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Development in the West

In document Go the Board Game (Page 34-36)

Despite its widespread popularity in East Asia, Go has been slow to spread to the rest of the world, unlike other games of ancient Asian

origin, such as chess. Schadler[9] speculates that chess has more

widespread appeal because culturally congruent game pieces can be created in chess (e.g. Queen and Bishop in Western Chess, Advisor and Elephant in Chinese Chess), while Go is totally abstract. Also, there is no climactic ending in Go (such as checkmate in chess). New players often have trouble figuring out when a game of Go is over. Other theories center around the existence of fundamental differences in the level and type of thinking required by Go players as opposed to chess players. While pure analytical thought and the ability to plan many moves in advance are advantageous in chess, in Go a more intuitive approach based on pattern recognition and experience is stressed. A purely analytical approach, due to the sheer number of moves available for consideration, can be paralyzing.

The first detailed description of Go in a European language, De Circumveniendi Ludo Chinensium (About the

Chinese encircling game), was written in Latin by Thomas Hyde, and included in his 1694 treatise on Oriental board

games, De Ludis Orientalibus (About Oriental games); Oscar Korschelt, a German engineer, is credited with being the first person to try to popularize Go outside of Asia. He learned about the game from Honinbo Shuho (Murase Shuho) when he worked in Japan from 1878 to 1886. Korschelt published a detailed article on Go in 1880. A few years later he published a book based on this article. He brought the game to Europe, especially to Germany and Austria, and thus became the first person to systematically describe Go in a Western language. Since he learned Go in Japan, the terms of Go in Western languages come from Japanese, not Chinese.

By the early 20th century, Go had spread throughout the German and Austro-Hungarian empires.[10] In 1905,

Edward Lasker learned the game while in Berlin. When he moved to New York, Lasker founded the New York Go Club together with (amongst others) Arthur Smith, who had learned of the game while touring the East and had

published the book The Game of Go in 1908.[11] Lasker's book Go and Go-moku (1934) helped spread the game

throughout the US,[11] and in 1935, the American Go Association was formed. Two years later, in 1937, the German

Go Association was founded.[10] World War II put a stop to most Go activity, but after the war, Go continued to

spread.[12]

Western players' interest increased in the 1950s. In 1978, Manfred Wimmer[13] became the first Westerner to receive

a professional player's certificate from an Asian professional Go association. It was not until 2000 that a Westerner, Michael Redmond, achieved a professional 9 dan rating, the top rank awarded by Asian Go associations.

For most of the 20th century, the Japan Go Association played a leading role in spreading Go outside East Asia, publishing the English-language magazine Go Review in the 1960s, establishing Go centers in the US, Europe and

South America, and often sending professional teachers on tour to Western nations.[14] By 2005, the European Go

Federation had a total of 35 member countries.[15]

In 1996, NASA astronaut Daniel Barry and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata became the first people to play Go in space, using a special Go set designed by Wai-Cheung Willson Chow. Both astronauts were awarded honorary dan

Trivia

Maybe the first game of Go in Europe was played in 1872 between Kido Takayoshi and Ōkubo Toshimichi. Both were vice ambassadors of the Iwakura Mission, which traveled to the United States and Europe between 1871 and 1873. Kido was an enthusiastic go player, as can be seen from his diary (translated by Sidney DeVere Brown and Akiko Hirota as The Diary of Kido Takayoshi, Vol. I-III, Tokyo, The University of Tokyo Press, 1983–1986). During his journey, after arriving at Birmingham on 1 November 1872 and staying at the Queen's Hotel in Room No. 10, Kido notes two days later in his diary (Vol. II, p. 243):

3 November 1872 [Meiji 5/10/3] Fair, then rain. I stayed in my room all day to recuperate from my

illness, and had a special diet. I played go with Ōkubo. (Note) Sunday.

References

[1] http://english.cyberoro.com/sub01_01.htm?menu=f11 [2] Potter 1985; Fairbairn 1995

[3] Brooks 2007

[4] Potter 1984; Fairbairn 1995 [5] Pickard 1989

[6] http://cswnet.blog.sohu.com/39470351.html [7] Fairbairn 1995

[8] Shotwell 2003

[9] Schadler, Ulrich (2001). Some Games Travel, Some Don't. in The Proceedings of the First International Conference on Baduk, the Hankuk Kiwon, 2001

[10] Leipzig Go. "History of Go in Europe 1880-1945" (http://www.leipzig-go.de/fruehgeschichte_e.php). .

[11] American Go Association. "American Go Association 1995 Historical Book" (http://www.usgo.org/archive/agahbk95.html). . [12] Richard Bozulich. "The Magic of Go - 40. Go in Europe" (http://shinbo.free.fr/TheMagicOfGo/index.php?tmog=40). . [13] Manfred Wimmer (http://pokspace.goverband.at/essays/wimmer_e.htm)

[14] British Go Association. "Pro Go Player visits to UK & Ireland (since 1964)" (http://www.britgo.org/history/pros.html). . Retrieved 2007-11-17.

[15] European Go Federation. "EGF History" (http://www.eurogofed.org/history/index.htm). . Retrieved 2007-10-31. [16] Peng & Hall 1996

Notes

• Potter, Donald L. (1984). "Go in the Classics" (http://www.kiseido.com/classics.htm). Go World (Tokyo: Ishi

Press) (37): pp. 16–18. Retrieved 2007-11-02.

• Potter, Donald L. (1985). "Go in the Classics (ii): the Tso-chuan" (http://www.kiseido.com/classics.htm). Go

World (Tokyo: Ishi Press) (42): pp. 19–21. Retrieved 2007-11-02.

• Fairbairn, John (1995). "Go in Ancient China" (http://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/essay/goancientchina.

html). Retrieved 2007-11-02.

• Fairbairn, John (2000). "History of Go in Korea" (http://www.msoworld.com/mindzine/news/orient/go/

history/origin_korea.html). Retrieved 2007-11-06.

• Lasker, Edward (1960) [1934]. Go and Go-Moku. ISBN 0486206130.

• Pinckard, William (1989). "The Four Accomplishments" (http://www.kiseido.com/printss/four.html). In

Richard Bozulich. Japanese Prints and the World of Go (http://www.kiseido.com/printss/ukiyoedx.html).

Retrieved 2007-11-02..

• Peng, Mike; Hall, Mark (1996). "One Giant Leap For Go" (http://homepage.mac.com/bjornwendsjo/go/2-96.

pdf). Svensk gotidning 96 (2): 7–8. Retrieved 2007-11-12.

• Shotwell, Peter (2003). "The Game of Go in Ancient and Modern Tibet" (http://www.usgo.org/resources/

External links

• The Go Link Explorer: History of Go (http://linkexplorer.net/go/history/history.html)

• History of Go in ancient China, Korea and Japan (http://gobase.org/history/)

In document Go the Board Game (Page 34-36)