Play 19x19 Go Online: the Full-Size Board, Free

The board above is the full 19x19 grid. Pick Easy, Medium, or Hard and press Play, or open the Online tab to send a friend a link and play them instead. It is free, there is no account, and your single-player game saves to your own browser, which matters more here than anywhere else: a 19x19 game often takes more than one sitting.

What the 19x19 board is for

This is the board Go is actually played on. Nineteen lines each way cross at 361 points, and nine of those points carry a printed dot, the star points, or hoshi. Every professional game, every tournament, and almost every book uses this size. A casual game takes one to two hours and runs somewhere around 200 to 250 moves.

The size changes the game rather than just stretching it. On a small board there is one fight and it decides everything. Here, four or five things are happening at once, and the hardest question is usually not how to answer a move but whether to answer it at all. A player who walks away from a local exchange to take a bigger point somewhere else is doing the thing that separates strong players from beginners.

The rules are the same ones used on the smaller boards: Chinese area scoring, positional superko, suicide illegal, and 7.5 komi added to White's score for moving second.

Who should play on 19x19

Anyone who has played enough smaller games to finish one without help, and anyone who came to Go for the game it is famous for. You do not need to be good. A 19x19 game against Easy is a perfectly reasonable first big-board experience, and losing it will not tell you anything discouraging.

It is also the size to use if you are reading a Go book, watching a professional game, or working through problems. Almost all published material assumes this board, and the advice in it frequently does not transfer to 9x9.

How to play on this board

Corners first, then the sides, then the centre. A corner needs the fewest stones to wall off because two edges do part of the work for you, so the opening is nearly always a race for the four corners. The 4-4 star points and the 3-4 points are the standard first moves: 4-4 is fast and flexible, 3-4 takes the corner more firmly but more slowly.

After the corners come the sides, usually as extensions from stones you already have. Keep your stones working together rather than adding another one next to a group that is already safe. And do not chase every capture. On a board this size, a group of four stones is worth about eight points, while a move in an empty corner can be worth twenty, so the player who keeps taking big empty areas usually wins even while losing small fights.The Go opening covers corner moves, approaches, and extensions in detail. New to all of this? Readthe rules of Go or take theinteractive tutorial first, then come back here.

Questions about 19x19 Go

How long does a 19x19 game take?

One to two hours for a casual game, and a good deal longer with time controls in a tournament. A full game usually runs 200 to 250 moves.

How many points are on a 19x19 Go board?

The 19 lines each way cross at 361 points, and a stone goes on a crossing point rather than in a square. Nine of those points are marked with a dot, called star points or hoshi.

How many stones do you need for 19x19?

A full set ships 181 black stones and 180 white, which is 361 in total: enough to fill every point on the board. Black gets the extra one because Black moves first.

Other board sizes

Two hours is a lot. Play 13x13 for a game in about 45 minutes, or9x9 for one in 20 to 30. 9x9 vs 13x13 vs 19x19 explains what changes between them.