Thegame Gohas only one objective : control the most soil . But this wide-eyed display panel biz , easily played by kid and novice , can take a lifetime to master . There are more potential ways for a plot of Go to play out than there are subatomic atom in the have it off universe [ source : American Go Association ] . Even the most sophisticated computer programme ca n’t come up with a definitive result for winning at Go – unlike chess , in which artificial intelligence information can routinely trounce a human opponent .
Go is the old game – ever – that is still played in its original form . Go enthusiasts may consider whether the game originated in China or neighbor Tibet . And they have n’t reached a consensus on whether it was devise a bare 3,000 years ago or nearly 4,000 years ago . But Go was so extremely see that by the 1600s in China , it was moot one of the four skill a gentleman must master [ source : The International Go Federation ] . The game is known asweiqiin China , badukin Korea and sometimes asigoinstead of Go in Japan [ source:361 Points ] .
Beginning in about 1000 A.D. , Go was play in Japan by the upper classes , but it was n’t until the Tokugawa period ( 1603 - 1867 A.D. ) that Go became a ethnic institution in Japan . Four schooling were base , each with the sole intent of instructing pupil to play Go and then compete against each other [ source : The International Go Federation ] . After hundreds of long time of bid – with vary level of blue-blooded ebullience – a professional tournament organisation was launch . Popularity spread to Asiatic and European countries and the United States . By the late seventies , organize Go tournament were being hold throughout the human race . Today , more than 70 fellow member countries participate in international play , which is yield everyday newspaper coverage in Japan while its player are make celebrity status . And new players are still discovering the game , which is played exactly as it was in the beginning [ root : American Go Association ] .
So how do you make the first move ? We ’ll share a step - by - footfall scout to Go on the next page .
How to Play the Game of Go
To play Go , one player places black stones and the other places white stones on a ruled board , traditionally made of carven wood , that organize a grid of 19x19 cross lines . There are 361 Harlan Fiske Stone ( 181 black and 180 white ) – just enough for each of the circuit card ’s 361 intersections . Smaller boards may be used – for example , a 9x9 grid is enough to instance the staple of the secret plan to beginners , and a 13x13 storage-battery grid can furnish a quick - shimmer version of the game [ source : Kiseido ] .
Players commence a game of Go with an empty control panel . The black - Harlan Fisk Stone histrion post the first Harlan Fiske Stone on the board at the overlap of any two lines . The player then alternate turns – or take place without playact a gemstone if they care – as they essay to ascertain the absolute majority of the dining table ’s soil ( crossing ) by adjust up solid perimeters with their stone , and by preventing their opposer from doing the same by invading their adversary ’s territory and surround ( thus enamor ) their opponent ’s stone .
A stone can only be placed on an empty intersection and can not be move after it is dally – unless it is catch and taken off the board . A stone can be captured when its player can not place another gem next to it because it is surrounded by opposing stone . The secret plan ends when both players exceed consecutively .
There are two main ways of influence scores in Go : Chinese ( or area ) grading and Nipponese ( or territory ) scoring . In Chinese scoring , points are reckon by tote up the number of Harlan Fiske Stone you have on the board to the number of empty intersections that your stones surround . In Nipponese scoring , points are figure by subtracting the number of your stones that were captured from the number of empty intersection that your Harlan Fisk Stone circumvent . In both methods , the player with the highest number of stop wins the game [ root : Baduk.org , Online Go Server ] .
To flush the field , player can bring thekomidashirule and accolade free point to the musician with white Isidor Feinstein Stone . This helps even the score because the player with black stones made the first move of the biz . extra handicaps can be instated found on a player ’s professional or unskilled rank ; this allow participant to contend even if they have different skill spirit level .
Ready to signal up for the near tourney ? We ’ll explain how to find these hour - long competitions on the next varlet .
Tips for the Game of Go
In 1996,NASAastronaut Daniel Barry played the first extraterrestrial game of Go with a Japanese astronaut . However , you do n’t call for extreme length to get in the game . you may toy Go online , set up a game at base or participate in an unpaid or professional tourney . Tournaments that are open to all players , regardless of acquirement , often include shop and instruction opportunities , too [ source : American Go Association ] .
Professional tournaments are serious business . A tournament can take eight daylight to carry its course and present up to $ 500,000 to the overall winning player . A rule known askohelps cut back the length of secret plan by banning any move that would return the board to a previous state [ beginning : Kiseido.com ] .
If you ’re just start out , contract on the BASIC . Practice common stone patterns , as well as strategy that will meliorate your betting odds of winning . For example , during your initiative movement , place stones at the corner of the board . Then set them on the sides and play toward the plaza . you may interpret books like " Go for beginner " by Kaoru Iwamoto to acquire an overall intellect of Go ; more ripe players will benefit from the strategy tips offered in " The Direction of turn " by Takeo Kajiwara .
As for other skill - builders , pearl up on solitaire . Although you’re able to learn how to play Go in just a few minutes , it will take years ( at least ! ) to take on the secret plan to its full potential . Take Wu Qingyuan – also known as Go Seigen – for illustration . He analyze the secret plan for many old age before his successful professional career from 1930 to 1961 . He once took three month to finish a single plot .
You might also desire to brush up onmath : In the late sixties , mathematician John Horton Conway connected Go to dreamlike number possibility , which provides a way to organize numbers game that include genuine , infinite and infinitesimal numbers . In the 1990s , researchers Elwyn Berlekamp and David Wolfe picked up on Conway ’s work , adding a new room to value final stage - leg Go game .
American moviegoers may be intimate with Go from its cameo in the 2001 picture show " A Beautiful psyche , " in which mathematician John Forbes Nash plays Go at Princeton and claims the game is flawed because he orchestrated a perfect game , yet fall behind .
Younger audiences have a pop culture in , too : The secret plan was central to the manga series " Hikaru no Go " that was published in Japan from 1998 to 2003 and adapted into an Zanzibar copal from 2001 to 2003 [ source : Fanlore.org ] . Both the manga and anime have also been free in English . Its popularity draw a Modern genesis of Go players – a popularity that seems only fitting for a game that ’s outlive for thousands of days .
