What is Capture Go?
Capture Go, also called Atari Go or First Capture Go, is Go with one simple goal: the first player to capture a stone, or a group of stones, wins the game at once. Stones are placed and captured exactly as in standard Go, so a stone or group with no liberties left is taken off the board, and that capture ends the game.
There is no territory to count and no need to know when a game is over, which makes Capture Go the classic first game for beginners. It trains the skills every Go player needs: counting liberties, spotting atari, keeping your stones connected and cutting your opponent's apart.
It plays best on a small board such as 7×7 or 9×9, and it works with handicap stones too.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Go | Capture Go |
|---|---|---|
| How to win | Standard GoHave more points than the opponent when both players pass. Captures are only part of the score. | Capture GoCapture at least one opposing stone. The first capture wins the game at once, whoever makes it. |
| Captures | Standard GoStones without liberties are removed, and the game goes on. | Capture GoStones without liberties are removed as usual, and the game ends with that move. |
| Suicide | Standard GoNot allowed: you may not play a stone that leaves your own group without liberties, unless it captures. | Capture GoThe same: suicide is not allowed, so you can't lose by filling your own last liberty. |
| Passing | Standard GoTwo passes in a row end the game, and the board is scored. | Capture GoPassing is allowed. If both players pass in a row before anyone captures, the board is scored as in standard Go. |
History
Capture Go grew out of teaching rather than tournaments. Teachers in East Asia have long used first-capture games to introduce children to Go, and in Japan the game is widely known as Atari Go, after the word for a stone or group that is one move from capture.
The Japanese professional Yasuda Yasutoshi did more than anyone to spread it. From the 1990s he promoted Capture Go in schools, care homes and community groups as a way to bring people together, and described the approach in his book Go as Communication. Go clubs and teachers around the world now use it as the first step on the way to the full game.