Rules for Kings and Ladders

Rules for Turn-Based Go Guild's Kings and Ladders

Current Games

King of the Hill (9x9); King of the Hill (19x19)

Signing Up to Participate

To participate in Kings or Ladders, send an e-mail to Steve Rich at steve_rich@baylor.edu and give the following information: your Guild name, your preferred server or servers, and a list of which game or games you want to participate in. If you want to set your challenge range to something besides "-2", you should specify that as well. If you are not currently a Guild member, you need to also include your ID at whatever server or servers you want me to list on the Guild page and on the Ladder and King of the Hill pages. By signing up for a ladder, you are also signing up for the Guild. Both are free.

General Rules

1) Challengers should invite a defender to a game on one of the servers listed by the defender. In the invitation, the challenger should specify which King or Ladder match the invitation is related to.
2) The column "Challenge Range" indicates how far down the ladder you stand ready to accept challenges from. For example, if you list a "-2" then you stand ready to (and will forfiet if you do not) accept challenges from anyone 1 or 2 positions below you. If you list a "-5" then you stand ready to accept a challenge from any and all who are up to 5 positions below you. Note that this will likely mean you will have to play at least 5 Ladder or King games at a time. Unless you specify otherwise or you are a King (see below), the default is "-2".
3) You can challenge anyone on the list to a game. However, the person you are challenging is only required to accept your challenge (or forfeit) if you are within their challenge range. For example, assume you are 9th from the top (-9) on the list and the person you want to challenge is 6th from the top on the list (-6) but they list "-2" as their challenge range. In this case, you can challenge them at any time, but they are not required to accept your challenge until you are at least 8th from the top (-8) on the list (two below them).
4) The winner of any game moves just ahead of the loser on the ladder if that moves the winner higher on the ladder. If this would result in a lower spot for the winner, then the game does not affect ladder standings. Whenever a game result leads to a change in ladder standings, the winner (or loser) should e-mail the result to Steve Rich at steve_rich@baylor.edu.
5) Any legitimate (within challenge range) ladder challenge that goes unanswered for 14 days will be considered a forfeit by the defender. In the case of a forfeit, the defender and challenger change places on the relevant list.
6) In all games, the clock should be set to 30 days + 36 hours per move (Fisher time) on Dragon. This is equivalent to the default time used at Little Golem.
7) No new challenges can be issued after December 31, 2003, for any of the ladders.
8) All disputes that must be settled by by the Ladder and King Manager (Steve Rich) are final.

Additional Rules for Ladders
1) Defenders play black in an even game with 0.5 komi.
2) Guild members can enter either ladder at any time. If you are joining the ladder for the first time, I will insert you just below the person with the same Guild rating as you that is lowest on the ladder. If you are rejoining the ladder, then you will be entered at the bottom of the ladder.
3) If you challenge someone more that 2 places above you, then you must give them handicap stones equal to the number of places the defender is above you less 1 stone. So if you challenge someone 2 places above you, then the game will be even. But if you challenge someone who is 3 places above you on the list you must give them 2 stones. If you challenge someone who is 4 places above you on the list, you must give them 3 stones.

Additional Rules for King of the Hill
1) Defenders play black in an even game with 0.5 komi.
2) Once 10 people have signed up for a particular King of the Hill game, those who have signed up will be assigned random spots on the King of the Hill list and challenges can begin.
3) Anyone can sign up for a ladder at any time even after it is started. If you sign up once a ladder has started, you will be inserted into the ladder as a challenger at a random spot. Note that there are only two ways to become king: to be randomly asigned as King of the Hill when the tournament first starts or by beating the current King in a game.
4) The default challenge range for the current king is "-3" rather than "-2".
5) If you challenge someone more that 2 places above you, then you must give them handicap stones equal to the number of places the defender is above you less 1 stone. So if you challenge someone 2 places above you, then the game will be even. But if you challenge someone who is 3 places above you on the list you must give them 2 stones. If you challenge someone who is 4 places above you on the list, you must give them 3 stones.
6) A permanent king for the ladder is crowned once he or she has held the top slot for 3 months (9x9) or 6 months (19x19).
7) Once a permanent king is crowned, a new King of the Hill list will be started.

Additional Rules for Handicap King of the Hill
1) Same rules as King of the Hill except that rule 1) from King of the Hill is replaced by rule 2) below. Also, permanent king is crowned after he or she has held the top slot for 3 months.
2) All games will be played with a proper handicap (up to 9 stones). A proper handicap is set either according to Guild ratings or according to the ratings of the two players on the server being used. The defender chooses which handicap method to use.