Gomoku

One of the oldest board games is gomoku, invented in the East about 2000 years ago. To play it, a 15 × 15 cell field (in the modern sports version) or 19 × 19 (in the traditional version) is used.

Unlike checkers and chess, all the cells on the board are the same (white) color, and the stones can line up horizontally, vertically and diagonally.

Today, gomoku is widespread not only in eastern countries, but throughout the world. It is played for fun, spending pleasant free time, and also participate in various competitions, including international ones.

History of the game

Authorship of the Gomoku board game belongs to the Chinese, who played it as early as the 1st century AD. Then it was called differently, and the playing field was 19 × 19. It was reduced to 15×15 format much later, when it was included in the list of international games. Around the 7th century, the game spread to Japan, where some changes and additions were made to it. There she got her modern name.

So, "gomokunarabe" is translated from Japanese as "five stones in a row." The original Chinese name of the game was lost, but in 1899 a new one appeared - "renju", which translates as "string of pearls". It was proposed by Tenryu Kobayashi, an expert in Chinese poetry. Thus, gomoku and renju are essentially the same game.

The game rules have not changed for many centuries, but with the development of mathematics, the main drawback of gomoku became more and more obvious. Since every move can be decisive in the game, the indisputable advantage always remains on the side of the player with black stones, who moves first. This was mathematically proven in 1994 by Victor Allis, but professional players knew about it in the 19th century, which led to a change in the game rules. Then the playing field was reduced from 19 × 19 to 15 × 15 lines, and for black stones (moving first), restrictions were introduced - “fouls”. According to the updated rules proposed by Rokusan Takaki in 1903, 3x3 and 4x4 forks, as well as long rows, cannot be stacked from black stones. This roughly equalizes the chances for white and black stones, and deprives the former of an obvious strategic advantage.

In the 80s of the XX century, the modernization of gomoku continued, and a new version of the game was proposed without fouls (restrictions for black stones), but with the central square on the playing field blocked. This version was called "pro-gomoku" or "free renju". And in international competitions they began to practice the exchange of pieces: now, after the third move, each player has the right to change colors with an opponent and thereby eliminate the advantage of the first move.

Digital versions

In 2003, Professor Wu Yicheng of National Jiaotong University adapted gomoku for the computer and introduced new rules, resulting in a game called Connect6.

In it, players move not one, but two stones at a time, with the exception of the very first move, which is made with one black stone. This version is currently considered the fairest - even without the use of fouls and exchanging pieces, and practically equalizes the chances of the players. At least 20 years after the creation of Connect6, it has not been proven that the player making the first move has any tactical or strategic advantage over the opponent.

Since 2000, the digital version of Renju has been included in the international Gomocup competitions, and currently has more than 50 versions. Despite the apparent simplicity of gomoku, it was only in 2010 that a computer could beat a person in it, and before that, professional players almost always won. Starting from the mid-2000s, renju tournaments began to be organized in European countries. So, in 2005 it was held in Hungary, in 2006, 2011 and 2017 - in the Czech Republic. The last tournament was marked by the fact that the program won an unconditional victory over the participants and made further human attempts to defeat the computer in this logic game meaningless.

Interesting facts

International gomoku tournaments are held in conjunction with renju competitions. The 1989 and 1991 world championships were won by athletes from the USSR Sergei Chernov and Yuri Tarannikov.
Renju as a sport appeared not so long ago. The International Renju Federation (RIF) was founded in Sweden in 1988. The best results in the game are shown by athletes from Japan, Russia, Estonia, Sweden, China.
Renju means "string of pearls" in Japanese. Aristocrats at the imperial court placed black and white pearls on the playing field. The name was proposed in 1899 by Goraku Takayama.

Gomoku is a game for intellectuals who can build strategies, see both the details and the big picture of the game at the same time. Try your hand, we believe in you!

Although the rules of gomoku are extremely simple, winning is not easy, especially for beginners. And even more so, the task becomes more complicated if a computer program with clearly built algorithms plays against you. Nevertheless, knowing the rules and following useful tips, you can win already from the fourth or fifth attempt, and for this it is not necessary to be a genius.

Rules of the game

Unlike chess, gomoku is not played first by whites, but by blacks. This gives their owner a significant advantage, which is deliberately eliminated in most versions of the game, including free renju, swap and swap-two. At the same time, the basic rules almost always remain unchanged:

The game is played on a square field divided by lines into 225 cells. The intersections of the lines are called "points", it is on them (and not in the centers of the cells) that the stones are placed.
Gomoku is always played together: one player with white stones, the other with black stones. The opponent can be a human or a computer program.
Players take turns placing one stone on any free space (in some versions, two stones are placed at a time).
The game ends when one of the players manages to make a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line of 5 stones of the same color.
A draw occurs when the board is full, but none of the participants managed to collect a winning line.

Most rule variants have some sort of additional restriction for one or both players. So, in almost all variants, building a row of more than five stones (a long row) is either prohibited or does not bring victory.

Varieties of rules

Because of its simplicity, renju makes every move after the tenth potentially advantageous for every player, and the one who starts first always has a clear advantage. To eliminate this injustice, over the past 150 years, new rules have been proposed and implemented that form the basis of alternative versions of the game:

Five in a Row This variation of gomoku involves playing on an infinite field - with no horizontal or vertical restrictions. The first person to make a line of 6 or more pieces in a row wins.
Traditional gomoku. Played on a 15x15 field, less often 19x19. It is allowed to line up long rows of stones, but this does not bring victory.
Gomoku with a common central stone. Bulgarian version of the game, in the central cell of which any stone is considered to be both black and white at the same time. Each of the players can use it to build their lines.
Gomokunarabe. A Japanese interpretation of a Chinese game with its own unique limitations. Thus, players are not allowed to stack 3x3 "forks" of stones of the same color, and the total number of stones is 70 pieces - 35 for each participant.
International Renju. It uses compensation for the player with the white stones, who always goes second. The first move in this version is always made to the central cell (with a black stone), and after the third move, the owner of the white stones can change color with the opponent.
Free renju or pro-gomoku. The center cell on the 15×15 board is blocked in this version, and on the third turn the black stone player must place it outside the central 5×5 square.
Penta. Playing on a 19×19 field, opponents can take loot from two stones if they are surrounded by opponent stones on both sides. White starts the move first, and the second black stone must necessarily lie outside the central 5×5 square.

Game hints

Today, gomoku is mainly played on computers and mobile devices, so the main advice - to monitor the actions of the enemy and remember his tactics - becomes irrelevant. But there are at least 4 more useful tips for a quick win:

Maximum focus on the first 10 moves. They determine the outcome of the game.
Always block your opponent's stones in a row of four, and possibly three.
Simultaneously form two "attack" lines leading to a win. If the opponent blocks one of them, the second will lead you to victory.
Study the moves of professional renju players. Of course, this is not chess with its rich variety of openings, but Renju has enough of its own tactical and strategic techniques.

Gomoku requires logic, strategic thinking and focus. When playing with the computer, you can choose the difficulty level, but don't count on your opponent's mistakes. Play, improve and win!

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