A brief history of the game
Go is one of the oldest board games in the world. Its true origins are unknown,
though it almost certainly originated in China. In the absence of fact there are
various myths: for example that the legendary Emperor Yao invented Go
to enlighten his son, Dan Zhu.
Although it originated in central Asia, historically it was in Japan that the
game really flourished. Introduced into Japan probably well before the 8th century, Go soon
gained popularity at the imperial court and, from this auspicious beginning, took root in
Japanese culture.
In 1612 the Shogun awarded stipends to the four strongest Go players.
Later these stipends were extended to the players' heirs and so the four great
Go schools, Honinbo, Hayashi, Inoue and Yasue, were founded.
Over the next 250 years, the intense rivalry among
these schools brought about a great improvement in the standard of play.
A ranking system was set up, classifying professional players into 9 grades or
dans, of which the highest was Meijin, meaning 'expert'. This
title could be held by only one person at a time, and was awarded only if
one player out-classed all his contemporaries.
The most significant advances in Go theory were made in the 1670's by
the Meijin Dosaku, who was the fourth head of the Honinbo School,
and possibly the greatest Go player in history. The House of Honinbo
was by far the most successful of the four Go Schools, producing more
Meijins than the other three schools put together.
The whole structure of professional Go in Japan was undermined in 1868,
when the Shogunate collapsed and the Emperor was restored to power.
The Go colleges lost their funding as the westernisation of Japanese
society took hold. Today, the main organisation of professional Go
players in Japan is the Nihon Kiin, which increasingly fosters
interest in the game throughout the world. There are magazines and over
100 books in print in English and over sixty countries compete in the
annual World Amateur Go Championship.
Go in the Far East today
The most important Go playing countries in the Far East are Japan,
China, Korea and Taiwan, all of which maintain communities of professional
players. Major tournaments in these countries attract sponsorship
from large companies, and have a following like that of big sporting
events here. Until relatively recently, the strongest players from
Korea and China tended to go to Japan as professionals. Today, they
are more likely to remain in their own countries where they become
national heroes. There are perhaps 50 million Go players in the Far East,
and many people who don't play still follow the game with keen interest.
Japan
On his retirement in 1938, Honinbo Shusai
ceded his title to the Nihon Kiin, to be awarded in an annual tournament
among all leading players. Since then other major contests have been
introduced, the most important being the Meijin and Kisei tournaments.
There has recently been a big increase in the popularity of Go in Japan,
particularly among the young due to a very successful cartoon called
Hikaru no Go. There are about 10 million Go players in Japan, some 500 of whom
are professional.
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"Go" in Japanese
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China
In its original homeland, Go is known as Wei Qi which means
'surrounding game'. Go in China developed more slowly than in Japan,
and during the Cultural Revolution the game suffered through being
regarded as an intellectual pursuit. Since then, the
Chinese players have caught up with the Japanese once more.
Wei Qi is now taught in many schools,
and tournaments are held throughout the country. There is also
the annual match between China and Japan which is followed with great
interest. With the opening up of China, Chinese professionals are
now frequent visitors at European Go tournaments.
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"Go" in a simplified font as used in mainland China,
and in a traditional font as used in Hong Kong
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Korea
Here Go is known as Baduk and is very popular. Koreans have a
reputation for playing very fast. Fast or not, they are producing
some of the world's strongest players. China and Korea both have
growing populations of very strong young players, a phenomenon which
bodes well for the future development of the game.
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"Go" in Korean
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Go in Europe
Although the game of Go had been described by western travellers to
the Far East in the 17th century, it was not played in Europe until 1880,
when a German, Oskar Korschelt, wrote a book about the game.
After this some Go was played in Germany and Yugoslavia. However,
the game was slow to spread and it was not until 1957 that the first
regular European Championship was held.
Nowadays, Go is played in most
European countries. The standard of
play is significantly below that of the top players in the Far East, but the
gap is steadily closing as more of the top European players spend
time studying the game in Japan. Some even stay on as professionals.
In 1992, a European Go Centre was
opened in Amsterdam with support from Iwamoto Kaoru (then the world's oldest active professional
at 90 years of age).
Go in Britain
Go has been played in Britain for at least 100 years, but was not played
on an organised basis until the 1950s when the British Go Association (BGA)
was formed. Today, Go players are numbered in thousands.
There are over 50 Go clubs throughout Britain, and the standard of play
compares reasonably with the rest of Europe. Matthew Macfadyen,
Britain's top player in recent years, has won the European Championship four times.
A British Championship and a British Youth Championship are
held every year, and there are Go tournaments throughout the country.
These often attract upwards of a hundred players, including many
beginners and young players. An open British Go Congress has been
held at a different venue each year since 1968 and the London Open is
one of the major events in the Europe-wide Toyota-Pandanet Tour.