Flaws of the Ing 1991 Rules (001)
Robert Jasiek
The rule that a move must provide variation is ambiguous.
This is a direct consequence of the ambiguous term "variation". The same
applies to the more specific rules about board play.
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Flaw 56:
It is unclear whether all "neutral points" have to be filled.
From §8, Unpenaliued Mistakes ("If both players overlook the final
neutral point and it is discovered during the fill-in procedure, since
the game has ended and play cannot resume, the point is left as a shared
space.") it follows that the players may omit filling the last "neutral
point". However, it remains unclear whether the players may omit filling
more than one "neutral point". It is also unclear whether the players
may omit filling of a / the last "neutral point" intentionally.
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Flaw 57:
It is unclear whether "neutral points" may be (partially) filled after
the first succession of pass plays.
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Flaw 58:
It is unclear how "dead stones" may be taken off the board after the
first succession of pass plays.
The standard theories are: 1) by board plays that take the breaths, 2)
by verbal agreements, 3) (1) or (2). It is especially unclear how a
third successive pass play is related to taking away "dead stones".
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Flaw 59:
It is unclear how the last two pass plays succeed earlier pass plays.
After an option of removing "dead stones", is it necessary to make 2 or
4 further pass plays? If removals (may have) occurred after 3 successive
pass plays, is it necessary to make 1, 2, or 4 further pass plays?
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Flaw 60:
The purpose of the "game end" is not clearly stated in the rules.
From the terminology one learns that "_Play ends_ when each side passes
twice, making four consecutive pass plays. Play cannot resume for any
reason, so the game ends." This is clear but not in the rules
themselves. The same function of the [game end] is also suggested in the
Ing 1986 Rules.
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robert jasiek