How go ranks work. A beginner starts somewhere around 30 kyu. As you get stronger the number goes down: 20 kyu, 10 kyu, and on to 1 kyu. After 1 kyu comes 1 dan, and then the dan numbers go up: 2 dan, 3 dan, and so on. Professional players have their own separate scale above all of that.

The useful thing about ranks is that they tell you the handicap. The difference between two players' ranks is about the number of handicap stones the weaker one should take to make it an even game. A 5 kyu playing a 2 kyu takes three stones. A 1 kyu playing a 1 dan takes one, since there's no "zero" in between. A handicap game between two players who are correctly ranked should be a coin flip.

The American Go Association keeps official ratings for members who play in rated tournaments. The ranks below are our club ranks, which we adjust every few months by looking at who's been beating whom. They're close to the AGA ratings for the members who have them. They're not a judgment on anyone. A rank is just a number that helps you find a good game.

Moving up this year: Erik went from 3 kyu to 1 kyu after a summer spent doing problems from the Graded Go Problems books every night, and he is going to be a dan player by Christmas if he keeps it up. Tammie, who learned in January, has gone from 30 kyu to 18 kyu, which is the fastest anyone has moved in the history of the club. Nellie, at sixty-seven, moved up two stones in the spring, and she'd like everyone to know that it was the sixty-seventh year that did it.

Newest member: Antoinette, who saw us playing in August while she was waiting for a friend, sat down to watch, and hasn't missed a Wednesday since. Welcome.

Every fall we hold a handicap tournament so that everyone, from 2 dan to 24 kyu, has an honest chance. All games on the full 19x19 board. Each pairing gets the handicap from the club ranks above, one stone per rank of difference, up to nine stones, with half a point of komi to White. Players at the same rank play even with 5½ komi.

Five rounds, one each Wednesday, starting at 7:15 sharp. Each week's pairings will be posted on the bulletin board by the coffeehouse door and e-mailed to everyone the Monday before. We pair players with the same number of wins against each other, as far as we can.

If you have to miss a round, tell me by the Monday and you'll get a bye, which counts as half a win. The player with the most wins after five rounds takes the prize, which is a go book of the winner's choice. Ties are broken by the result between the tied players, and after that, by a 9x9 game, which is the most exciting tiebreaker there is.

Last year's winner was Rene, at the time a 9 kyu, who won all five games, three of them as Black with four or more stones. That's the beauty of a handicap tournament. It's also why Rene is now 7 kyu and will be taking two fewer stones this year.

New players: you're welcome to enter even if you just learned. Games with a big handicap are a wonderful way to learn, and nobody will mind if you take a long time over your moves.