About the Game of Go

Go is an ancient board game that takes the simplest of elements (line and circle, black and white, stone and wood) uses easy rules, and yet generates subtleties of strategy that have enthralled players for thousands of years. Go is easy to learn and can be played enjoyably by people with a wide range of skills. Its unique and reliable handicapping system affords players an enjoyable and equitable contest, even between those of greatly differing skill. Go’s few rules can be demonstrated quickly and grasped easily; it is said that the rules of go can be learned in minutes, but that it can take a lifetime to master the game.

To play Go, two players alternate in placing their colored stones (black or white) on the intersections of a 19x19 grid (13x13 and 9x9 grids are used for learning and for shorter games), with the aim of surrounding empty intersections (territory). Stones are never moved, and only removed (as prisoners) if they are completely surrounded (all contiguous intersections are filled by opposing stones). The game rewards patience and balance over aggression and greed. The balance of influence and territory may shift many times in the course of a game, so to play well one must be prepared to be flexible but resolute. Like Asian martial arts, go can teach concentration, balance, and discipline. One's personality cannot be disguised on the go board.

Beyond being merely a game, go takes on other meanings for its devotees: an analogy for life, an intense meditation, a mirror of one’s personality, an exercise in abstract reasoning, a mental “workout,” or an art form in which Black and White dance across the board in delicate balance. Most importantly, go is both challenging and fun for all players. Go is among the oldest games, originating in China over 4000 years ago. In the fifth century C.E., the game was carried to Japan where go flourished. Today, go is Japan’s national game. Over four hundred professional players compete in tournaments sponsored by major newspapers and television stations with large cash prizes. Go is so well integrated into Japanese society that even women’s magazines have go columns, and major corporations pay professionals to teach at company go clubs. Go is also known as baduk, wei chi, weiqi, and igo and is played by millions of people worldwide. In fact, in Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan, go is far more popular than chess is anywhere in the West.

Though go has been played and respected in the Orient for centuries, it was not until 1911 that Dr. Edward Lasker, a famous chess master, brought go to the United States. Though go is still relatively unknown in America, its popularity continues to grow. Today, more than fifty years since the American Go Association was founded, there are go clubs in many cities, internet web sites for playing go, regularly held local and national tournaments, as well as a handful of go professionals who teach go.

AGA: American Go Association

The American Go Association publishes a quarterly journal, sponsors and helps organize local and national tournaments and go clubs throughout the US, and supports go education efforts in schools, clubs and universities. A membership in the AGA is $30 (as of 2003).