Ancient Chinese Game of "Go" Alive and Well in Lincoln, Nebraska

Some game historians have speculated that chess may have originated from the game of Go (Chinese: Wei qi; Japanese: Igo), but I'm not convinced (Chinese chess is Xiang qi).  Still, Go is a venerable game played by millions all around the world today, which is more than can be said for many other ancient board games that we know of, such as another Chinese game, Liubo or "six sticks," and the ancient Egyptian games of  Mehen and Senet.

Article from The Daily Nebraskan

Local club meets weekly at Cultiva to play ancient board game

• Nick Niendorf
 
• Sep 8, 2015
• 
  

Patrons at Cultiva are greeted by an intriguing sight every Saturday afternoon.  Entering the café yields a view of brooding, pensive combatants. Their moves are swift, but thoughtful and each of the games attract the undivided attention of those around the players.

This is board game that started in China well over 2,500 years ago has found a home in modern-day Lincoln.

“It is less like a war and more like a contest for territory,” said Grant Centauri, the Go club’s founder, when describing the game’s play style. “The end goal is to take over more space than your opponent.”

Tracking the Mathematics of Go

From ScienceNews.org Coupons help evaluate game of Go Game theory math might clarify complexity of chess By Laura Sanders Web edition : 8:03 pm (Image: Chinese Ladies playing Go [Weiqi]) CHICAGO—A new twist on the ancient board game Go may clarify the complicated mathematics behind games like chess, suggests research from the mathematical field known as combinatorial game theory. Using “coupons” to quantify the value of moves in the game allowed researchers to describe the math behind the game more precisely, mathematician Elwyn Berlekamp of the University of California, Berkeley reported February 14 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Go is a popular game in Asia thought to originate 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. Using a board with 19 squares on each side, players put stones on the grid in an attempt to surround and capture an opponent’s stones. Although the rules of Go are simple, the strategy of the game is very complex. A chess board has more than 1040 legal configurations that the pieces can be in at one time. The Go board has about 10171. The complicated mathematical fallout of all those possibilities prevents computer programs from seriously challenging top-tier Go players. “For every move, you have to look at its impact on the whole board,” says Berlekamp. Without a significant handicap, no computer program has yet beaten a top-tier Go player, designated 9p. To understand the mathematical rules that govern Go, Berlekamp turned to some of the best Go players. He wanted to know why the players thought certain moves were good or bad, what Go players call bigger or smaller moves. But Berlekamp ran into a problem. “Go players don’t want to have mathematics discussions,” he says. “They want to play.” To get around this obstacle, Berlekamp created a version of Go called Coupon Go, in which players have the option of either putting a stone on the board or taking a coupon. The coupons, which have different point values, showed Berlekamp what the most valuable moves were. Using the resulting map of moves, Berlekamp developed a mathematical model to predict the most favorable moves near the end of a Go game, when move options are constrained. A large Go Coupon tournament among professional players is being organized to take place in China in 2009.

Aussie School Girl Wins Coveted Weiqi Spot

Fascinating. This young lady has her head together - and the potential to earn "millions of dollars" playing Go! Reported in The Australian D. D. McNicoll August 05, 2008 Schoolgirl passes go JOANNE Missingham, a 14-year-old schoolgirl from Brisbane, has become the first Aussie to join the ranks of professional go players in China. Go, or weiqi as it is known in China, is an ancient strategy game with similarities to chess. In Hangzhou last month, Joanne faced fierce competition as players from across China battled for one of only two playing positions offered by the Chinese Weiqi Association each year. The top professional go players can earn millions of dollars each year. Australian Go Association president John Hardy says Joanne's achievement is extraordinary. "Remember in 2006 how underdog Marcos Baghdatis from Cyprus fought his way to the final of the Australian Open (tennis)? Joanne's achievement must seem like that to the Chinese," Hardy says. Joanne will also represent Australia in the World Mind Sports Games, which will be held in Beijing after the Olympics. strewth@theaustralian.com.au

News About Go

A Chinese player has won an important Go tournament: Chang Hao makes history at Nong Shim Cup www.chinaview.cn 2008-02-22 09:36:00 BEIJING, Feb. 22 -- Chinese go chess player Chang Hao beat South Korean 9-dan Park Yeong-hun on Thursday at the ninth Nong Shim Cup in Shanghai to claim the first trophy for China in the competition's 16 years history. Chang Hao's victory at the 13th round also won him 20 million South Korean won prize money. Chang overcame Takao Shinji 9-dan at the 11th game on Tuesday to knock the Japanese team out of the cup match. He then narrowly defeated the formidable Lee Changho of the South Korean side the next day to cement three consecutive wins. Chang Hao won the 11th Samsung Cup champion by defeating Lee Changho 2:0 in the final in 2007. In 2006, he ended the 1st Kangwon-Land Cup ring contest between China and Korea with four straight wins. The Nong Shim Cup is a gathering of the best go players from South Korea, Japan, and China. The Nong Shim Cup is sponsored by Nong Shim Food Company of South Korea. (Source: CRIENGLISH.com) ******************************************************************************** Congratulations to Chang Hao! It's been a long hard week. I'm tired and obviously missing something here. How can this be the 16th year of this "event" but only the 9th year of the "Cup?" And then there is confusion about the prize money won by Chang Hao. The article reports that he won 20 million "South Korean won prize money" which I take to mean 20 million "won" (South Korean currency). However, a photograph in the article (not included here), shows the winner holding a placard indicating "W 150.000.000", which seems to me to indicate that he won 150,000,000 won (no pun intended). So which is it, 20 million won or 150 million won - a big difference, I'm sure you'll agree. Interesting that this is the first time the Chinese have won this event in its 16 year history, even though the game of Go was invented by the Chinese in - hmmmm, working from memory here, I think it was around 600 BCE and maybe even earlier. The game was later exported to Korea and then to Japan, just like Xiang Qi (Chinese chess) was exported to Korea and Japan. Okay - did a quick off-site search for the value of a Korean won. One won equals 0.001054 US dollars. So, multiplying 150.000.000 won by the conversion rate equals $158,100 (USD). A nice pay day!

Going for Go

It's nice to know there are some Americans who have taken up this ancient game of strategy.

Corvallis teen excels at Go

By Wendy GeistGazette-Times

Last modified Monday, August 27, 2007 12:00 AM PDT

Every Wednesday evening members of the Corvallis Go Club meet at New Morning Bakery for a few friendly matches of an ancient but still relatively unknown game.

The local club, though small and also little-known, has a claim to fame — one of its members, 17-year-old Landon Brownell of Corvallis, is one of the top Go players in the United States and the top rated youth player in Oregon.

Brownell received an all-expense-paid trip to play at the recent national Go tournament in Lancaster, Pa., where he won the top award in his age division.In addition to his recent win, Brownell traveled to North Carolina last year where he won the national championship in a variation of Go that Brownell said requires players to have a little more than skill and strategy on their side.

“You have to be lucky,” he said. “I won it, but I was really lucky.”

The traditional version of the strategic board game is played by two players who alternately place black and white stones on a board marked with grid lines. The object is to control territory on the board. A stone or group of stones is removed if surrounded by the opposing color.

Go is estimated to be more than 2,700 years old and originated in China. The game is played extensively in East Asia and has only recently gained popularity in the U.S.

Brownell, also an avid chess player, began playing Go in 2001 and said he found Go easier to learn in the beginning than chess, but that Go becomes more difficult with advanced play.

Last Wednesday, Brownell was engaged in a game of Go with Jim Levenick, who teaches computer science at Willamette University in Salem. Levenick travels back and forth between Portland and Corvallis to play in local Go clubs.“

Jim likes to play fast to confuse me,” Brownell said, though the comment wasn’t taken too seriously, because Brownell, a much higher rated player, was beating Levenick in nearly every match.Brownell is also an advanced chess player. He won the national high school chess championship in 2006.

He and other local Go fans are looking forward to next year, when the national Go Congress will be in Portland.

For more information on Go and how to contact the Corvallis Go Club see http://www.usgo.org/.