Just hit 9 kyu on Kiseido Go Server
Kiseido Go Server is a free site that allows playing Go over the internet in real time, unlike DragonGoServer.net, which accepts your move and then emails your opponent, who will reply at some point—perhaps now, perhaps later today, perhaps in a day or two. The KGS games are timed, and they offer both “free” games (no ranking computations) and “ranked” games. You download a little Java applet to your computer, and you play the games through that. (It’s an excellent app and works quite well for editing games.)
I normally play only ranked games, and I just saw my rating go to 9 kyu—my first experience of single-digit kyu status.
The kyu ranks count backwards: 30 kyu is weakest, 1 kyu is strongest. The dan ranks, which are much stronger, count forward: 1 dan is weakest, 9 dan is strongest. The difference in rank varies, but generally speaking a difference of 1 (e.g., 12-kyu v. 11-kyu, or 1-dan v. 2-dan) means the weaker player gets the first move.
When you play the same opponent repeatedly, as in a club or family setting, the handicap is adjusted by one stone whenever one player wins three games in a row: the winning player gives up a handicap stone—or, if s/he has no handicap stones, the losing player gains a handicap stone.)
