35: Draws Should Be Allowed! And Other Hot Takes

Should draws be allowed? What is the best English name for Go? When should you request undos? Find out what my spicy opinions are on these matters and more on this episode of Star Point!
---
Support this podcast: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...

[@mistyblack1801]

I think the "aliens play go" arguement has a point because chess is a random game in the set of similar games. You can change rules slightly, like different starting position, pieces that move differently, etc.., and still have an interesting game that humans could play competitively. There are examples like shogi and chinese chess. But go is kinda unique. I feel like any substantial change you make in go rules would look like a fun variant of go.

[@lxram9139]

Fun fact: Ladders are called Staircases in German (and probably other languages too. I agree on the integer komi too, 7 points is just right

[@acHe607]

Very good episode! I would disagree on the draw. Knowing that the game MUST end with a winner and a looser forces players to fight (sinisternightcore's explanations are brilliant so I'll just refer to that.)
As for me, I have a hot take: handicaps should be places freely. I dislike forcing black to play with the hoshi, because it forces a type of game. You have to play with influence and accept the fact you might lose your corners. Of course it's important to know how to play with influence, but in a tournaments, we don't force any player to play with influence in even games, so I don't see why we should force black to play with influence with 2 or 3 stones of handicap. If black want to focus on territory and play three san-san, they should be allowed to, and it's up to the stronger player to catch up.
Another one: we should agree on a international sign to resign. Some players place two stones, others place a prisoner back, other offer a handshake. It'd be nice if we had a standard (personally I like to place two stones to resign.)

[@sinisternightcore3489]

Draws in Go is a topic I have a strong opinion on, so I will try to give my two cents in a coherent manner. Firstly, I think Komi is a very elegant addition to the rules of Go, because it solves two problems: compensating first player advantage and resolving Jigo.
Some players tell me that they would be happy for an intense game to end in Jigo, but for me that would be a total letdown. When I sit down to play a game of Go, I expect that by the end of it, there will be one winner and one loser. This distinguishes Go from chess and I feel pride in the virtual impossibility of draws in Go. And wouldn't you agree that it's unusual in Go to end the game by agreeing to a draw? I have rarely witnessed it.
You briefly drew parallels to chess, where "playing for a draw" is an actual thing but to me that comparison falls flat. In chess, playing for a draw requires different strategies and tactics than playing to win (trading off material, forcing stalemate...). In Go on the other hand, the objective is always to play to maximize your score (at least if the game is close), so we cannot say that the possibility of Jigo would add strategic depth to the game. Another argument you bring up is that Jigos would still be rare with an integer Komi. For us amateurs that may be true, but when you look to the professional level, games that are decided by a half point are not uncommon. I enjoy to watch pro games myself and I can hardly imagine something more anticlimactic than a match between two genius players concluding in Jigo. Furthermore, many tournament systems such as the popular knockout-style tournament require a winner to be determined in every game. Jigos are just not accounted for. So to summarize, I think draws both make for unsatisfying games and can make tournament organization more challenging.
With that said though, fractional Komi does not completely eliminate draws in Go, as there is triple Ko and other forms of long repitition. Superko rules have been proposed to account for this but I tend to think that superkos would be tedious to keep track of in a real game, even though I cannot speak from experience here. I have never had a triple Ko in my games. Maybe triple ko and superko rules would make for an interesting future episode. I'll be sure to tune in.