Beginner Resources

The following is a list of on-live resources for beginners and people just starting out recommended by other Australian Go players.  It should be noted there are many different websites and resources to help play Go, these are just a few to get you started.  Enjoy!

A guide to Go from a beginner (a pdf in many different languages)

Learn to play go website

Nick Sibicky Go lectures playlist on YouTube

Go Magic A learning website with free lessons and paid content/services

JoseDog  A website for learning and practicing joseki (corner fights)

Online-go.com  A great place to meet and play others around Australia and the world

BadukPop app A multi plaform app for learning and playing Go.

Cosumi A website where you can play AI anonymously on 9×9 through 19×19 boards. A great place to practice when you are starting – no embarrassment, no trolling!

Tsumego Hero A large collection of graded Go problems to help learn about life and death, capture and smart moves.

AGA Books

AlphaGo the movie Google’s documentary of the AI match with Lee Sedol

Finally, Double Digit Kyu lessons are on most Thursday evenings from 8:00pm (Sydney time). The Zoom Meeting credentials are: Meeting ID: 826 9614 2901 – Passcode: 806471.  DDK lessons from 2025 can be found here and lessons from 2026 here.

A.G.A. Inc.

Home of the Australian Go Association Inc. (AGA). 

The AGA is the National Association of Go players in Australia. Our aim is to promote the game of Go, help players improve and provide a communications channel between Australian Go players.  Membership is free but we ask you to consider donating to assist with costs.

The AGA represents the Australian Go playing community internationally through membership of the International Go Federation and World Pair Go Association.

 Go clubs and tournaments in Australia are organised by local players. The AGA publishes that information on this site – check out events, member info, and all the other menu items for details.

If can’t find a club near you we play at online-go.com – check out the Australia group. 

An Younggil Live Lesson videos for 2026 can be found here and for 2025 can be found here. and beginner resources here

Double Digit Kyu lessons are on Thursday evenings from 8:00pm (Sydney time). The Zoom Meeting credentials are: Meeting ID: 826 9614 2901 – Passcode: 806471.  DDK lessons from 2025 can be found here and lessons from 2026 here.

If you are after equipment, please click here

If you still have a question, please email contactus@australiango.asn.au

A list of AGA Open Champions can be found here

We gratefully acknowledge our Sustaining Members for their support of AGA projects:

Andrew Lewis, Alexander Hanysz, David Bofinger, David Mitchell, Yiming Shen, Hong Wing Lee, Des Blackwell, Amy Song, Peter Simpson, Gareth White, Harry Fearnley, Brian Humphreys, Nevar Fourie, Frank Hippmann, Stephen Webb

our Sponsors who have donated generously to the AGA:

samuel ferguson, David Mitchell, Amy Song, Linda Ivezic, Andrew Fischhof, Shufeng Shi, Hong Wing Lee, Charles W P Fearnley, Jean-Marc Barthe

and our Life Members for their lifetime contributions to Go in Australia:

Neville Smythe, Bill Leveritt, Billy Sun, Raphael Shin.
Other

Check list to start a Go club

Starting a Go club is not hard, the following checklist can help but they key is creating something that can last.  So make sure you have somebody to lead, preferably two people just in case of illness.  Schedule the meeting for a practical day or week and at a frequency you can maintain over many months and years.  If your only problem is equipment, teaching materials or a teacher contact the AGA Secretary – secretary@australiango.asn.au

The list is as follows:

  1. Person to lead
    1. Somebody who will decide things
    2. Somebody who will act as a single point of contact
  2. A place to meet
    1. The home of the leader
    2. BBQ and other tables in a local park
    3. A friendly coffee shop
    4. The local library
  3. A meeting time
    1. Something that is regular
    2. Weekly or monthly – it does not matter
  4. Equipment – go sets
    1. One set per two players
    2. Ask the people to bring their own sets
    3. Charge a small entry fee and use that to buy more sets
    4. If you are starting from scratch, contact the AGA Secretary secretary@australiango.asn.au
  5. Advertising – getting people to come
    1. Word of mouth is best – invite your friends
    2. Print leaflets and put them in letter boxes or on notice boards in libraries. supermarkets or shops
    3. Create a Facebook group and invite your friends
  6. Entry fee
    1. Charge enough to pay for the meeting place
  7. Teaching
    1. Everybody who can play can teach beginners
    2. For teaching resources contact the AGA Secretary (secretary@australiango.asn.au)
  8. Luck
    1. Get a couple of bucket fulls and use it sparingly
    2. Don’t despair when people don’t come or recognise the effort – that’s life
    3. Good luck!