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Season Three Research Files
Episode Seventeen
5:00am-6:00am
The board game of Go was developed in China between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago. Go, which is called Wei Ch'i in China and Baduk in Korea, was taken to Japan 1,200 to 1,400 years ago, reportedly by Buddhist priests who had visited China.
The Go board must have a grid of 19 horizontal and 19 vertical lines. The players alternate in placing black and white stones on the intersections, not the rectangles, of the grid. The 180 white stones and 181 black stones must be round.
The object of the game is to acquire territory, or points. To play the game, you must surround areas by occupying adjacent intersections. You can also capture your opponent's stones by surrounding them with your stones. The more stones you capture add to your points. Stones are never moved, and only removed if they are completely surrounded. While the rules of this intellectual game can be learned in minutes, it is said that it takes a lifetime to master Go.
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