Komi points (komidashi is the more complete Japanese language term) are points given in the game of go to one player to add to his or her score. By far the most common type of komi is that awarded as compensation to the second player (White) in an even game (that is, without handicaps ) to make up for first-player advantage.
Komi was introduced into professional go in Japan as a gradual process of innovation, beginning in the 1930s. The correct value of komi to set has been re-evaluated over the years, as professional opening strategy has evolved.
On a 19×19 board, White is now most usually given 6.5 komi points to compensate for Black's advantage of playing the first move. This value has varied widely over the years, starting as low as 2.5 points and is currently as high as 7.5 points according to Chinese and Ing Foundation rules. The rationale behind the half point in komi is to prevent a drawn game , which is convenient for some of the common tournament formats .
Each country, association, and tournament may specify its own komi. For example, AGA (American Go association) official rules still specify 5.5 points, however they suggest also experimenting with values up to 8.5 points in both informal games and tournaments in order to gather data to determine the effects of increasing U.S. komi officially.
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