Overview of the game of Go
Go is a strategic board game for two players. Also
known as Weiqi in Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 圍棋,Simplified
Chinese: 围棋), Igo in Japanese (Kanji: 囲碁), Cờ Vây in
Vietnamese (Chữ Hán Việt:圍棋), and Baduk in Korean (Hangul:바둑), Go
originated in ancient China, likely centuries before its first reference
c. 548 BC. It is now popular throughout the world, especially in East
Asia.
Go is played by two players alternately placing black and white stones on
the vacant intersections of a 19×19 rectilinear grid. A stone or a group of
stones is captured and removed if it is tightly surrounded by stones of the
opposing color. The objective is to control a larger territory than the
opponent by tactically placing one's stones so they cannot be captured. The
game ends and the score is counted when both players consecutively pass on a
turn, indicating that neither side can increase its territory or reduce its
opponent's; the game can also end by resignation.
Terminology
The Japan Go Association (Nihon
Ki-in) has long played a leading role
spreading Go outside East Asia, publishing the English-language magazine
Go Review in the 1960s, establishing Go Centers in the US and Europe,
and often sending professional teachers to Western nations for extended
periods. As a result, many Go concepts for which there is no ready English
equivalent have become known elsewhere by their Japanese names.
The widespread use of
Japanese terminology in the West notwithstanding, Chinese and Korean members
of the international Go community, including professionals, continue to
advocate for the primacy of terms from their language in common usage. They
point out that in recent years, many Chinese and Korean players have also
taught Western students.
In order to
differentiate the game from the common English verb "go",
the game is sometimes spelt with a capital G; this convention is not however
followed in most of the technical literature on the game. An alternative but
uncommon spelling is Goe, proposed by Ing Chang-Ki, the late wealthy
promoter of Go (particularly in Taiwan and the US and Europe), for the same
reason. This spelling is not widely used outside events sponsored by the Ing
foundation.
History
The origins of the game are from China and the earliest
references come from China in the 6th century BC (548 BC, from Zuozhuan).
Except for changes in the board size and starting position, Go has
essentially kept the same rules since that time, which quite likely makes it
the oldest board game still played today.
According to legend, the game was used as a teaching tool after the ancient
Chinese emperor Yao 堯 (2337 - 2258 BC) designed it for his son, Danzhu, who
he thought needed to learn discipline, concentration, and balance. Another
suggested genesis for the game states that in ancient times, Chinese
warlords and generals would use pieces of stone to map out attacking
positions. Further and more plausible theories relate Go equipment to
divination or flood control.
Before
the industrial age in China, Go was long perceived as the popular game of
the elite aristocratic class while Xiangqi (Chinese chess) was perceived as
the game of the masses. Go was considered one of the cultivated arts of the
Chinese scholar gentleman (junzi), along with Calligraphy, Painting and
playing the Guqin, known as 琴棋書畫 (四艺, Pinyin: Sìyì), or the Four Arts
of the Chinese Scholar.
Go had reached Japan from China by the 7th century, and gained popularity at
the imperial court in the 8th. By the beginning of the 13th century, the
game was played in the general public in Japan.
Early in the 17th century, the then best player in Japan, Honinbo Sansa, was
made head of a newly founded Go academy (the Honinbo school, the first of
several competing schools founded about the same time), which developed the
level of playing greatly, and introduced the martial arts style system of
ranking players. The government discontinued its support for the Go
academies in 1868 as a result of the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate.
In honor of the Honinbo school, whose players consistently dominated the
other schools during their history, one of the most prestigious Japanese Go
championships is called the "Honinbo" tournament.
Historically, Go has been unequal in terms of gender. However, the opening
of new, open tournaments and the rise of strong female players, most notably
Rui Naiwei, has in recent years legitimized the strength and competitiveness
of emerging female players.
Around 2000, in Japan, the manga (Japanese comic) and anime series Hikaru no
Go popularized Go among the youth and started a Go boom in Japan. In January
2004, the
Hikaru no Go manga began running in the
US (monthly) edition of Shonen Jump. Whether this will lead to a strong
following in the US is yet to be seen.
Fun go facts
> Go is the
oldest
game in the world still played in its original form. Some estimates are as
high as 4000 years, but certainly 2500-3000.
> Go is the second most played game in the world, behind
Xiangqi (Chinese Chess).
> Top go players can earn nearly one million US dollars a year. 2004 tops
was
Cho U, 9p from Japan
who won $1.04 million US.
> Go is simple enough for a 4 year old to learn, but too complex for a
computer to beat a human who is a strong beginner.
> It is believed there are more possible game variations than atoms in the
visible universe.
> Just like the Golf channel in the US; Japan, China, and Korea all have
cable TV channels devoted entirely to Go.
> Go players take their game seriously. You can purchase what is basically
a 42cm x 45cm x 18cm (17"x17"x7") square block of wood for $127,000 US.
> Go is considered one of the premiere challenges for programmers of
artificial intelligence (chess is not considered a challenge anymore).
> It is telling
of the immortality and constant veneration that Go has had for millennia
that the two greatest players b are often considered
Huang Longshi (1651?
– 1691?) of China, or
Honinbo Dosaku (1645
– 1702) of Japan.
> There is a historical story that in the 17th century, the rule of Tibet
was once decided over three games of Go.
> Go is strongly believed to stop or reverse common senile dementia in the
elderly. Additional information is coming that it may reduce the incidence
of Alzheimer's.
> Go has an immense impact on the mental development of children,
particularly in the area of reasoning
>
Chess is primarily a
left brain game. Go actively stimulates both the right and left sides of the
brain.
> Go allows you to travel around the world when only you gotten stronger.
Becoming a Go Professional
Players
Anyone who is at the age 18 or below is able to enter the
Go Institute in Japan or Korea, we call them Insei. Insei is prodigy
children who has chosen their path to become the future professional go
players, studying at either at the
Nihon Kiin or the
Kansai Kiin.
The Korean equivalent is
called
Yeonguseng, the
Chinese student is called a Yuansheng (院生 yuànshēng or yuan4
sheng1)
As Go is another career opportunity therefore a Go professional could
earn money through teaching or joining tournaments, This is a list of
professional Go tournaments.
The tradition, initiated by the
Honinbo Tournament in
Japan, is for an event to be run annually, leading up to a title match and
the award of a title for one year to the winner. Tournaments do not consist,
generally, of players coming together in one place for a short period, but
are spread out over time.
References from http://www.wikipedia.org
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