The GO Academy (围棋教育学院)

Kids in elementary schools learn the game of Go to develop intelligence, emotion and personality. Since Go is a mind sport, it helps users strengthen and preserve their mental functions in many respects. In this context, adult players practice GO to keep their brains active and to relieve their stress from work and social constraints.

Learning GO has been a great learning adventure for me. One move can make or break a game! This challenges the brain to think of the best move possible. Patience is required to sense opportunity and seize them. During competitions, not only we improve our mental capabilities, we also grow up by learning to accept losses.

Go is one of the most intellectually stimulating games to be derived out of a simple set of rules and very little playing equipment. One particular skill Go unexpectedly helped me hone is the ability to imagine and visualize multiple possibilities in my head without playing it out physically. In Go, imagination, lateral thinking and an aptitude for sensing and evaluating possibilities are core skills that are developed while studying the game. These elements are often lacking in the conventional academic system, but are skills highly prized in today’s world. The best Go players are highly innovative, while possessing the discipline and drive to succeed.