Wow guess what, that was another chapter with no reference to Go Lingo at all! Good for you I guess, hehe or I don't know. I can't go into detail about Go every chapter now can I? This story is more about the characters, and while its been a bunch about Will and his new friends so far, don't worry, this story will tie in stronger to His Dark Materials. Hm.... you know actually right now, with a few minor changes, this could become an original fiction if I wanted it. But I wouldn't do that, because that will throw off my plans for the later chapters! Ok anyways, I guess I'll do some more explanation about Go in this chapter! Today we'll talk about RATINGS!

Ok so here is a brief summary on ratings in Go. These things will be tied into the story, VERY SOON, so I guess if I explain before hand, everything is so much better! Here is a:
Why Rank?
Well we rank for many reasons. First, so you can brag about it. Second, so you can play with total strangers and play the ones your lvl. And third, so you can have a good handicap set up during the match.
Handicap?...
A handi cap is when a player puts down stones in the beginning of the game. They are played on the star points. You put down in theory, 1 stone per level of difference. So a 2d vs a 1d would have a one stone handi cap in the game. In the same sense, a 4d and a 1d would havea 3 stone handicap in the game.
Hey I've never seen one stone!
Thats right, we do never put down one stone. Because it wouldn't help! After all, lets say you put it on the top right star point, then guess what its white turn. And you have only one stone on the field! So it won't work out because it would be the same as if you just had played it there. So instead of putting a stone down if your 1 ranking apart, we just get rid of the komi.
Dan?...
This is where ranking comes in. In japan the ranking is like this, 30k1k9d(k=kyu d=dan). A 7d would be a great amature player. A 9d would be a pro. The korean ranking is easier with 1gup 30gup. But different rating systems will compare you differently. Basically, in japana 1d is different then an american 1d. I'll try and make a chart later.
I thought dans were pros?
ah sharp eye. Between us amateur players, aka non pros, a 9d is the only person that could compare to a pro. But the pros in japan use the 1d 9d thingy also. Most people use p to symbolize pro.
if i am a 20 kyu and am playing a nine dan, 29 stones!
This is very important. Most games handicaps don't go past 9. That would be crazy and not help as much. So if you are that far away in skill, a good player will play shidougo or shido-go in english. That is a teaching game. They will play easy on you basically and test you. Its great for going over in the end.
What about the different rating systems comparison...
I was getting to that. First, you should know that, aga 7d = china 4-5 dan = europe 5-6 dan = igs 5d = Japan 6-7dan = korea 1 gup = nngs 5-6 dan. I will have a more detailed chart later.
vs a computer
First off, go problems that determin ranking and go computer programs aren't the bestway to determin your level. First off, a computer program would judge your ranking against it and its style. This could be a pro or con to you. But a computer plays differentthen a human so you should always play humans more. Second, go problems are a good way, but if you see the same one enough for you to have memory of the sequence, it will wreck your creativity and not be acurate. The best way to determin your level is to play games with people, and by how much you lost or won, figure it out.
Lower levles aren't accurate
one thing you should know is that if you are a lower lvl player, around 17kyu and up, then your ranking won't be as acurate as if you were a higher player. That is because you are still a developing player and you will see people of a higher rank losing to lower ranks. Hey it happens just because of what stage of learning the game you are. However, you can trust them for the most part.
Oh yeah and if any thing about that is wrong at all, TELL ME!
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hope that made some sense, this info will help you out in the next chapters.