The history of weiqi, or go, Chinese board game dating back over 2,000 years
More popularly known as go – its Japanese name – weiqi has for centuries been embraced as a mark of cultivation and refinement
I recently discovered that the Singapore Weiqi Association is located within walking distance of my home. For the uninitiated, weiqi is the Chinese – and original – name of the board game better known in the West by its Japanese name, go.
I have long been fascinated by weiqi, a game that is deceptively simple yet astonishingly complex, but I have never got around to learning it.
At first glance, the rules appear remarkably straightforward. The game is played by two opponents on a board marked with a 19-by-19 grid, creating 361 intersections. The player using the black stones moves first, followed by the player using the white stones. The two then take turns placing stones on the intersections.