Play 9x9 Go Online: Free, vs Computer or a Friend
The board above is set to 9x9. Pick a difficulty, press Play, and you are in a game. It is free, there is no account, and nothing installs. You can play the computer on Easy, Medium, or Hard, or switch to the Online tab and send a friend a link. Single-player games save to your own browser, so a half-finished 9x9 game is still there tomorrow.
What the 9x9 board is for
Nine lines each way gives 81 points to play on. That is small enough to hold the whole position in your head, which is the entire reason it exists. A game finishes in 20 to 30 minutes, and it takes roughly 40 to 60 moves rather than the 200-odd a full-size game runs to. When a game is short, you get to the interesting part quickly: the counting, the fight over one group, the moment you realise a stone you played twenty moves ago was in the wrong place.
The rules are identical to the ones used on any other board. Same capture, same ko, same scoring. This site uses Chinese area scoring with 7.5 komi added to White's total on every size, 9x9 included, to make up for Black moving first. So nothing you learn here has to be unlearned later.
Who should play on 9x9
Anyone learning. If you have just read the rules or finished theinteractive tutorial, this is the board to use for your first fifty games. You will lose some of them badly, and on 9x9 you can usually see exactly why, because the mistake is still on screen when the game ends.
It also suits anyone short on time. A 9x9 game fits in a lunch break or a train ride, which is not true of the big board. Plenty of experienced players keep a 9x9 game going for that reason alone. And it is the fairest test of the computer opponent: Hard has far fewer possible moves to weigh up here, so it plays closer to its real strength.
How to play on this board
Corners are still worth more than edges, and edges more than the middle, but 9x9 bends that rule. With so little room, the centre point is a genuine opening move and the 3-3 points are the normal corner choice rather than 4-4. There is no time for a slow, wide opening: you are usually in direct contact with your opponent's stones within ten moves.
Two habits win most beginner 9x9 games. First, keep your groups connected, because a cut group on a small board rarely has room to make eyes and live. Second, count roughly before you invade. Half of 81 points, minus the 7.5 komi, means the winning margin is often three or four points, so a reckless invasion that dies costs you the whole game.9x9 strategy goes through this properly, andthe rules of Go covers anything above you have not met yet.
Questions about 9x9 Go
How long does a 9x9 game take?
Usually 20 to 30 minutes, and often less once you know the rules. A game runs about 40 to 60 moves in total, against maybe 200 on a full-size board.
Is 9x9 Go a real game?
Yes. It uses exactly the same rules as 19x19, on a smaller grid, and strong players take 9x9 seriously enough to hold tournaments on it. It is a smaller game, not a simplified one.
What is a good first move on 9x9?
The centre point, or one of the 3-3 points in a corner. Nine lines is small enough that the centre genuinely matters, which is not true on a full-size board, so do not feel you have to start in a corner.
Other board sizes
Ready for more room? Play 13x13 is the natural next step, and19x19 is the full tournament board.9x9 vs 13x13 vs 19x19 compares all three in detail.