The Game of Go

Go is an ancient Chinese board game that is believed to be 2,000 to 4,000 years old. Anton Ninno, OCM-BOCES

aninno@cnyric.org

Go is played around the world, and has several names. The Chinese call it Wei-chi. In Korea it’s Baduk. The Japanese word is Igo, or just Go.

Chinese immigrants first played Go among themselves here in the 1800’s. Japanese professionals helped early US players, and The American Go Association was formed in 1937. Most major US cities have Go clubs.

The traditional Go board has a 19-line grid. Beginners play on small 9 or 13-line boards.

Go boards are made of wood. The pieces are called stones. Go stones are made of clamshell and slate, but glass stones are less expensive. Thestones are kept in wooden bowls. The lids are used to holdany captured stones.

Players take turns putting stones on the 361 intersections made by the 19-line grid. Black goes first. Nine handicap points are used to balance players of unequal skill. Each intersection is a point of territory, and each captured stone is also worth one point.

Go players hold the stones between their first and middle fingers, like chopsticks. They snap them down on the board with a sharp click.

The goal is to surround more points of territory than your opponent. Players may surround and capture their opponent’s stones.

To be safe from capture, a group of stones must have two eyes, meaning two or more, separate empty intersections inside its walls.

Players stake out the territory they want, and then they fight and build walls to keep it.

The game is over when all the territory is taken, and there are no plays left to make. Pieces are moved to make counting easy. Captured stones are subtracted from scores.

There are many books and websites to help you learn about Go. Visit these sites first.American Go Association - www.usgo.org British Go Association - www.britgo.org