The development of go in JapanIn the 12th century, the
warrior class supplanted the aristocracy as the effective rulers of
Japan, and until the 17th century the country was engulfed in almost
continual warfare. During this period, go was highly regarded by the
warrior generals, some of whom believed that the study of its
tactics and strategies was good moral and intellectual training for
the operations of armies in the field. The three greatest Japanese
warlords of the late 16th and early 17th centuries-Oda Nobunaga,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu-were devotees of go, and they
all employed go teachers for themselves and their officers.
In 1588, Nobunaga's successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, organized a
large-scale competition to systematize the rankings of go players.
Nikkai, a high-ranking Buddhist monk, who was Nobunaga's go teacher,
won this competition and Hideyoshi decreed that from then on all
other players should take black or a larger handicap from him.
Nikkai was also awarded a stipend which began the government
patronage that enabled go to flourish in Japan.
At the beginning of the 17th century, four go houses were
established: the Honinbo (of which Nikkai became the head, changing
his name to Honinbo Sansa), Inoue, Yasui and Hayashi. These houses
competed in the search for the most talented players and devoted
great effort to the study and development of go theory and technique
in order to surpass each other. Around the same time, in 1603,
Tokugawa Ieyasu united Japan under the Tokugawa Shogunate. His
government awarded stipends to the four go houses, established the
office of Godokoro, held by Honinbo Sansa until his death in 1623,
and instituted the annual castle games played in the presence of the
shogun.
The Godokoro was the top go post in the Edo-era go world. The
holder of this office was the shogun's official go instructor. He
also controlled promotions and the issuing of diplomas. In addition,
the Godokoro decided pairings for the annual castle games and was
responsible for all ceremonies connected with go, such as games
played before the emperor and games with foreigners. Only the top
player could become Godokoro, which meant that he would also be
promoted to the ultimate rank of Meijin (master player). It is said
that sometime in 1578 while Nobunaga was watching Nikkai play, he
was so impressed with the latter's skill that he cried out
"Meijin!'' This is apparently the origin of the term. It continues
today as the name of one of the top three professional go titles.
Capturing stones in a gameWhen you capture stones, you put
them in your prisoner pile; then, at the end of the game, you place
them inside your opponent's territory, thereby reducing its size.
The following game on a 9x9 board illustrates this.
 After
Black 3 in Figure 1, White plays inside Black's sphere of influence
with 4. White 10 ataris (threatens to capture) the black stone at 7,
so if Black doesn't connect at "a," White will play there and
capture it.
Black connects at 11 in Figure 2, but White ataris the marked
black stone with 12. This stone cannot be rescued, so Black
sacrifices it and counter-ataris with 13 in Figure 3. White captures
with 14 and puts this stone into his prisoner pile. Next, Black
ataris two white stones with 15. That is, he can capture them by
playing at "a."
 White
secures the area on the left side with 16 in Figure 4, after which
Black expands his right side with 17, 19, and 21. The sequence from
White 22 to Black 25 are basic endgame moves.
White 26 forces Black to capture two white stones with 27 in
Figure 5. Black puts them into his prisoner pile. White 28 and 30
each reduce Black's territory by one point. Black 31 ataris the two
white stones at 26 and 30, so White must connect at 32. Finally,
Black 33 reduces White's territory on the left by one point. The
game ends when White blocks with 34. Figure 6 shows the board at the
end of the game. White has one black stone in his prisoner pile,
while Black has two white ones.
In Figure 7, each side
places his prisoners in his opponent's territory. White places his
one black prisoner (the marked black stone) inside Black's
territory, and Black places his two white prisoners (the two marked
white stones) inside White's territory.
Calculation of the size of the territories can now be made:
Black: 23 points; White: 24 points. White wins by 1 point.
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