Joelnelsonb wrote:Why on earth is this not the standard way to play Go?
Using stone scoring, the games clearly divide themselves into two parts : the strategic part, where each move can change the outcome, and the filling part, that starts when modern players pass, and where the moves have no meaning anymore.
Playing out the second part is so long, so boring and so meaningless that it was decided that the game would end when the first part is over. Each player is then awarded the number of intersections that he or she conquered. This is area scoring.
Then, territory scoring is a convenient trick allowing not to count the stones.
Thus, for all practical purposes, to count the territory is the most convenient way to play go everyday, as far as players are concerned. This is why it has been the most widespread method.
Why it didn't become the universal method is a long story.
To begin with, the first official complete ruleset published (the japanese rule of 1949) tried to conciliate territory scoring with the traditions in use, such as the filling of teire points (implicit connections after the filling of the dame), and to regroup all the precedents concerning unsolved ko after the two players have passed.
Unfortunately the result was not a success. The rule, dozens of pages long, is much too long to be used for teaching and requires very tedious studying from tournament organizers. Today, it is nearly impossible to program it into a software, and in 1959, it could not prevent an undecided game to happen between Go Seigen and Takagawa Shukaku.
A striking consequence is that today, books introducing the game of go usually don't feature the rule of the game anywhere !
In 1975, the Chinese came with another official rule, using area scoring, this time. Much shorter, it can easily be taught to beginners, it is convenient for tournament organizers and programmers, and it can leave no game undecided. But for everyday use, it is much less convenient : the players must count all the stones.
In 1991, the AGA rule combined the simplicity of the chinese rule with the convenience of territory counting, in exchange for just a little effort from the players : to hand a prisoner each time thay pass.
This progress seem to seduce, and spreads slowly : a similar rule was adopted in 1994 in France, then in 2008 in United Kingdom, and this year it was used in the European Go Congress.
When will we have a unique worldwide rule of go ?
fills a dame elsewhere.
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and 
as miai and move on right away to another part of the board, if there are other points. Effectively black has taken, using area counting, 2 points in two moves rather than 2 points in one move.
