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Go
  Difficulty: Introductory   Keywords: Culture & History

What is Go?

Go is an ancient game originated from China, with a definite history of over 3000 years, although there are historians who say that the game was invented more than 4000 years ago. Its name comes from the Japanese name Igo, which means "surrounding boardgame". (See also names for Go in other languages.)

In this game, each player tries to exert more influence on territory than her opponent, using threats of death, capture, or isolation. It is, therefore, a symbolic representation of the relationships between nations. Go is getting increasingly popular around the world, especially in Asian, European and American countries, with many worldwide competitions being held.

[Diagram]
Figure 1-1



The game of Go is played on a board as shown in Figure 1-1. The Go set is comprised of the board, together with 181 black and 180 white stones. Figure 1-1 shows the standard 19x19 board (i.e. the board has 19 lines by 19 lines), but 13x13 and 9x9 boards can also be used. However, the 9x9 and 13x13 boards are usually for beginners; more advanced players would prefer the traditional 19x19 board.

Compared to International Chess and Chinese Chess, Go has far fewer rules. Yet this allowed for all sorts of moves to be played, so Go can be a more intellectually challenging game than the other two types of Chess. Nonetheless, Go is not a difficult game to learn, so have a fun time playing the game with your friends.

The best part about Go is that players are free to play almost anywhere on the board. =)

See also

Authors: Unkx80 and Stephen Charest.



This is a copy of the living page "Go" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2003 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.