Game Of Go

[Anton]

Any Go players here?

 

If you love using maps and coordinate systems, you may also enjoy learning to play the 4,000 year old board game called Go.

 

Played by millions around the world, it's more specifically called igo in Japan, baduk in Korea, and wei-qi in China, the land of its origin.

 

The actual invention of the game is lost in antiquity, but one theory is that the board was first created as a tool of divination for a Chinese emperor. The intersecting grid lines on the board are thought to have been a map of the world, with the four corners representing the four directions of the compass, and the intersections being the days of the calendar year.

 

Over the centuries, military leaders in Asian countries have played Go to sharpen their battlefield strategies. More recently, an article by Henry Kissinger in Newsweek magazine, used the following reference in this regard. See the clip copied below.

 

So if you like GPS, maps, and board games, take a look at the fascinating old game. Even if you don't usually enjoy strategy games, like chess, give this one a try. It's much different from anything you've seen before. Playing Go was once the pasttime of Zen monks. It's like watching Yin and Yang in action, and a bit like working on a jigsaw puzzle with a friend, only with a picture for reference. Truly a unique game.

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions. If you're already a Go player, let us know. Tell the group here what you think of the game. We're all ears!

 

Anton

 

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Special Report: America's Assignment

By Henry Kissinger

Newsweek, 11/08/04, pp. 32-38

 

Paragraph on page 36 -

 

An interesting recent article compared the difference in the

diplomatic style of China and the United States to their intellectual

games - the West's chess and Chinese neiji, better known by the

Japanese name of go. Chess has only two outcomes: draw and checkmate.

The objective of the game is to say, that is to say, its outcome is

total victory or defeat - and the battle is conducted head-on, in the

center of the board. The aim of go is relative advantage; the game is

played all over the board, and the objective is to increase one's

options and reduce those of the adversary. The goal is less victory

that persistent strategic progress.

 

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Additional Resources:

 

What is the game of Go? - by Mindy McAdams

http://www.well.com/user/mmcadams/gointro.html

 

American Go Association

http://www.usgo.org/

 

Syracuse Go Club - Syracuse, NY

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syracusegoclub/

[+mtn-man]

This doesn't seem to have anything to do with GPS devices or geocaching.

 

I am going to close this topic.