I originally had something like this:

 grid = ((1, 0, 0, 1, 0), (0, 1, 0, 0, 0), (0, 0, 1, 0, 1), (1, 0, 0, 0, 0), (0, 0, 1, 0, 0))
count = 0
row = 1
col = 2

    if grid[row][col+1] == 1:
        count += 1
    if grid[row][col-1] == 1:
        count += 1
    if grid[row+1][col] == 1:
        count +=1
    if grid[row-1][col] == 1:
        count +=1
    if grid[row+1][col-1] == 1:
        count +=1
    if grid[row-1][col-1] == 1:
        count +=1
    if grid[row+1][col+1] == 1:
        count +=1
    if grid[row-1][col+1] == 1:
        count +=1
    return count

I get through the first two problem checks fine but fail miserably on the third. I get an 'index out of range' error. When I use exceptions, my count is too high because row[-1] checks the last index. When row or col = 0 I don't want the last index to be checked. The internet has been no help. How can I dynamically check for when the ranges get smaller? What am I missing?