This article is from the Go FAQ, by Morten PAHLE gofaq@pahle.org.uk with numerous contributions by others.
Beginners are often very surprised to hear their opponents complain
that their first move is impolite.
Here is the traditional Japanese way of opening a game politely: In an
even game, black's first move should be in the upper right quarter of
the board, on or below the diagonal. From black's point of view, this
means that the following marked points of the board are polite for his
first move:
+-------------------------------------+ 19 | .| 18 | . .| 17 | . . .| 16 | . . . .| 15 | . . . . .| 14 | . . . . . .| 13 | . . . . . . .| 12 | . . . . . . . .| 11 | . . . . . . . . .| 10 | . . . . . . . . . .| 9 | | 8 | | 7 | | 6 | | 5 | | 4 | | 3 | | 2 | | 1 | | +-------------------------------------+ A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P Q R S T
+-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | #| | #| |# #| |# #| |# #| |# #| |# # #| |# # #| | | | | | | | # | |# #| |# # #| |# #| |# # #| |# | |# #| |# #| |# #| |# #| |# #| |# # #| |# # #| +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
 
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