times four more stones are given, and when given they are placed on the diagonal halfway between the corner "Seimoku" and the center. These four stones are called "Naka yotsu," or "the four middle stones," but such a handicap could only be given to the merest novice.
We have now completed a survey of all the actual rules of the game, and it may be well to summarize them in order that their real simplicity may be clearly seen; briefly, they are as follows:
- The object of the game is to obtain vacant territory.
- The stones are placed on the intersections and on any vacant intersection the player chooses (except in the case of "Ko"). After they are played they are not moved again.
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- One or move stone which are compactly surrounded by the stones of the other side are to be taken are are at once removed from the board.
- Stones which, while not actually surrounded can inevitably surounded, are dead, and can be taken from the board at the end of the game without further play.
- Taken or dead stone are used to fill up the adversary's territory.
- The game is at an end when the opposing groups of stone are in absolute contact (the case of "Seki" being the single exception).
It is not possible to imagine a game with simpler rules, or the elements of which are easier to acquire.
We will now turn our attention to few considerations as the the best methods of play, and of certain moves and formations which occur in every game, and also to the manes which in Japanese are used to designate these things.
