For those of you who don't know what Go is, here's a brief history of it.
"The History of Go
Go was invented in China between 2,500 and 4,000 years ago. Legend has it that the Emperor Yao invented it to instruct his son in the 23rd century BC. Confucius mentions go in his writings in 479 BC, saying that even playing go is better than being idle. The earliest surviving game record is from around 200 AD (on a 19 line board). Go was popular and reached a high level of development in China in the 2nd through 5th centuries AD. Go remained popular in China, but was not supported by the government. During the Cultural Revolution, go was frowned upon and discouraged. Recently, go has been recognized as a sport, and is supported by the government. Since 1978, go playing in China has made a comeback, and the strongest Chinese players can challenge the strongest Japanese on an equal footing.
Go came to Japan from China around 700 AD with the Buddhist monks. In Japan, go became popular with the samurai warriors, and when the Shogunate was formed in 1602, Go was supported by the government, with 4 competing hereditary go houses developing the game. Strong go players were adopted into the 4 go families, and yearly competitions between the families were held before the Shogun. The Honinbo family was the most prestigious, and generally had the best go players. The last Honinbo gave the name Honinbo to the Japanese professional go association to be used as the title for a yearly tournament. With the Meiji restoration in 1868, the government ceased to support the game, and professional go fell into a period of decline until the 1920s, when the Japanese professional go association was founded and newspapers started to sponsor tournaments.
In this century, go is supported in Japan through tournaments sponsored by newspapers and major companies. There are even go tournaments shown on TV. Top players earn several hundred thousand dollars a year in prizes. Most professionals earn their living teaching at go clubs, or writing go books. There are about 400 professional players in Japan and two professional go associations, the Nihon Kiin and the Kansai Kiin.
Go came to the USA with the Japanese immigrants to San Francisco in the late 19th century. The San Francisco Go club is over 100 years old. The American Go Association was founded in 1937 in New York. Gos popularity in the USA grew quickly starting in the late 60s, when Ishi Press started publishing English translations of Japanese Go books. Richard Bozulich, the founder of Ishi Press, continues to translate and publish books for Kiseido. In the 90s, several other companies have started producing go books, with Yutopian translating many books from Chinese. James Kerwin was the first professional go player in the USA, in the 70s, but now there are enough go professionals living in the USA that in 1995 the first US professional go tournament was played, and in 1996, Jimmy Cha founded the US Professional Go Association.
In Europe, Go was played by Japanese immigrants in the 19th century. German chess players Edward Lasker and Otto Korschelt started playing go around the turn of the century, after seeing a go column in a Japanese newspaper. Korschelt published the first western book giving the rules and strategy of go in about 1900."
Anyways, I play Go on the Kiseido Go Server I'm only about 17 kyu in strength, though. (Ranks in go run from 25 kyu for an absolute beginner, to 1 kyu, then 1 dan through 9 dan. For amateurs each rank corresponds to a single handicap stone on a 19x19 board. So, for example, if a 9 kyu played a 13 kyu, the 13 kyu would start the game with 4 handicap stones on the board. The top amateur players are ranked 7 dan. Professionals have a separate system using just 1 dan through 9 dan ranks and advancement is gained through results in rating tournaments, where games are played without handicap. A professional 1 dan is comparable in strength to an amateur 7 dan.)
I hope you guys join me, sometime.
"The History of Go
Go was invented in China between 2,500 and 4,000 years ago. Legend has it that the Emperor Yao invented it to instruct his son in the 23rd century BC. Confucius mentions go in his writings in 479 BC, saying that even playing go is better than being idle. The earliest surviving game record is from around 200 AD (on a 19 line board). Go was popular and reached a high level of development in China in the 2nd through 5th centuries AD. Go remained popular in China, but was not supported by the government. During the Cultural Revolution, go was frowned upon and discouraged. Recently, go has been recognized as a sport, and is supported by the government. Since 1978, go playing in China has made a comeback, and the strongest Chinese players can challenge the strongest Japanese on an equal footing.
Go came to Japan from China around 700 AD with the Buddhist monks. In Japan, go became popular with the samurai warriors, and when the Shogunate was formed in 1602, Go was supported by the government, with 4 competing hereditary go houses developing the game. Strong go players were adopted into the 4 go families, and yearly competitions between the families were held before the Shogun. The Honinbo family was the most prestigious, and generally had the best go players. The last Honinbo gave the name Honinbo to the Japanese professional go association to be used as the title for a yearly tournament. With the Meiji restoration in 1868, the government ceased to support the game, and professional go fell into a period of decline until the 1920s, when the Japanese professional go association was founded and newspapers started to sponsor tournaments.
In this century, go is supported in Japan through tournaments sponsored by newspapers and major companies. There are even go tournaments shown on TV. Top players earn several hundred thousand dollars a year in prizes. Most professionals earn their living teaching at go clubs, or writing go books. There are about 400 professional players in Japan and two professional go associations, the Nihon Kiin and the Kansai Kiin.
Go came to the USA with the Japanese immigrants to San Francisco in the late 19th century. The San Francisco Go club is over 100 years old. The American Go Association was founded in 1937 in New York. Gos popularity in the USA grew quickly starting in the late 60s, when Ishi Press started publishing English translations of Japanese Go books. Richard Bozulich, the founder of Ishi Press, continues to translate and publish books for Kiseido. In the 90s, several other companies have started producing go books, with Yutopian translating many books from Chinese. James Kerwin was the first professional go player in the USA, in the 70s, but now there are enough go professionals living in the USA that in 1995 the first US professional go tournament was played, and in 1996, Jimmy Cha founded the US Professional Go Association.
In Europe, Go was played by Japanese immigrants in the 19th century. German chess players Edward Lasker and Otto Korschelt started playing go around the turn of the century, after seeing a go column in a Japanese newspaper. Korschelt published the first western book giving the rules and strategy of go in about 1900."
Anyways, I play Go on the Kiseido Go Server I'm only about 17 kyu in strength, though. (Ranks in go run from 25 kyu for an absolute beginner, to 1 kyu, then 1 dan through 9 dan. For amateurs each rank corresponds to a single handicap stone on a 19x19 board. So, for example, if a 9 kyu played a 13 kyu, the 13 kyu would start the game with 4 handicap stones on the board. The top amateur players are ranked 7 dan. Professionals have a separate system using just 1 dan through 9 dan ranks and advancement is gained through results in rating tournaments, where games are played without handicap. A professional 1 dan is comparable in strength to an amateur 7 dan.)
I hope you guys join me, sometime.
