Page:Smith - The game of go.djvu/212

 VII

THE END GAME

on the game of Go would not be complete without a chapter especially devoted to the subject of the end game.

On the average a game of Go consists of about two hundred and fifty moves, and we might say that about twenty of these moves belong to the opening, about one hundred and fifty to the main part of the game, and the remaining eighty to the end game. The moves which may be regarded as belonging to the end game are those which connect the various groups of stones with the margin, and which fill up the space between the opposing groups of stones. Of course, there is no sharp distinction between the main game and the end game. Long before the main game is finished moves occur which bear the characteristics of end game play, and as the game progresses moves of this kind become more and more frequent, until at last all of the moves are strictly part of the end game.

Toward the end of the game it becomes possible to calculate the value of a move with greater accuracy than in the middle of the game, and in many cases the number of points which may be gained by a certain move may be ascertained with absolute accuracy. Therefore, when the main game is nearing completion, the players survey the board in order to locate the most advantageous end plays; that is to say, positions where they can gain the greatest Rh