About Go
by Tom Obenchain

Stated in the simplest of ways, Go is game where two players alternately place white and black stones on a grid of intersecting lines in a way that creates boundaries and surrounds territory. At game's end, the player with the most surrounded territory wins. In fact, the name of the game is essentially translated into English as "The Surrounding Game".

It is a mistake, however, to stop here at the assumption that Go is a simple pastime, such as checkers or a game of cards. Many players learn that Go is much more than the simple game they initially mistook it for, once they have experienced the subtleties of flow and balance that are part of the game. The austerity of the board and stones disguises the richness of thought and human interaction that are the essence of Go. It is not difficult to find a player who cannot quite tell you why the game has a captured his or her attention and held it for so long.

These same players may try to explain what draws them back, again and again, and makes them hungry to learn more about the game, to be able to play it better. Go is in a very real way a martial art, requiring the same discipline to master as other martial arts. The ranking system is even similar.

To play it well, Go requires that a player learn principles of harmony to be able to balance attack and defense, strategy and tactics, courage and caution.

Go is creative. Starting with an empty board, players create and construct their own empires of stone, sometimes to their glory and other times only to watch what they have built fall into ruin. This game requires the broad vision of the grand strategist and well as the sharp eye of a hunter. Both are required to solve the game's intricate puzzles of shape and interaction.

In ancient China, Go was considered one of the accomplishments of a well-educated person, along with music, calligraphy, and painting. While mastering a mere game may seem indulgent to the Western mind, those who play it often, quickly appreciate it for the art it is. Now, if you are interested in pursuing this game, this art, be warned that this game -- so simple and yet so profound -- may affect you in ways you do not now expect.