What is Gomoku with the Swap2 opening?
Swap2 is the opening rule used in tournament Gomoku. Like Swap, it begins with the first player placing three stones: two black and one white. The second player then has three choices instead of two.
They can play Black, play White, or place two more stones, one black and one white, and hand the choice of colour back to the first player. With five stones on the board, the first player then picks Black or White.
Once the colours are settled, White places the next stone and the game goes on one stone at a time. The third option protects the second player: if all three starting stones look hard to judge, they can change the position before anyone commits to a colour. The rule makes the player who sets up the stones aim for a truly balanced position. Swap2 works with standard Gomoku and, in the table setup, also with Freestyle, Caro and Omok.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Gomoku | Gomoku with the Swap2 opening |
|---|---|---|
| First stones | Standard GomokuBlack places one stone, then the players alternate. | Gomoku with the Swap2 openingThe first player places three stones at once: two black and one white. |
| Second player's options | Standard GomokuNo choice: the second seat plays White. | Gomoku with the Swap2 openingPlay Black, play White, or place two more stones and let the first player choose. |
| Two more stones | Standard GomokuNot part of the game. | Gomoku with the Swap2 openingThe second player adds one black and one white stone, and the first player then picks Black or White. |
| After the opening | Standard GomokuWhite answers Black's first stone. | Gomoku with the Swap2 openingWhite moves next, whichever option was taken, and the players then alternate. |
| How to win | Standard GomokuMake an unbroken line of exactly five stones. | Gomoku with the Swap2 openingThe same; the opening changes only the first stones and who plays which colour. |
History
The first Gomoku World Championships, in Kyoto in 1989 and in Moscow in 1991, used a fixed opening rule, and Black still won about two thirds of the games. After that the championship was not held for many years.
When it returned in 2009, in Pardubice in the Czech Republic, tournament Gomoku adopted Swap2 as its opening rule. It has been used at every Gomoku World Championship since. With Swap2 the first player wins only slightly more than half of the games, so the rule nearly removes the first-move advantage while keeping the plain five-in-a-row goal.