— Ch. 1 · Ancient Origins And Spread —
Go (game).
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
The earliest written reference to the game appears in the historical annal Zuo Zhuan, which records a specific event from 548 BCE. This ancient text mentions the game as one of four essential arts for cultured Chinese scholars alongside calligraphy and painting. Legends trace the invention back to Emperor Yao, who supposedly asked his counselor Shun to design it for his unruly son Danzhu. The game originally used a 17x17 grid before the standard 19x19 board emerged during the Tang dynasty between 618 and 907 CE. Go traveled to Korea sometime between the 5th and 7th centuries CE where it became popular among higher classes. It reached Japan in the 7th century CE and gained popularity at the imperial court by the 8th century. By the 13th century the general public had adopted the game across the Japanese archipelago. In 1603 Tokugawa Ieyasu assigned the best player Nikkai to the post of Godokoro or Minister of Go. Nikkai took the name Hon'inbō Sansa and founded the Hon'inbō Go school that year. Several competing schools formed shortly after this founding moment. These officially recognized institutions greatly developed the level of play and introduced the dan-kyu ranking system still used today.
Fundamental Rules And Mechanics
Players take turns placing stones on vacant intersections of a 19x19 grid containing exactly 361 points. One player uses white stones while the other uses black stones. Once placed, stones may never be moved but captured stones are immediately removed from the board. A single stone or connected group is captured when surrounded by opponent's stones on all orthogonally adjacent points. The game proceeds until neither player wishes to make another move or one player resigns. When a game concludes the winner is determined by counting each player's surrounded territory along with captured stones. Komi adds points to the score of the player with white stones as compensation for playing second. Beginners often play on smaller 9x9 or 13x13 boards before attempting the full standard size. An eye is an empty point or group of points surrounded by a group of stones. If a Black group has two eyes White can never capture it because White cannot remove both liberties simultaneously. A formation having at least two eyes cannot be captured even after it is surrounded by the opponent on the outside. Stones have both offensive and defensive characteristics depending on the situation during play.