Same board, different goal
Gomoku and Go use the same board and the same black and white stones, and in both the players take turns placing one stone on an intersection. Because they look so alike, it is easy to assume that being good at gomoku will make Go come quickly, but the games differ from the winning condition onwards. In gomoku, the first player to line up five stones horizontally, vertically or diagonally wins on the spot. In Go, the player with more territory, meaning empty points surrounded by their own stones, wins when the game ends. Gomoku is decided at a single point while Go is a contest over area across the whole board, and every other difference follows from that.
What happens to a stone
In gomoku, a stone stays on the board until the end. There is no way to remove your opponent's stones, so the only answer to a threat is to block it with a stone of your own. In Go, a stone whose liberties, the adjacent empty points above, below, left and right, are all filled is captured and removed. So in Go, whether a stone can live matters as much as placing it, which is where the idea of needing two eyes to live comes from. In gomoku every single stone counts, while in Go deliberately sacrificing a few small stones to gain something bigger is a common strategy for the same reason.
What a diagonal means
The difference between the games is clearest along the diagonal. In gomoku a diagonal is a connecting direction just like a row or column, and five on a diagonal wins. In Go, two stones placed diagonally are not treated as connected, and an empty diagonal point does not count as a liberty. The gap between two diagonal stones can even be a weakness your opponent cuts through. Long-time gomoku players learning Go often mistake a diagonal shape for a connected one and lose stones, so at first it helps to check deliberately whether stones are joined above, below, left or right.
- Gomoku: a diagonal connects like a row or column
- Go: diagonal stones are not connected
- Go: an empty diagonal point is not a liberty
Handling the first-move advantage
In both games Black, moving first, has the advantage. Go offsets it with komi, a set number of points added to White's territory at the end, with the size depending on the rule set. In gomoku the first-move advantage is so large that unrestricted play favours Black too heavily, so rules are used that forbid certain shapes to Black only. The well-known renju rules are played on a 15-line board, and Black may not make a double three (two open threes at once), a double four (two fours at once) or an overline (six or more in a row), while White has no such restrictions. Casual gomoku rules vary, sometimes forbidding only the double three, so agree on them before starting.
Nature of the moves and length of a game
Gomoku is a chain of threats and defences. If your opponent makes four and you fail to block, you lose at once, so games are short and a single mistake decides the result. In Go, fights happen in several places at the same time, and a loss in one area can be made up elsewhere. On a 19-line board a game commonly runs well past a hundred moves, so judging the balance of the whole board matters as much as reacting to immediate threats. If gomoku tests precision in the moment, Go tests the ability to weigh gains and losses over a long game.
Gomoku habits that get in the way
Some habits built up in gomoku work against you in Go. In gomoku, placing stones side by side in a line is how you win, but in Go, lining stones up tightly uses many stones and surrounds little territory. Go stones work best with some space between them. Also, in gomoku you must always block an open three or a four, but in Go you do not need to answer every move straight away, and if there is a bigger point elsewhere, playing there instead is often the better judgement.
- Stones packed in a line surround little territory
- Leaving gaps between stones is more efficient
- You do not have to answer every move at once
Where gomoku experience helps
On the other hand, some instincts trained by gomoku do help in Go. The habit of checking what your opponent is aiming at before every move carries over directly. So does the principle that a move threatening two places at once can only be half blocked. Go has moves such as a double atari, which puts two groups in atari with one stone, and the idea resembles making threats in two directions at once in gomoku. The ability to read the arrangement of stones quickly is also shared by both games.
Enjoying both games
Being able to enjoy two games on one board is a real advantage. To avoid confusion when switching between them, it helps to settle a few things.
- In gomoku, agree on Black's forbidden moves before starting
- In Go, settle komi and the counting method in advance
- Learn Go on a 9-line board and keep gomoku within 15 lines
- When learning Go, consciously check for the diagonal connection mistake
🌍 Search the web for this
Each button runs this keyword on that search engine