Go is played on a board with pieces called "stones" in two colors, black and white. The board has a grid on it; usually 19×19, but 9×9 and 13×13 are sometimes used for teaching, and other sizes can be used as well.
Each player chooses a color (either black or white), and the players take turns placing stones of their color on the board. Stones are placed on the intersections of the grid, not in the spaces. Each turn a player places exactly one stone on the board. Traditionally, the player with the black stones moves first.
| A 19×19 game in progress |
Once a stone has been placed, it is not moved, but it may be taken off of the board if it is captured (capturing stones will be described later).