Forget chess, go play go

There is a story that long ago a Buddhist Go master traveled to Japan. Upon his arrival, he… There is a story that long ago a Buddhist Go master traveled to Japan. Upon his arrival, he was shown a picture of a game by a Japanese practitioner and declared that the player must be enlightened.

I used to play chess. Now I play Go.

Few people know anything about the game of Go outside of seeing it in movies like “Pi” and “A Beautiful Mind.”

Put simply: Go is a glorious game, often considered the Eastern equivalent of chess. The games are often contrasted against each other. People say chess is analogous to a battle and that Go represents a war. In chess, players battle with pieces, but in Go, they battle with the board. Those familiar with both generally consider Go more challenging.

It is also much older and rich with history. The oldest board game still played in its original form. Go began in China where it gained recognition as one of the four arts along with; music, painting and poetry.

Buddhist monks brought the game to Japan around 1,200 years ago, and it prospered there. The Shogun Tokugawa praised the game, and his Samurai generals studied it. Go remains the national game of Japan.

During the Communist revolution in China, Mao Zedong required his generals to study it. The game was later dismissed as an intellectual past time during the Cultural Revolution but in recent days has seen a revival.

Today the best Chinese Go players are salaried by the government to challenge Japanese players in annual tournaments. tournament. The tournament attracts roughly as much press coverage as the World Series. And unlike modern chess showdowns, both players are always human.

One of the most curious aspects of Go is that, despite modern computer technology, no one has been able to develop a Go program that can challenge a human master.

Most of the Go players I know – there are depressingly few around here – are converts from chess. While the games look entirely different, the same mental abilities are required to play both.

Only Go is much simpler to play. There are white stones, black stones and a board with 38 lines on it. It all begins from there.

Each person takes one color of stones. Black moves first. The turns alternate and each player is permitted to place his stone on any intersection on the board. If a player surrounds stones of his opponent the stones are removed. The object of the game is to gain and secure territory on the board while preventing your opponent to do so. That’s basically it.

The challenge arises from the number of possible board positions – approximately 1×10^750, that’s right 750 – and the skill of your opponent.

When two Go masters play, the game becomes more of a dance. A well-played game relies more on cooperation between the players than competition. An ancient Chinese word for Go translates into “hand conversation.” Even today the polite way to ask for a game is to say, “Will you teach me?”

When learning, each game is a lesson. It is much easier to learn from your opponent while playing Go than a game like chess. In Go the lay of the stones shows the entire history of the game. The skill of two Go players can be assessed simply by looking at a picture of their finished game.

So if you like chess or are just looking for some cerebral stimulation, I highly suggest you begin playing Go. You can play online at Yahoo games and other Web sites. Or better yet buy a board and stones at Games Unlimited on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill.

More people should play Go.

If you play or would like to, contact Will at wminton@pittnews.com.