As the oldest game still played in its original form, Go is a strategic and intellectual mind sport that originated from china more than 4,000 years ago.
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The 3 Main Board Sizes
19x19
Standard board size
Standard board size
13X13
Intermediate board size
Intermediate board size
9x9
beginner board size
beginner board size
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Common Misconception of Go and Other Games
Reversi
Flipping of disk to display your own color
Flipping of disk to display your own color
Connect 5
Place 5 stones of your own color in a row
Place 5 stones of your own color in a row
GO
Surround more territory than your opponent
Surround more territory than your opponent
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How Go is Known Around the World
ENGLISH - GO
CHINESE - WEIQI
JAPANESE - IGO
KOREAN - BADUK
CHINA
GO originated from China and was regarded as one of the Four Cultivated Arts for the Chinese Scholars.
JAPAN
After GO was spread to Japan, the competitive level of the game increased and it became a national game.
KOREAN
There are 24-hour Go channels in Korea and Myongji University is the first tertiary institution in the world to offer Go Studies as a degree.
USA
The first country outside Asia to have professional GO system
EUROPE
The continent that has most number of GO associations.
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Stone Holding Posture
Beginner
A beginner usually holds a stone using his or her index finger and the thumb.
A beginner usually holds a stone using his or her index finger and the thumb.
Regular Player
A regular player will use his or her middle finger over the index finger to hold the stone.
A regular player will use his or her middle finger over the index finger to hold the stone.
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Ranking System
KYU
Everyone begins at 30 Kyu and as we improve, the rank decreases until 1 Kyu. After which the next improvement will propel you into the rank of Dan.
Everyone begins at 30 Kyu and as we improve, the rank decreases until 1 Kyu. After which the next improvement will propel you into the rank of Dan.
DAN
Dan level is equivalent to a black belt in material arts. 7 Dan is the highest level an amateur player can reach.
Dan level is equivalent to a black belt in material arts. 7 Dan is the highest level an amateur player can reach.
PROFESSIONAL
Professional players begin their career as 1 Dan Pro, working their way up to become 9 Dan Pro, which is the highest level. They earn a living by playing competitively.
Professional players begin their career as 1 Dan Pro, working their way up to become 9 Dan Pro, which is the highest level. They earn a living by playing competitively.
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Game Objective
The objective of Go is to surround a total area of the board with one's stones that is larger than the opponents by the end of the game.
How To Capture
X marks the lives of black stone
When all its lives are covered, the black stone will be captured
Captured stones will be removed from the board
How To Escape
X marks the remaining life of black stone
Black can escape by extending
Black has 3 lives now
Objective of GO
This diagram shows a complete game.
△ marks White's territory (11)
〇 marks Black's territory (8)
White wins by three points!
〇 marks Black's territory (8)
White wins by three points!
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Playing GO Uses Both Left & Right Brain
RIGHT BRAIN
Shape Recognition
Creativity
Intuition
Judgement
LEFT BRAIN
Strategy
Calculation
Memorization
Logical thoughts
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Interesting Facts
Professional Go Players can earn up to 1.3 million USD per year.
Go has very simple rules but is the most complex game with 2.08 x 10170 game variations.
In order to win against professional Go players, Go programs have to rely on sophisticated neural network instead of simple brute-force calculations used in Chess programs.
Go is the oldest game in the world still played in its original form with an estimated history of more than 4,000 years.
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Famous People Who Play GO
Bill gates
Albert Einstein
Xi Jinping