The Game of Go: Presented by Astral Castle

History of The Game of Go, Also Known As I-go, Originally Wei-qi

The game called Wei-qi in China, I-go in Japan, and Go in America got its start in ancient China. Two stories about the origins of the game of Wei-qi have Chinese emperors developing the game for their sons who lack something in the brain department -- one as an entertainment for his kid, another as a brain strengthener -- and certainly the game can be both. While a simple game at the outset, it has depth and complexity that have made it the only game I am aware of that cannot be programmed into a computer and have the computer beat a master-class human playing it; humans still rule Go.

The two stories mentioned above claim their originating emperor as living somewhere between 2357 and 2205 B.C.E.. Two other stories are popular: one for an underling of Emperor Chieh, named Wu (around 1800 B.C.E.) and another claims it was developed by court astrologers during the Chou Dynasty (1045-255 B.C.E). It would not be surprising if all the stories were true, in their way, with the board and stones in black and white having originated as a divination tool -- since some aspects of the game to this day make astrological references -- but somewhere along the way someone devised a game that was further developed into the form we know it in today. Whatever its actual origins, it is believed that the game goes back at least 3,000 years, perhaps as far as 4,000 years from the present era -- making it one of the oldest board games on the planet -- and the only game with a consistent set of fundamental rules maintained over many centuries .

It is believed by some that Go originated as a tool for divination by astrologers, who cast the black and white stones onto a board and interpreted the landing patterns as omens. Only later would the stones and board be developed into a game. References to it as a game are found in literature discussing life in 600 B.C. in China, and around 200 B.C. the game enjoyed its first of several Golden Ages in which it became widely popular -- even entering into poetry of the time.

Go entered Korea during the Han Empire sometime after the year 100 A.D. In Korea Go is called Paduk or Baduk.

By 1253 Go was well-established in Japan, as it's told that Nichiren, founder of a sect of Buddhism, played the game against a 9-year-old disciple in that year. As early as 701 a monastic decree awarded punishment of 100 days of hard labor to anyone caught gambling, among other pursuits -- but a few pastimes were exempt -- including the game of Go, which has long been thought of as a pursuit that builds character and strength of mind (while leaving ego behind).

By the 1600s Go had reached Europe, carried by the worldwide trade of the times to ports far and wide. Descriptions of the game were published in Italian, German and English in the first half of the fifteenth century.

Since that time Go has continued to gain an audience throughout the world. In the last decades it has gained a strong following in the U.S. where there are now national tournaments that send players on to the International tournaments established in 1988.

A Brief Idea of How Go Is Played

The original name "Wei-qi" means "surrounding pieces" which pretty much defines what the game is about.

Stones are placed on the intersections of lines, on a board with 19 x 19 lines. Alternating one stone at a time, first black, then white play, in such a way as to take possesion of areas enclosed by them -- it is the empty spaces (and the occasional captured stones) that add up to the individual's score at the end of the game. (This is the Japanese system of scoring, which is used in the United States.)

Two basic concepts are important to Go: the "unit" and a unit's "liberties".

A unit can be one stone, or more. If one stone, it stands without any other stones of its color "touching" (directly next to) above, below, to the right or left (which I shall call the cardinal points). If more than one stone, it may take any shape consisting of lines and right angles -- diagonal connections do not count in making units.

A unit's liberties are any of the cardinal points directly around it that are empty. Thus a unit consisting of one stone alone somewhere in the middle of the board would have four liberties; a lone stone on the edge of the board would have three liberties, and one in a corner would have two liberties. Units formed by more than one stone can have many liberties.

Two more concepts: "capture" and "enclosed territory".

To capture an opponent's unit, simply take away all its liberties by placing your stones on all of them. Captured stones count as one point apiece at the end of the game (but please note that capturing is not really the point of the game).

Enclosed territory consists of empty intersections (including liberties), surrounded by your stones, that your opponent won't or can't put pieces on (or their pieces would be taken) -- and each such empty intersection you possess at the end of the game also counts as one point.

The game ends when both players agree that no more stones need to be played -- at this point, generally all the configurations on the board are stable, with neither player having a place to put a stone that would threaten or change the balance of the situation. (Players could put stones in their own safe territories, but wouldn't want to, as this would reduce the number of empty intersections they control, and thus lower their score.) When a player believes this is the situation, the player passes -- and gives the opponent a stone as a prisoner. If the other player agrees, then passes and gives their opponent a stone as a prisoner, the two passes in a row constitute the end of the game.

This is a very brief overview of the game, leaving out many important concepts and rules, like atari (a situation in which only one liberty is left and capture is nigh), suicide (a rule against putting one's stone in atari, unless it results in the immediate capture of an opponent's stones, thus providing liberties to the stone played), ko (in which there are points in common which would theoretically result in first one player's stone being captured, followed immediately by the opponent's stone being played in the next spot and captured -- repeating ad infinitum -- the rule being that the opponent cannot put a stone in that next spot on the next turn, but could on a subsequent turn if it made sense to do so).

The richness of Go makes it a game that can entertain not just for hours, but years throughout one's life. It also has a well-balanced handicapping system that allows a novice to play an expert -- and win about half the games -- all the while being given the opportunity to learn even more about the game.