The Space Coast Go Association!

Welcome!

Bringing Go to Brevard County, Florida!!

2010 Orlando Go Tournament, May 8-9, 2010 !

Details to come...

The Game of Go

Go is an ancient board game that takes simple elements -- line and circle, Black and White, stone and wood and combines them with simple rules and generates subtleties which have enthralled players for millennia. Beyond being merely a game, Go can take on other meanings to enthusiasts: an analogy with life, an intense meditation, a mirror of one's personality, an exercise in abstract reasoning, or -- when played well -- a beautiful art in which Black and White dance across the board in delicate balance. But most important for all who play, Go is challenging and fun!

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. Two players alternate in placing black and white stones on a large (19x19 line) ruled board, with the aim of surrounding territory. Stones are never moved, and only removed 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.

Go can teach concentration, balance, and discipline. The game combines beauty and intellectual challenge. It can be played on a traditional, carved wooden board, with black and white stones made from slate and clamshell, or on a paper board with plastic stones. 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 of Go can be a casual pastime for the idle hour -- or a way of life.

Reasons to Play Go

Go is the simplest of all games.

The object of Go -- to surround and capture -- is also the only rule. There are no arbitrary conventions, special exceptions or other burdensome technicalities.

Go is the most complex of all games.

Nearly all known games have been "solved" for the computer; that is, the strongest computer programs can defeat the best human players. Even chess now falls into this category. However, the strongest Go programs, after decades of effort, are routinely trounced by Asian schoolchildren. Why is Go so hard for computers? Because Go is much, much more complicated than chess. There are many more possible games of Go than there are sub-atomic particles in the known universe.

Go is the most popular game in the world today.

Although largely unknown in the West, Go is wildly popular in Asia, where there are more than 100 million active players. Major tournament winners are international celebrities. With daily newspaper coverage, popular weekly and monthly Go magazines 24-hour "All-Go-All-The-Time" cable stations, Go is an incomparably intense part of Asian culture, and its popularity is growing quickly in the West.

Go is the oldest game still played in its original form.

Go originated more than 4000 years ago. Confucius advised his readers to avoid frivolous pastimes and learn the virtues of the this already ancient and venerable game. In Japan, the strongest players have been viewed as national heroes for centuries. In China, the birthplace of Go, it was suppressed during the Communist era, but came back stronger than ever in the 1980's. Koreans were playing at least 1200 years ago, even before the Japanese, but began taking their play more seriously in the 1950's. Today, the world's strongest players come from Korea. With hundreds of millions of fans in these three countries and growing popularity in the West, it may be the most popular game in the world today. When you play Go, you are doing something that billions of people have done for thousands of years. Many centuries ago, people were doing the exact same thing, in the exact same way.

All players are equal.

Most games require players to be equally skilled in order to enjoy a fair contest. The Go handicapping system, similar to the system used in golf, allows any two players in the world to compare strengths and compete on even terms. Even among equal players, the one to go first gains no advantage because he/she must pay a komi (compensation) to the other player for the advantage of going first. The world of Go is the ultimate meritocracy -- your place in it depends strictly on your ability.

Viewpoints

[It is] something unearthly If there are sentient beings on other planets, then they play Go.

Emanuel Lasker, Chess Grandmaster

The difference between a stone played on one intersection rather than on an adjacent neighbor is insignificant to the uninitiated. The Master of Go, though, sees it as the difference between a flower and a cinderblock. Certain plays resonate with a balletic grace; others clunk, hopelessly awkward, and to fail at making the distinction is a bit like confusing the ping of a Limoges platter with the clink of a Burger King Smurfs tumbler.

From The Challenge of Go: Esoteric Granddaddy of Board Games, by Dave Lowry

That play of black upon white, white upon black, has the intent and takes the form of creative art. It has in it a flow of the spirit and a harmony of music. Everything is lost when suddenly a false note is struck, or one party in a duet suddenly launches forth on an eccentric flight of his own. A masterpiece of a game can be ruined by insensitivity to the feelings of an adversary.

From The Master of Go, by Yasunari Kawabata, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

Those interested in impressing others with their intelligence play chess. Those who would settle for being chic play backgammon. Those who wish to become individuals of quality take up Go.

Microcomputer Executive and expert player, when asked to compare Go with other games