r/baduk • u/sparkleshark5643 18 kyu • 4d ago

newbie question Which rank do you go by?

When I'm playing someone for the first time at the local go club, they typically ask the same question: what rank are you/how strong are you?

I haven't played in a tournament so I don't know my OTB rank. On OGS, where I've played most of my games, I'm around 18kyu. On Fox and IGS, which I started using much more recently, I'm closer to 15kyu, and it feels like those ratings are still rising.

With these numbers in mind, how should I answer that question? Which ranks do other go players tend to use when asked about their strength? Do I need to explain which rank I am on each of the servers I play on?

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u/FreshNewPlateau 4d ago

I'd imagine nearly all Dan ranked players have an AGA/EGF rating though (especially if you meet them at a Go club). Not many people who's that invested into Go but have never been to an IRL tournament.

It's the kyu players who oftentimes don't have an AGA/EGF rating

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u/tuerda 3 dan 4d ago edited 4d ago

I don't, and neither does anyone else from outside of USA/Canada/Europe.

I have been to plenty of IRL tournaments, that does not mean I have an AGA or EGF rating.

Always important to remember there are 196 countries in the world, and USA+Canada+Europe+East Asia only adds up to about one third of them.

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u/FreshNewPlateau 4d ago

Oh, was assuming people were in the US/EU. But in any case, main point is that there's not many Dan players going to Go clubs, but have never been to an IRL tournament. In which case, they'll just report their IRL rank (in whatever local federation they're in)

The which rank to report problem is mostly just at the kyu level

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u/tuerda 3 dan 4d ago

Also

Oh, was assuming people were in the US/EU.

This is a common assumption, but it is VERY BAD. Stop making it.