logan wrote:A long time ago I saw a friend playing KGS and always wondered why the number of handicap stones moves from 0 to 2 on the server?
For example:
5k vs. 5k = Even
5k vs. 4k = 0.5-komi, 0-handicap stone
5k vs. 3k = 0.5-komi, 2-handicap stone
Notice the handicap stone skips from 0 to 2 (instead of 0 to 1) when moving up only one rank.
Maybe this applies to other go servers too, I am not sure so I posted this in "Go Rules" sub-forum.
Thank-you.
First, the handicap does not skip from 0 to 2. Taking Black without komi is considered equivalent to having 1 handicap stone.
Second, there is a problem, which I think that the KGS rating system takes into account.
Historically, there was a time when the strength difference between pro ranks was greater than today. Here was the handicap schedule:
Code: Select all
Rank difference - Handicap
--------------------------------
0 Alternate Black and White
1 Black
2 Alternate 2 stones and Black
3 2 stones
4 Alternate 3 stones and 2 stones
*** ******
Modern amateur rank differences are equivalent to twice these rank differences. Thus, this would be a reasonable handicap scheme:
Code: Select all
Rank difference - Handicap
--------------------------------
0 Alternate Black and White
1 Alternate 2 stones and Black
2 Alternate 3 stones and 2 stones
*** ******
Or
Code: Select all
Rank difference - Handicap
--------------------------------
0 Black, giving komi
1 2 stones, giving komi
2 3 stones, giving komi
*** ******
Plainly, the traditional amateur handicaps favor White. The problem starts with 5 kyu vs. 4 kyu.
How much should komi be? That is an empirical question. Proper komi for pro even games is still an open question. But it seems that a komi around 7 is reasonable. Komi should decrease as the players get weaker, because they are less able to utilize the handicap stones. My guess is that DDK komi should be around 3 or 4.