The origins of goThe origins of go are concealed in
unchronicled past of ancient China. There is a tangle of conflicting
popular and scholarly anecdotes attributing its invention to two
Chinese emperors, an imperial vassal, and court astrologers. One
story has it that go was invented by the legendary Emperor Yao
(ruled 2357-2256 B.C.) as an amusement for his idiot son. A second
claims that the Emperor Shun (ruled 2255-2205 B.C.) created the game
in hopes of improving his weak-minded son's mental prowess. A third
says the person named Wu, a vassal of the Emperor Jie (ruled
1818-1766 B.C.), invented go as well as games of cards. Finally, a
fourth theory suggests that go was developed by court astrologers
during the Zhou dynasty (1045-255 B.C.).
In any event, it is generally agreed that go is at least 3,000
and might be as much as 4,000 years old, which makes it the world's
oldest strategic board game.
Go probably evolved out of a method of divination practiced by
the kings and shaman-astrologers of the early Zhou culture. One of
these methods is believed to have entailed the casting of black and
white pieces on a square board marked with astrological and
geomantic symbols. Some fundamental go terms still in use today have
astrological meanings. For example, the central point of the board
is called tengen, "axis of heaven," and the eight specially marked
points near the perimeter are called hoshi, "stars," the nine
together making up the traditional "Nine Lights of Heaven," i.e.,
the seven stars of Ursa Major (the center of the Chinese
astronomical system), the sun and the moon.
The four quarters of the board are named after the four
directions, each correlated to one of the basic trigrams of the
"I-Ching" system. Beginning at the upper right and going clockwise,
they are: Southwest (female, earth), Northwest (male, heaven),
Northeast (hard, limit), and Southeast (gentle, yielding).
The earliest mention of go appears in the "Analects" of
Confucius, which was believed to have been written in the 5th
century B.C., while the earliest physical evidence was a 17x17 line
go board discovered in 1952 in a tomb of the former Han dynasty (206
B.C.- A.D. 9)
Four basic rules In the last installment, I presented the
four basic rules and showed how the objective of the game--to
control territory--is achieved. As a reminder, I state these four
rules again.
1. Moves are played on the intersections. 2. The stones do
not move after being played. 3. Black plays first. 4. Black
and White alternate in making their moves
The rule of capture In this installment I will explain the
rule of capture. Here is the rule:
5. A stone or a group of connected stones is captured if all
of its liberties are occupied.
Liberties and capturing stones
The lone white stone in Diagram 1 in the center of the
board has four liberties, namely the points "A" in Diagram 2.
If Black can occupy all four of them, he can capture the white
stone.
For example, Black occupies three of these liberties in
Diagram 3, so he can capture the white stone if it is his
turn to play. The white stone in Diagram 3 is said to be in
"atari." Black captures it with 1 in Diagram 4. The resulting
position is shown in Diagram 5.
The white stone at the edge of the board in Diagram 1 has
three liberties, namely the points marked "B" in Diagram 2.
If Black occupies two of these liberties, the white stone will be in
atari, as in Diagram 3. Black 1 in Diagram 4 captures
it. Diagram 5 shows the result.
The white stone in the corner in Diagram 1 has only two
liberties, the two points marked "C" in Diagram 2. If Black
occupies one of these liberties, the white stone will be in atari,
as in Diagram 3. Black 1 in Diagram 4 captures this
stone and the result is shown in Diagram 5.
In the next installment, I will show how captures are executed in
a game.
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