Go
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Go is the English name for an ancient board game called go (碁) or igo (囲碁) in Japanese, wéiqí (圍棋/围棋) in Chinese and baduk (바둑) in Korean.
Go is the world's second most played board game (after Xiangqi, Chinese chess) and, except perhaps for backgammon, it is the oldest board game still commonly played. It originated in China; the first written references are from the Spring and Autumn period (771-478 BCE) but the game is likely older. It reached Korea by the 5th century CE and Japan by the 7th. All three countries have books and game records that are centuries old and still studied.
The game is still most popular in East Asia, especially China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, but it is now played all over the world. There are professional players and some tournaments have prizes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In Asia, some of the pros get the sort of adulation that is paid to sports stars or media stars anywhere.
There is a wiki called Sensei's Library dedicated to the game, with many pages for beginners. There are many other resources in multiple languages; books and magazines, newspaper columns and TV shows, at least half a dozen YouTube channels, many web sites, discussion groups on Facebook and Reddit, several web forums, and many online servers for playing the game.
UnderstandThe rules for Go are quite simple, about as complex as checkers. However playing well — both strategy and tactics — is at least as difficult as chess, arguably quite a bit more so.
DestinationsIn East Asian countries newspaper columns and TV shows about the game are common; Japan, China, and Korea all have cable TV channels devoted entirely to Go.
DoBefore the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan, China and Korea all had tours for Go players, most including some instruction from professional players. As far as we know as of late 2022, none of those have restarted yet.
LearnMany pros and some strong amateurs give lessons.
Buyg. photography, cars or sound systems — in that it is quite possible to enjoy them immensely with modest equipment, but serious hobbyists often spend larger amounts and collector's items may fetch enormous prices.
See also
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Go" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Tuchola 026.jpg, CC BY 1.0 via Wikimedia Commons