Play Go (Weiqi) Online in Kenya
9×9 Go with Chinese area scoring and 7.5 komi. Surround territory, capture groups. Free play or staked from KES 50.
- Game length: 20 min
- Difficulty: Advanced
- Entry: free or from KES 50
- Time control: 10 min + 10 s
How to play Go (Weiqi)
Surround more of the board than your opponent. Under area scoring you count your stones on the board plus the empty points they enclose.
Setup
- 9×9 board, empty at the start. Black plays first; who takes Black is drawn at random.
- White receives 7.5 points of komi to make up for moving second. The half point rules out draws.
Placing stones
- Players take turns placing one stone on an empty intersection. Stones never move.
- Stones of one colour that touch along the lines form a group. The empty points next to a group are its liberties.
Capturing
- A group with no liberties left is captured and removed from the board.
- Suicide is illegal: you may not play a stone that leaves your own group without liberties, unless it captures first.
- Ko (positional superko): you may not make a move that recreates any earlier board position.
Ending the game
- You may pass instead of playing. Two passes in a row end play.
- Both players then mark dead stones (groups that can't avoid capture) by tapping them, and accept the result.
- If you disagree about which stones are dead, resume play and settle it on the board. Scoring that stalls for 3 minutes returns to play.
Scoring
- Your score is your stones on the board plus the empty points surrounded only by your stones. Dead stones are removed first.
- White adds 7.5 komi. The higher score wins.
- 10 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; clocks are paused while marking dead stones. Running out of time loses the game.
Rule set: Chinese rules (area scoring) on a 9×9 board, komi 7.5.
Go (Weiqi) FAQ
How do I play Go (Weiqi) on Arena254?
Create a free account, open Go (Weiqi) from the Games page and challenge a player or accept an open challenge. Surround more of the board than your opponent. Under area scoring you count your stones on the board plus the empty points they enclose.
Can I play Go (Weiqi) for money in Kenya?
Yes. Staked Go (Weiqi) matches start at KES 50. Both players' entries go into a pot; the winner receives the pot less a service fee of 15% (Casual), 12% (Pro, KES 200+) or 10% (High Stakes, KES 1,000+), paid to your Arena254 wallet and withdrawable to M-Pesa. You can also play free.
Is Go (Weiqi) on Arena254 fair?
Every move is checked by our servers — the browser can't change the result — and matches are screened for cheating, including engine use, bots and collusion. Suspicious accounts are reviewed by a person and banned if they cheated.
How long does a game of Go (Weiqi) take?
About 20 min. Time control: 10 min + 10 s.
What rules does Arena254 use for Go (Weiqi)?
Chinese rules (area scoring) on a 9×9 board, komi 7.5. The full rules are on this page.