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The Ancient Game of Go
 When I was about ten years old my father came home one day with a new board game
which he intended to teach my brother and I to play. The game board was
made of wood with equally spaced lines running across the surface in a pattern
which created dozens of small squares. The game was played with pieces
that resembled small black and white stones, which were separated by color and
stored in two small wooden bowls. The rules of the game were simple, and
within an hour after supper that evening my father and I were engaged in our
first game of Go together. Years later, during my first visit to
Japan I was delighted to spot groups of old men playing Go out in the
open in public parks. After moving to Japan I began to notice Go
halls here and there in my community, where fans of the game would gather to
compete on an amateur level. I spotted Go columns in the newspaper
and even saw professional games aired on television! Truly this game,
which had been a novel and exotic pastime in my youth, was a serious affair in
Japan and, as I would later learn, most of China and Korea as well as with
ardent fans the world over!
 The game of Go has its roots in China where it was developed roughly
4,000 years ago. The game spread to Korea and eventually to Japan when
Buddhist priests brought the game with them from the continent in the 5th
century. Largely unchanged since ancient times, the rules are simplicity
themselves and can be learned in less than an hour, while the strategy and
tactics needed to master the game can take a lifetime to master. The
object is simply to lay claim to as much board space as possible before the
match is declared over by mutual consent of both players. Territory is
marked out by placing one's stones upon the board at points where the lines
intersect such that a boundary of stones is created around the area one wishes
to claim. But beware, for your opponent may try to block your progress or
even muscle in on your space through strategic placement of their own stones or
by deliberate offensive moves meant to capture yours! The decisions,
maneuvers and sacrifices of the game in many ways create a black and white map
of wits upon the board which has earned the game the nickname "hand
conversation". Top Go players often begin their careers at a young
age and even today in Japan it is not uncommon for budding champions to take up
residence in the home of their master as they prepare for their debut upon the
professional Go circuit.
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The Old Tokaido |
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