Without komi, evenly matched players alternated between taking White and taking Black. Traditionally, an amateur player one rank weaker simply took Black, a player two ranks weaker took two stones, etc. This system favors the stronger player, given that one rank difference is roughly equivalent to one handicap stone difference. A player one rank weaker than his opponent should alternate between taking Black and taking two stones.seberle wrote:This is interesting. First of all, how were handicap differences handled "traditionally" (do you mean before komi?). If we don't change komi, then what is the difference between a one-stone handicap and simply letting black go first? Or was going first considered being one rank stronger traditionally?Traditionally, rank differences were determined by handicap differences. In theory, one stone difference was equivalent to one rank difference. But handicap differences (at least for amateurs) gave an advantage to White, an advantage equivalent to komi (i.e., ½ stone). So a player two ranks stronger gave only a two stone handicap, with no komi, instead of giving three stones with Black giving komi or giving two stones with White giving komi.
Modern tournament ranks and online ranks are based upon even games, and do not necessarily tell us the proper handicap.
Long ago, pro ranks followed a similar system, with one rank difference roughly equivalent to a ½ handicap stone difference. So against a 9 dan pro an 8 dan took Black, a 7 dan alternated between Black and two stones, a 6 dan took two stones, etc. Over time, pro ranks got closer together, so they used a different handicapping system. These days, pros do not give handicaps to other pros, with perhaps rare exceptions.
Go requires many different skills, so no ranking system will be precise. However, handicap stones are surprisingly additive. I once gave a 40 stone handicap and won by 10 pts. Surprisingly close.Secondly, does either system work out precisely (without doing fine adjustments to komi)? I mean, if a two-stone handicap (any system) means a 7k can play an even game against a 5k and a 5k can play an even game against a 3k, does it necessarily mean that a four-stone handicap for the 7k will get an even game against the 3k? I suppose this question is even more important for the one-stone, two-stone question: if one stone means one rank, does two stones really mean two ranks? I know I saw a debate on Sensei's Library about this once, but I didn't understand it very well and I don't remember exactly where I saw it.
