TOURNAMENT SIGN-UPS:
The July 2013 — F&F Basic Renju Tournament

ACTIVE TOURNAMENTS:
(none at the moment)

---

NOTICE TO OTHER CLUBS:
We do accept challenges issued through the automatic team-challenge feature,
but please contact us first so that we can make the arrangements.

PURPOSE:
Welcome to The Forks & Fouls Club.
We are dedicated exclusively to the game of Renju, both the basic game and its six variants.
We do not play any other games.
We have active ladders and club tournaments and are open to interclub matches.
An explanation and very brief history of Renju can be found further down on this page.
If you are interested in our game, you are fully welcome to join the club and play with us.

MEMBERSHIP:
Anyone is free to join the club.
Just click «Yes» under «Invitations» in the upper-right corner of the Main Club Screen.

TOURNAMENT & TEAM-MATCH NOTICES:
Make sure you are always notified.
-1- Go to «Club Boards» in the upper-right corner of the Main Club Page.
Put a check mark in the empty box in front of «Forks and Fouls Club».
-2- Under «Club Options» on the right side of the Main Club Page, click on «Membership».
Then, under «Club Preferences», make sure that the club-news option is turned on.
-3- You may also check right here under «Forks and Fouls Information».
The status of current tournaments and matches is always given just a few lines below.

CLUB LADDERS:
Sign up under «Our Teams» by putting a check mark in the box for each of your choices.
Although the heading says «Teams», these are really club ladders.
Click on «View the ladder for this team» for any variant to find the ladder.
Seat numbers are a second ladder; you can challenge players above you and move up.

DISCUSSION BOARD RULES:
-1- Politics and religion, being too divisive, are not to be discussed on this open forum.
-2- Discriminatory statements, sexual matters, personal accusations and mean-spirited comments are all to be avoided.
-3- If you break these rules, you must apologise.
-4- If you refuse to apologise, you will be thrown out of the club.
-5- If you continue to break the rules, you will be thrown out of the club.
-6- It is everyones responsibility to maintain a friendly environment.

---

RENJU VOCABULARY:
Fork — a play that creates two attacking lines at the same time
Overline — an unbroken string of six or more stones of the same colour
Foul — a forbidden fork or overline, forbidden for Black but never for White
Five — an unbroken horizontal, vertical or diagonal string of five stones of the same colour (always wins)

Four — a string of four stones that can become a five on the following turn
Double four (4×4 fork) — a fork consisting of two fours
Open four — a four that is open at both ends and has no gaps in the middle (cannot be stopped)
Half-open four — a four that is not open (blocked at one end or with a one-point gap)

Open three — a string of three stones that can become an open four on the following turn
Double three (3×3 fork) — a fork consisting of two open threes
Closed three — a three that is not open
4×3 fork — a fork consisting of one four and one open three

FOULS:
The double four, double three and overline are all fouls for Black that cause automatic loss of game.
They are illustrated below by a play at X.




(Double four)





(Double three)




(Overline)


These plays are never fouls for White.
And the 4×3 fork is never a foul for either player.



(4×3 fork)



Fouls are meant to offset the advantage Black enjoys by playing first.
The consistent and sustained effort to make Five-in-a-Row a completely fair game is what distinguishes Renju from the other Five-in-a-Row games.

ORIGIN OF RENJU:
Renju is a game that evolved out of Gomoku during the course of the 20th Century because Gomoku, though lots of fun, is not a fair game for expert players.
When two top players play each other, the one who plays first should win every single time.
This led to the establishment of fouls, which apply only to Black, the first player, and never to White.
Fouls are the distinguishing feature of Renju.

MORE ABOUT FOULS:
The idea of the foul is that if Black makes a play that constitutes one, either accidentally or deliberately, he or she loses the game immediately.
It may seem unfair that fouls apply only to Black but never to White.
This «unfairness», however, offsets the unfairness of Black’s otherwise decisive advantage in playing first.
GoldToken’s standard game of Renju, called Basic Renju, corresponds to this early development of the game, which is essentially Gomoku plus fouls.

OPENING CONVENTIONS:
In the course of time, it was discovered that fouls were not enough to make Renju a fair game.
This led to the creation of various opening conventions that govern the placement of the first five stones.
From 1966 to just recently, the sole officially recognised convention was Classic Renju.
In the end, though, some limitations were discovered in Classic Renju, and five other opening conventions as well are now being used on an experimental basis.

RENJU & VARIANTS:
Basic — All the fouls but no opening convention — Played since 1931
Classic — The official game since 1966 — Approved for international competition
Yamaguchi — Used in the 2009 World Championship — Approved for international competition
Sakata — Endorsed by the Chinese national federation — Approved for international competition
Soosyrv — Approved for international competition
Tarannikov — Antecedent of the Taraguchi variant
Taraguchi — Approved for international competition

PLEASE NOTE:
All seven of GoldToken's Renju games are played with the same identical rules except for the opening convention, which governs placement of the first five stones.

NEW TO RENJU:
Are you new to Renju?
If you are, it is recommended that you limit yourself to playing Basic Renju for the first few games.
Once you are comfortable with the concept of fouls, though, start checking out the different variants that GoldToken and this club have to offer.
You will discover a very tense and exciting game, one of the finest that human beings have ever created.
Do enjoy it.

---

BASIC RENJU:
The playing board is light green.
Black plays first.
Black and White alternate play, always placing one stone at will anywhere on the board.
There is no opening convention.

CLASSIC RENJU:
The playing board is sky blue.
Black plays first, placing B1–W2–B3 per formula.
White decides whether to continue as White or swap to Black.
White places W4 anywhere on the board.
Black places two B5 stones asymmetrically anywhere on the board.
White removes one of the two B5 stones and then plays W6.
Black and White continue playing alternately.

YAMAGUCHI RENJU:
The playing board is gold.
Black plays first, placing B1–W2–B3 per formula.
Black also declares how many B5 stones will be placed, at least one with no upper limit.
White decides whether to continue as White or swap to Black.
White places W4 anywhere on the board.
Black places the declared number of B5 stones asymmetrically anywhere on the board.
White removes all but one of the B5 stones and then plays W6.
Black and White continue playing alternately.

SAKATA RENJU:
The playing board is turquoise.
White plays first, placing B1–W2–B3 per formula.
Black plays next, placing W4–B5 anywhere on the board to create a balanced position.
White decides whether to continue as White or swap to Black.
White and Black now play alternately one stone at a time, starting with W6.

SOOSYRV RENJU:
The playing board is rose.
Black plays first, placing B1–W2–B3 per formula.
White decides whether to continue as White or swap to Black.
White places W4 anywhere on the board and declares how many B5 stones (1–4) will be placed.
Black decides whether to continue as Black or swap to White.
Black places the declared number of B5 stones asymmetrically anywhere on the board.
White removes all but one of the B5 stones and then plays W6.
Black and White continue playing alternately.

TARANNIKOV RENJU:
The playing board is burnt red.
Black plays B1 in the exact centre of the board.
White decides whether to continue as White or swap to Black.
White plays W2 anywhere within the 3×3 central square.
Black decides whether to continue as Black or swap to White.
Black plays B3 anywhere within the 5×5 central square.
White decides whether to continue as White or swap to Black.
White plays W4 anywhere within the 7×7 central square.
Black decides whether to continue as Black or swap to White.
Black plays B5 anywhere within the 9×9 central square.
White decides whether to continue as White or swap to Black.
Black and White continue playing alternately, placing stones anywhere on the board.

TARAGUCHI RENJU:
The playing board is purple.
Black plays B1 in the exact centre of the board.
White decides whether to continue as White or swap to Black.
White plays W2 anywhere within the 3×3 central square.
Black decides whether to continue as Black or swap to White.
Black plays B3 anywhere within the 5×5 central square.
White decides whether to continue as White or swap to Black.
White plays W4 anywhere within the 7×7 central square.
Black now selects either Option 1 or Option 2.
Option 1
Black decides whether to continue as Black or swap to White.
Black plays B5 anywhere within the 9×9 central square.
White decides whether to continue as White or swap to Black.
Black and White continue playing alternately, placing stones anywhere on the board.
Option 2
Without the right to swap, Black places five B5 stones asymmetrically anywhere on the board.
White removes all but one of the B5 stones and then plays W6.
Black and White continue playing alternately.

---

LINKS:
Here are some links that club members may find interesting—
-1- http://www.renju.net/ Renju International Federation (RIF)
-2- http://www.renju.net/study/openings.php Renju openings and responses
-3- http://renjuoffline.com/index.htm Renju Offline, turn-based site in English exclusively for Renju where strong players play
-4- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renju Wikipoedia article on Renju
-5- http://www.renjuclass.com/ Online Renju Class, for serious students of the game

---

TOURNAMENT RECORD:

Completed Tourneys & Matches
#	VARIANT	TYPE	ENDED	WINNER	W–L =dr
10	Basic	Dbl round robin	May'13	wasadu	4–0 =0
9	Basic	Quad	May'12	scret	6–0 =0
8	Basic	One-vs-all	Jul'11	T-Rex	4–2 =0
7	Yamaguchi	Dbl round robin	May'11	yesyes	4–0 =0
6	Classic	Dbl round robin	Apr'11	wasadu	6–0 =0
5	Basic	Two-player match	Feb'11	Ruache	6–0 =0
4	Basic	Dbl round robin	Dec'10	dawn1968	5–1 =0
3	Basic	Elimination	Jne'10	JonathanT	6–1 =1
2	Basic	One-vs-all	Feb'10	Draw: T-Rex	5–5 =0
1	Basic	Dbl round robin	Dec'09	JonathanT	7–1 =0