><br wp="br2">
30 <p>Technology continues to advance at a furious pace! In addition to the "dial up" telephone/modem
31 based system described below that was the only thing widely available only a year or two ago,
32 there are now vastly faster alternatives. Among these are cable modems and DSL (Digital
33 Subscriber Line), and by the time that you read this who knows what else? But these newer
34 alternatives are typically much more expensive than the dial up modem based system and some
35 have the security disadvantage of being perpetually connected to the internet where "hackers"
36 can then have the opportunity to penetrate and compromise your computer! In addition, higher
37 line speed has almost no payoff in playing or watching Go because the players' thinking time is
38 orders of magnitude greater!
39
40 <p>The well established dial-up system now in wide use consists of the following elements:
41
42 <p><p><OL >
43
44 <p><strong><p><li>COMPUTER, MONITOR, VIDEO CARD, SOUND CARD, AND MODEM.</strong>
45
46 <p>Almost every new computer sold today already comes adequately equipped, and you already
47 have them all if you're reading this! Better video cards, sound cards and bigger monitors with
48 higher resolution will increase your playing pleasure, but faster CPU's and modems offer no
49 advantage in playing Go on line!
50
51 <p><strong><p><li>TELEPHONE LINE</strong>
52
53 <p>Your regular telephone line will work fine but will be unavailable for calls while you're on the
54 internet, so obtaining a dedicated line is best if you can afford it!
55
56 <p>CAUTION: If you use your normal home phone line to play Go, you MUST disable such add-on
57 functions as Call Waiting while you are playing on-line, or they may mess up your internet
58 access!
59
60 <p>Since the average internet Go game takes about 60-90 minutes, playing Go on line using ordinary
61 telephone company protocols can become expensive, especially if your ISP access number (see
62 below) is not in your local dialing area. The solution is to obtain "unlimited local" and even
63 "unlimited regional" telephone service. With these you pay the same flat fee no matter where
64 your ISP is located or how long you stay on line!!
65
66 <p><strong><p><li>"INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER" (ISP)</strong>
67
68 <p>Although you also already have an ISP if you're reading this, it is important to realize that many
69 services charge by the hour for internet access, and this can become VERY EXPENSIVE if
70 you're playing Go. Far cheaper is to contract with a local or national ISP for an UNLIMITED
71 INTERNET ACCESS ACCOUNT, preferably PPP or faster ("shell" accounts are <u>not</u> adequate).
72 On Long Island such service typically can be obtained for under $20/month, and some ISP's
73 charge as little as $15/mo on a yearly basis and about $10/mo for 3 years paid in advance! So
74 shop around for the best deal!
75
76 <p><strong><p><li>THE GO SERVERS</strong>
77
78 <p>On any of the several Internet Go Servers listed below you can:
79
80 <p><p><UL><li> <strong>Watch the games of strong players.</strong> (Some special events are available only on
81 IGS.)
82
83 <p><p><li> <strong>See comments on those games by other players, ask questions, and/or make your
84 own comments (= kibitz).</strong>
85
86 <p><p><li> <strong>Play your own games.</strong> On the sites accessed via"client" software (described below)
87 these games can be saved for your own replay later and/or used to participate in the free Go
88 Teaching Ladder (GTL),in which a much stronger player critiques your play. Using GTL you can
89 also review the analyses of the games of stronger players.
90
91 <p><p><li> <strong>Participate in the free Go Mentor Program</strong>, in which you play a teaching game with
92 a much stronger player who then critiques your play.
93
94 <p><p><li> <strong>Make Go friends all over the world. </UL></strong>
95
96 <p><strong><p><OL type=A><li> BROWSER ACCESSED GO SERVERS</strong>
97
98 <p>Until recently, the only way to play Go on the internet was via dedicated Go servers, using
99 special software called "clients"(described below), but that has changed! It is now possible to
100 play and watch Go on the internet directly through your browser (mainly The Microsoft Internet
101 Explorer and Netscape Navigator), if it has Java capability.
102
103 <p>Getting started is much simpler in this mode, since all that you need do is to access the site
104 through your browser, register (in most cases, "cookies" must be enabled to do this!), and then
105 follow the on line instructions they provide for playing and watching
106
107 <p>The major problem with all of these browser accessed sites is that there is no rating system, so
108 you never really know the strength of your opponent or the players you are observing! And in
109 some cases, as with Yahoo, the display only provides for a small board, which even on my quite
110 large 19" screen is still only a mere 5"x 5", and must be much smaller on the 15" or 17" screen
111 that most have. Once you have gotten used to the 8" x 8" display provided by the "client"
112 software, it's hard to go back! And the move sound provided by these servers is also not nearly
113 as realistic or audible.
114
115 <p>There are also a number of other "goodies" available on the client accessed sites we discuss next
116 that a serious Go player will miss on these browser accessed sites, but for the beginner who just
117 wishes to experiment with Go the ease of getting started on the browser sites more than makes up
118 for this.
119
120 <p><strong>The major browser based Go sites are:</strong>
121
122 <p><strong><UL><p> KGS =&gt; <a href="http://kgs.kiseido.com/">http:kgs.kiseido.com</a></strong>
123
124 <p><strong><p> Yahoo =&gt;<a href="http://games.yahoo.com/">http://games.yahoo.com</a></strong>
125
126 <p><strong><p> Internet Gaming Zone =&gt; <a href="http://zone.msn.com/go/">http://zone.msn.com/go/</a></strong>
127
128 <p><strong><p> IYT =&gt; <a href="http://www.itsyourturn.com/">http://www.itsyourturn.com/</a> </UL></strong>
129
130 <p>Its Your Turn (IYT) differs from the others because it's a "turn-based" game site. What this
131 means is that you make one move and the system then automatically e-mails your opponent
132 letting them know it's their turn to play. So IYT is really a correspondence (rather than real time)
133 site, and this means that games can take weeks or months to play. The result is that IYT is really
134 suitable only for those whose time for Go is severely limited.
135
136 <p>The IYT Go Guild maintains a list of Go players on IYT and their relative strengths, to help find
137 opponents against whom you can play properly handicapped games. It also runs Go
138 tournaments.
139
140 <p><strong><p><li> "CLIENT" ACCESSED GO SERVERS</strong>
141
142 <p>Getting started in this mode is much more complicated than simply using your browser, because
143 you must first download and install a "client" software program, but the advantages of having a
144 much better display, a rating system, clocks, ability to save games for later review, and especially
145 being able to observe the world's strongest players in action much more than makes up for any
146 extra initial effort! For anyone who is at all serious about Go, this is the only way!
147
148 <p><strong>The major client based Go sites are:</strong>
149
150 <p><strong><UL><p> The Internet Go Server (IGS) </strong> is not only the oldest server but also by far the
151 largest with over 30,000 registered players, and at any time typically has about 250-400 games in
152 play! It attracts the strongest players in the world including a number of 9-Dan professionals,
153 some of whom play anonymously. Although formerly based in Korea and now based in Japan,
154 the default language on IGS is English, which is used with rather surprising fluency by players
155 from all over the world. The ratings on IGS were long the toughest in the world, but have recently seen that
156 position supplanted by some of the Chinese and Korean servers.
157
158 <p><strong> <p> The No Name Go Server (NNGS) </strong> is much smaller than IGS and supposedly has a more
159 friendly, less competitive atmosphere which some prefer. Its ratings are reported to be about 2
160 stones less rigorous than those of IGS.
161
162 <p><strong><p> The other Go servers</strong> are mainly ethnic (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) or national (Canadian,
163 English, Polish, etc.), and at one time attracted few players outside their own groups. But KGS in
164 particular has become rather popular recently, especially as a result of sponsoring some unique
165 events. Its realignment of ratings at the end of 2005 has resulted in a downgrade of its ratings by a full 5 stones,
166 with the result that its ratings are now that same 5 stones stronger than those of the AGA! So, once again, it has
167 become necessary to be careful to ascertain where a new player you encounter has established the rating he quotes, because
168 otherwise the results could be embarrassing! Despite this, IGS is still the place where most of the major championship events which appear on
169 the internet are available, so it still remains #1. </UL>
170
171 <p><strong><p><li> PREPARING TO USE A "CLIENT" BASED GO SERVER.</strong>
172
173 <p><strong><p><OL type=1><li> Obtaining and installing a "client"</strong> (= A "shareware" program that
174 enables you to dial up the Go servers and play Go using beautiful representations of the Go board
175 and stones.) To obtain a client:
176
177 <p><strong> <OL type=a><p><li> Type ftp://ftp.nuri.net/Go &lt;ENTER&gt;</strong>
178
179 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "README" to read the README file!</strong>
180
181 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "igs clients/"</strong>
182
183 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on the icon for your computer system (Win98, Mac, etc.).</strong>
184
185 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "select client".</strong>
186
187 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on the client you desire to download. </strong>
188
189 <p><strong> <p><li> Download and install the selected client on your computer. </strong>
190
191 <p><strong> <OL type=1><p><li> Create a master folder (mine is called "Go") and an appropriately
192 named sub-folder for each client in an appropriate directory in your computer. </strong>
193
194 <p><strong> <p><li> Find the downloaded client program (usually automatically entered into your
195 "Program Files" folder in a Windows system).</strong>
196
197 <p><strong> <p><li> Decompress the download and install it into its sub-folder in the Go folder.</strong>
198
199 <p><strong> <p><li> Find the .exe file in that sub-folder and right click on it to create a shortcut
200 icon, then place that icon onto your desktop for easy routine access.</strong>
201
202 <p>Because these "clients" are shareware they are nominally FREE, but they usually contain
203 periodic annoying "pop up" registration reminder messages which can only be disabled by
204 registering each with its respective author and paying his nominal registration fee (usually about
205 $25-$30). This is not only advisable but more than fair, since a great deal of time and
206 sophisticated programming effort was expended to create these programs. So once you've
207 decided that you like a particular client and intend to keep using it, register it ASAP.
208
209 <p>An important advantage of using a client is its ability to save games in Smart Go Format (sgf),
210 for later replay, editing, analysis and print out. If you use WinIGC as your client (as I do) this
211 replay function is performed by a dedicated program called WinMGT, which is downloaded in
212 exactly the same way from the same site! And all games saved in WinIGC are automatically and
213 instantly available to WinMGT if both sub-folders have been placed in the Go folder.
214 </OL></OL>
215
216 <p><strong><p><li> USING A CLIENT TO ACCESS A GO SERVER</strong>
217
218 <p>These instructions are for the client WinIGC 1.00. To the extent that other clients differ from this
219 you may have to experiment a bit or use your client's "help" file to figure out exactly what to do.
220
221 <p><strong> <OL type=A><p><li> Initial Access </strong>
222
223 <p><strong> <OL type=1><p><li> Set up your client.</strong>
224
225 <p><strong> <Ol type=a><p><li> Start the client by double clicking on its desktop shortcut icon.</strong>
226 (You do NOT have tostart or use your web browser to do this!)<strong></strong>
227
228 <p><strong> <p><li> Maximize the Terminal Window and click on "Connect" on the tool bar at its
229 top</strong>.
230
231 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "Connect to a Server" </strong>to bring up the address book.
232
233 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "Add" in the pop up dialogue box.</strong>
234
235 <p><strong> <p><li> Enter the telnet addresses (and alternates, where available) for all the Go
236 Servers to which you desire to connect. (See list below.) </strong>The numeric form of the address is
237 preferred because it gives faster access.
238
239 <p>In all cases access can <u>only</u> be obtained if the specified port # has been entered as shown below,
240 and these addresses need be entered only once.<strong></strong>
241
242 <p>You will not yet have the data to enter into the first two fields "Login Name" and "Password",
243 because you can obtain that information <u>only</u> after you have contacted the servers and registered
244 with them! So for the moment simply leave those two fields blank!
245
246 <p><strong>The major Go server addresses are:</strong>
247
248 <p><strong> <UL><p><li> IGS = igs.joyjoy.net 6969 , or</strong>
249
250 <p><strong> = 210.146.253.13 6969 (Alternate Port # = 7777), or</strong>
251
252 <p><strong> = 210.146.353.10 6969 (Alternate Port # = 7777)</strong>
253
254 <p><strong> <p><li> NNGS = nngs.cosmic.org 9696, or</strong>
255
256 <p><strong> = 198.36.217.71 9696 </strong>
257
258 <p><strong> <p><li> LGS = lgs.hinet.net 9696</strong>
259
260 <p><strong> = 210.65.1.245 9696</strong>
261
262 <p><strong> <p><li> CTN = weiqi.online.sh.cn 8888</strong>
263
264 <p><strong> = 202.96.217.81 8888</strong>
265
266 <p><strong> <p><li> WING = wing.gr.jp 1515</strong>
267
268 <p><strong> <p><li> CWS = cws.weiqi.net 9696</strong>
269
270 <p><strong> = 202.98.15.15 9696 </UL></strong>
271
272 <p><strong> <p><li> Left click to highlight the desired server address.</strong>
273
274 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "Connect!" in the right side tool bar to connect to that Go server.</strong> If
275 you haven't already connected to your ISP, this will first do that automatically.
276
277 <p><strong> <p><li> Log in as "guest".</strong>
278
279 <p> WinIGC automatically enters "guest" when you connect to IGS for the first time. With
280 another client or for a different server you may have to enter "guest" yourself. (No
281 password is necessary for guests.)
282
283 <p><strong> <p><li> Register.</strong>
284
285 <p> Each time you contact a server as a guest you will be prompted to register as a permanent
286 member of their Go community by simply following the instructions they provide. Since
287 all servers are free outside of Japan (and only IGS charges there) and registration is
288 necessary if you desire to obtain a rating and use all of the server's facilities, there's no
289 reason not to do so!
290
291 <p><strong> <OL type=1><p><li> Select a user name.</strong> (If the name you select is already assigned,
292 you will be prompted to choose another. For example, my main IGS account name is
293 "philonist".)
294
295 <p><strong> <p><li> You will be logged in and your assigned password will be emailed to you
296 within a few hours. </strong>
297
298 <p><strong> <p><li> When you receive that email, enter your user name and password into the
299 appropriate fields to complete your client's "connect" address book.</strong>
300
301 <p> If you neglect to do this, you will have to manually reenter both of these items every
302 time you log on! </OL></OL></OL>
303
304 <p><strong> <p><li> Routine access.</strong>
305
306 <p><strong> Once your server address book is completed, just:</strong>
307
308 <p><strong> <OL type=1><p><li> Double Click on your client's desktop shortcut to start it.</strong>
309
310 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "connect" in the terminal window.</strong>
311
312 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on "Connect to a server".</strong>
313
314 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on the desired server's address in the pop up box to highlight it.</strong>
315
316 <p><strong> <p><li> Click on the "Connect!" button! </OL></strong>
317
318 <p><strong> WinIGC then does the dial up, connect and sign-in automatically!</strong>
319
320 <p><strong><p><li> HOW TO PLAY GO ON THE CLIENT BASED GO SERVERS</strong>
321
322 <p><strong> <OL type=1><p><li> Download the server's commands</strong>.
323
324 <p> <Ol type=a><p><li> <strong>Type "help commands" &lt;Enter&gt; to see the list.</strong>
325
326 <p> <p><li> <strong>For each command of interest, use the "mail me" command to have its
327 description emailed to you.</strong>
328
329 <p> <p><li> <strong>Download the email attachment, print it, and put it in a loose leaf binder next
330 to your computer for quick, easy reference as needed.</strong> </OL>
331
332 <p><strong> <p><li> Use the appropriate commands to watch others play, kibitz, converse, and to
333 arrange and play your own games.</strong>
334
335 <p><strong> <p><li> Playing your own games.</strong>
336
337 <p><strong> <OL type=a><p><li> Before playing your first game, it is advisable to declare a RANK</strong>,
338 if you know your approximate playing strength. CAUTION! On IGS most ratings are at least
339 several stones stronger than those of the AGA! (Until recently I had believed that the difference was 2 stones,
340 but on Jan 26, 2006 I discovered that a well established AGA 2 Dan and 3 Dan were each 2k* on IGS, which implies,
341 at least at that level, that the difference is actually as much as 4 or 5 stones!)
342
343 <p> This same sort of ranking disparity exists across national,regional and internet Go server ranks, and has been
344 (approximately) cataloged at the following web site:
345
346 <strong><a href="http://senseis.xmp.net/?RankWorldwideComparison">//senseis.xmp.net/?RankWorldwideComparison</a></strong>
347
348 <p>But please note that this table shows only a 2 stone disparity between AGA and IGS ratings, as opposed to the approximately
349 4 stones my example cited above implies, so these figures should be applied with caution!
350
351 <p><strong> <p><li> If you have no idea of your approximate RANK, you can play as a non-rated
352 (NR) player</strong>, but if you do so there will be 2 penalties:
353
354 <p> <OL type=1><p><li> Most rated players will NOT play with you.
355
356 <p> <p><li> None of your games will count toward obtaining a RATING.
357
358 <p> So, sooner or later, you will <u>have</u> to declare a RANK if you wish to become a full fledged
359 rated member of the on-line Go community! </OL>
360
361 <p><strong> <p><li> After you've played 20 rated games, you will acquire a RATING </strong>(designated by
362 an <strong>*</strong>), which is a relatively true measure of your playing strength and which will become ever
363 more accurate as the number of your rated games increases. If you've chosen your initial
364 RANK well, your initial RATING should be within a stone or two of that level.
365
366 <p><strong> <p><li> To find a suitable opponent, use the "who" command</strong> to find players at the
367 RATING of interest who are currently logged on and not already playing or marked as
368 unavailable. Or you can "shout" your desire for a match to all logged-on players.
369
370 <p><strong> <p><li> The basic way to arrange a game is via the "match" command</strong>, which has a
371 specific syntax that you must learn and obey. Most games are played "even" (without handicap
372 except for Komi), but handicap games are also possible.
373
374 <p><strong> <p><li> All games are played with time constraints</strong>, which must be chosen with care
375 consistent with your ability to think accurately. <u>Most players on IGS prefer fast games</u> and
376 beginners may find this difficult, although it does have the very real advantage that you get a lot
377 of experience quickly!
378
379 <p><strong> Time constraints consist of two parts:</strong>
380
381 <p><strong> <OL type=1><p><li> "Standard time".</strong> One minute is usual, and anything above 10
382 minutes is considered slow. After this is used up, you automatically go into Byo Yomi (=
383 overtime).
384
385 <p><strong> <p><li> Byo Yomi.</strong> Less than 5 minutes is fast, more than 10 is considered slow. <strong>In Byo
386 Yomi the player must play 25 stones in the allotted time or lose the game "on time"</strong>. If
387 those stones are successfully played the player repeats the Byo Yomi period with a new 25
388 stones. Unused time is not carried over. </OL>
389
390 <p><strong> <p><li> Games are won or lost via resignation, overstepping the time constraint, or by
391 final count.</strong>
392
393 <p align="center"><strong>HAVE FUN!!!</strong>
394 <a href="Magic.html"></font>
395 <p><font color="#0033ff"><strong>Continue</strong></font><font color="#0000ff"></a></font>
396 <font color="#0000ff">
397 <p><font color="#0000ff">Click Here To Return To<a href="index.html"></font><font color="#0033ff"><strong> Milt's Go Page</strong></font></a>
398
399 <p><hr>
400
401 </body>
402
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