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Does the odd number of points on a 19x19 board make the game unfair?

Several experienced players agree; no official ruling.

  • Go rulebook · Rulebook · Komi and Handicap
  • luigi87 · Community · 2017-05-01
  • russ · Community · 2022-05-04
  • russ · Community · 2022-05-02

No. The first-player advantage comes from moving first, not from the parity of the board, and komi compensates for it. The odd point count adds at most about half a point, which is negligible next to the value of moving first.

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