What is Go?

What Is the Game of Go?

Go is a fascinating board game that originated in China more than 4,000 years ago. Also known as baduk, wei ch'i, weiqi, and igo, it is played today by millions of people, including thousands in the United States. In Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan, it is far more popular than chess is in the West, and professional players compete for large cash prizes. Its popularity in this country continues to grow, more than fifty years after the founding of the American Go Association.

It is said that the rules of go can be learned in minutes, but that it can take a lifetime to master the game. Click here for our Top Ten Reasons to Play Go. Click here to learn the rules, download computer opponents, and/or play an actual game online for free with a real person right now!

The rules couldn't be simpler. Two players alternate in placing black and white stones on a large (19x19 line) ruled board, with the aim of surrounding territory. Stones never move, and are only removed from the board if they are completely surrounded. The game rewards patience and balance over aggression and greed; the balance of influence and territory may shift many times in the course of a game, and a strong player must be prepared to be flexible but resolute.

Like the Eastern martial arts, Go can teach concentration, balance, and discipline. Each person's style of play reflects their personality, and can serve as a medium for self-reflection

Go combines beauty and intellectual challenge. "Good shape" is one of the highest compliments one can pay to a move in the game of go. In Asia, it is often played on a traditional, carved wooden board, with black and white stones made from slate and clamshell, but good affordable equipment is also available. In either case, the patterns formed by the black and white stones are visually striking and can exercise an almost hypnotic attraction as one "sees" more and more in the constantly evolving positions.

The game appeals to many kinds of minds -- to musicians and artists, to mathematicians and computer programmers, to entrepreneurs and options traders. Children learn the game readily and can reach high levels of mastery.

Because go lends itself to a uniquely reliable system of handicaps, players of widely disparate strengths can enjoy relatively even contests. The game can be a casual pastime for the idle hour -- or a way of life. Michael Redmond, the only Western player to have won status as a top-grade professional player in Asia, when asked why he had devoted his life to go, replied, "Because I love the game."

We hope you will too.

Want to know more? See the history of go. Click here to browse hundreds of Go-related web pages. Click here for access to other resources -- books, equipment, teachers and more!

What Is Pair Go?

Pair go was invented around 1990 in Japan to increase the number of women playing go. Since then, the Japan Pair Go Association has sponsored an annual professional Pair Go tournament, and an annual international amateur Pair Go tournament. The results have been impressive, with more women playing in pair tournaments each year.

Pandanet's Internet Go Server "Panda Egg": client provides for pair go play, and a special "AGA-Egg" members to play both individual and pair go games has been set up.

Pair go is a very interesting variation of go, requiring each player to analyze what the other three are thinking. Partners, in particular, have to try to understand each others’ moves, even if their ranks are very different. Some find this quite stressful, while others find this to be FUN!

Each annual US Go Congress features a major Pair Go tournament, with over fifty pairs participating. The winning pair travels to Japan to play for the US in the annual World Pair Go Championship. The AGA encourages clubs to hold pair go tournaments throughout the year. Contact AGA Pair Go Coordinator Allan Abramson for more information or help organizing your own Pair Go tournament.