Komidashi
Encyclopedia
in the game of Go
are points added to the score of the player with the white stones as compensation for playing second. Black's first move advantage
is generally considered to equal somewhere between 5 and 7 points by the end of the game. Standard komi is 6.5 points under the Japanese and Korean rules; under Chinese, Ing and AGA rules standard komi is 7.5 points. Komi typically applies only to games where both players are evenly ranked. In the case of a one-rank difference, the stronger player will typically play with the white stones and players often agree on a simple .5 point komi to break a tie ("jigo") in favor of white.
is the more complete Japanese language
term. Komi is known as Deom (덤) in Korean.
such as 6.5 points. This is convenient and the prevailing usage for tournaments, since it rules out a tied game (jigo in Japanese) and rematches. In a club or friendly game this is not a problem, so a value such as 6 points is just as practical. Within a Swiss system draw, tied games are not inconvenient and tiebreakers are used.
Some argue there is nothing wrong in having a tie. Forbidding a draw may misrepresent one player as superior when there is no clear difference in skill. There is however a hidden parity question which means that a draw may be unlikely. Lately, the Ing Cup
has been using an 8 point komi rule in their tournament, but with the rule that if the scores are equal after komi then Black wins, so this is equivalent to 7.5 points.
The compensation (komi) system was introduced into professional go in Japan
as a gradual process of innovation, beginning in the 1930s. The correct value of komi has been re-evaluated over the years, as professional opening strategy
has evolved.
At first, komi started as low as 2.5 points or 3 points. It was later increased to 4.5, and then 5.5 points. A komi of 5.5 points was used for a long time, but research found that 5.5 points was insufficient to compensate for White's disadvantage. Statistical analyses of the year's games would sometimes appear in the Igo Nenkan (Kido Yearbook), backing up the intuition of many top players. The use of databases confirmed figures such as 53% victories for Black, not just at the highest level.
Komi was then raised to 6.5. Some events use as high as 7.5 points. Under the Chinese method of counting, the difference between 5.5 and 6.5 point is of minimal effect. Chinese sources usually in fact quote figures that are halved, such as 2.75 for 5.5, at least for Chinese domestic competitions, as one stone (the scoring increment typically used in China) is equivalent to two points.
Handicap games are almost universally played with a komi of 0.5 points. The advantage of playing one or more black stones (the number usually calculated as the difference in player's rank) before the white player's first move constitutes the remainder of the handicap, with the 0.5 komi determining white as winner in games that would otherwise be a draw.
John Fairbairn
, a Go historian, has written on the History of Komi.
The introduction and then increase of komi has led to ever more ambitious or aggressive strategies for Black, the first player. In the days before komi, White as second player had to disrupt the smooth working of Black's classical strategies, described sometimes as aiming for a sure win by 3 points. From the introduction of komi in most pro events, around 1950, Black's older methods had to be reconsidered, since White suddenly needed appreciably less (in pro terms) in secure area. The 3-3 point became an interesting play for White, where previously it appeared experimental, and was developed in particular by Go Seigen
and Sakata Eio.
In the following decades a mixture of classical and shinfuseki
techniques became normal. The most obvious effect was the replacement of the 4-3 point by the 4-4 point as the most common way to first occupy a corner.
) to make up for first-player (Black) advantage.
Examples of auction komi systems:
Go (board game)
Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...
are points added to the score of the player with the white stones as compensation for playing second. Black's first move advantage
First move advantage
First move advantage may refer to* First-move advantage in chess* Komidashi - compensation for first move advantage in Go * First-mover advantage - strategy in marketing...
is generally considered to equal somewhere between 5 and 7 points by the end of the game. Standard komi is 6.5 points under the Japanese and Korean rules; under Chinese, Ing and AGA rules standard komi is 7.5 points. Komi typically applies only to games where both players are evenly ranked. In the case of a one-rank difference, the stronger player will typically play with the white stones and players often agree on a simple .5 point komi to break a tie ("jigo") in favor of white.
is the more complete Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
term. Komi is known as Deom (덤) in Korean.
Whole number and halves
Conventional komi in most competitions is a half-integerHalf-integer
In mathematics, a half-integer is a number of the formn + 1/2,where n is an integer. For example,are all half-integers. Note that a half of an integer is not always a half-integer: half of an even integer is an integer but not a half-integer...
such as 6.5 points. This is convenient and the prevailing usage for tournaments, since it rules out a tied game (jigo in Japanese) and rematches. In a club or friendly game this is not a problem, so a value such as 6 points is just as practical. Within a Swiss system draw, tied games are not inconvenient and tiebreakers are used.
Some argue there is nothing wrong in having a tie. Forbidding a draw may misrepresent one player as superior when there is no clear difference in skill. There is however a hidden parity question which means that a draw may be unlikely. Lately, the Ing Cup
Ing Cup
-Outline:The Ing Cup is sponsored by Ing, Yomiuri Shimbun, the Nihon-Kiin, and Kansai-Kiin, and held every 4 years. The competition has its own rules and an 8 point komi. The time allotment is 3.5 hours for each player, while players are available to buy an extra 35 minutes for an additional 2...
has been using an 8 point komi rule in their tournament, but with the rule that if the scores are equal after komi then Black wins, so this is equivalent to 7.5 points.
History
White is at a disadvantage because Black gets to move first, giving that player sente. Records show that the winning percentage of Black is higher. The importance of playing first was however not dealt with by rule, until the 1930s, and then only tentatively.The compensation (komi) system was introduced into professional go in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as a gradual process of innovation, beginning in the 1930s. The correct value of komi has been re-evaluated over the years, as professional opening strategy
Go opening theory
In the game of Go, the term opening theory refers to concepts which underlie where, why, in what order, and in what shapes the first several moves are played...
has evolved.
At first, komi started as low as 2.5 points or 3 points. It was later increased to 4.5, and then 5.5 points. A komi of 5.5 points was used for a long time, but research found that 5.5 points was insufficient to compensate for White's disadvantage. Statistical analyses of the year's games would sometimes appear in the Igo Nenkan (Kido Yearbook), backing up the intuition of many top players. The use of databases confirmed figures such as 53% victories for Black, not just at the highest level.
Komi was then raised to 6.5. Some events use as high as 7.5 points. Under the Chinese method of counting, the difference between 5.5 and 6.5 point is of minimal effect. Chinese sources usually in fact quote figures that are halved, such as 2.75 for 5.5, at least for Chinese domestic competitions, as one stone (the scoring increment typically used in China) is equivalent to two points.
Handicap games are almost universally played with a komi of 0.5 points. The advantage of playing one or more black stones (the number usually calculated as the difference in player's rank) before the white player's first move constitutes the remainder of the handicap, with the 0.5 komi determining white as winner in games that would otherwise be a draw.
John Fairbairn
John Fairbairn
John T Fairbairn, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, lives in London where he works as a political journalist, author and translator. His hobby is board games, particularly Go and Shogi. As a specialist in Oriental Languages, he has translated and written many books about these games...
, a Go historian, has written on the History of Komi.
Effects on strategy
Since very minor mistakes can cost one point, discussion of the 'true' value for komi makes little sense, except at the level of the top-ranked players in the world. These are (in most cases) also the opening-theory experts, and evaluate opening strategies in practical play against their peers.The introduction and then increase of komi has led to ever more ambitious or aggressive strategies for Black, the first player. In the days before komi, White as second player had to disrupt the smooth working of Black's classical strategies, described sometimes as aiming for a sure win by 3 points. From the introduction of komi in most pro events, around 1950, Black's older methods had to be reconsidered, since White suddenly needed appreciably less (in pro terms) in secure area. The 3-3 point became an interesting play for White, where previously it appeared experimental, and was developed in particular by Go Seigen
Go Seigen
Wu Qingyuan , generally known in the West by his Japanese name Go Seigen, is considered by many players to be the greatest player of the game of Go in the 20th century and of all time.-Biography:...
and Sakata Eio.
In the following decades a mixture of classical and shinfuseki
Shinfuseki
or new opening strategy was the change of attitude to go opening theory that set in strongly in Japan in 1933. It corresponds, a little later, to hypermodern play in chess, with the inversion that shinfuseki thought the center of the board had been unjustly underemphasised.In the 1930s, a group of...
techniques became normal. The most obvious effect was the replacement of the 4-3 point by the 4-4 point as the most common way to first occupy a corner.
Fairness of compensation points
It is a hard theoretical problem to determine the best and fairest value of compensation points, because it can be taken to ask for the result of a game of go with best play by both sides. It can be estimated that playing first is equal to about half a move (or a bit more) ahead throughout the game.Local variations
Although 6.5 points is a common komi as of 2007; each country, association, and tournament may set its own specific komi:- In Japan, the usual komi was once about 2.5 points. Some time later, it was raised to 4.5 points. In 1955 the Oza became the first tournament to adopt 5.5. The value of 5.5 became standard over some decades. The Nihon Ki-in decided to change to 6.5 in September 2002.
- In Korea, it used to be 5.5, but is now 6.5.
- In China, 5.5 points was common, but 7.5 is now standard. A value of 6.5 would seldom give a different result from 5.5 due to Chinese scoring rules.
- In America, American Go association (AGA) official rules used to specify 5.5 points, however they later suggested also experimenting with values up to 8.5 points in both informal games and tournaments in order to gather data to determine the effects of increasing U.S. komi officially. The American Go Association changed komi from 5.5 to 7.5 in August 2004, effective 2005.
- The New Zealand rules specify a komi of 7.
- For the Ing Foundation (Ing rules) komi is specified as 8 points. Due to the different counting method used by the Ing system, this komi is equivalent to 7.5 points under the Japanese rules.
Fixed compensation point system
By far the most common type of komi is a fixed compensation point system. A fixed number of points, determined by the Go organization or the tournament director, is given to the second player (White) in an even game (without handicapsGo handicap
Within most systems and at most levels, handicap is given to offset the strength difference between players of different ranks in the game of Go.-Forms of handicaps:In the game of Go, a handicap is given by means of stones and compensation points...
) to make up for first-player (Black) advantage.
Auction komi
As no one can be absolutely sure of the ideal value for komi, systems without fixed komi are used in some amateur matches and tournaments. This is called auction komi.Examples of auction komi systems:
- the players do an "auction" by saying: "I am willing to play black against XXX komi" and the player who wins the auction plays black.
- one player chooses the size of the komi, and the other player then chooses to play black or white.