Practical Christian Mysticism

Welcome to my little tribute page for the best game in the world!

GO (also called Weiqi) is an ancient board game estimated to be over 5,000 years old and originated somewhere in China. I fell in love with the game after being introduced to it by a good friend of mine. Unlike most other games, GO is not a game of conquest but rather a game of co-existence. It is incredibly simple to learn, but very difficult to master. It can stimulate and challenge mystic and mathematician alike. I also believe playing GO is a great way to not only keep the mind sharp, but get to know oneself and discipline the spirit. I have this page here only with the wish to promote GO and encourage others to discover the game. Take a look, you may fall in love with it too!

The board is a mirror of the mind of the players as the moments pass. When a master studies the record of a game he can tell at what point greed overtook the pupil, when he became tired, when he fell into stupidity, and when the maid came by with tea.
- Ancient GO Proverb

GO Facts:

• There are more possibilities for the outcome of games of GO than there are atoms in the visible universe. (read here)
• While a computer (Deep Blue) could beat the reigning chess master, computers have yet to catch up to even the lesser GO masters. (read here)
• There is a correlation between playing GO and reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
• GO stimulates both sides of the brain, while chess only stimulates the left side. (read here)

Learn to Play GO:

• American Go Association
• Wikipedia - About Go
• Wikipedia - Rules of Go
• Sensei’s Library
• List of Good Books on Go
• GoBase.org - Headquarters for all things Go

Play GO:

• Internet Go Server (IGS)
• KGS Go Server
• Dragon Go Server (You can find me here. User: Yaholo)
• Sen:te Goban - A GO program for Mac OS X, play online or by yourself.
• glGo - A GO program for Windows, play online or by yourself.
• AI Igo - A GO game for PSP.  It is only available in Japanese, but I have a translation guide you can download.  Information on AI Igo | Translation Guide for AI Igo | Buy on eBay

Buy Your Own GO Set:

• Yellow Mountain Imports
• Kiseido Online Shop

More About GO:

There is a manga (comic book) series about GO called “Hikaru no Go”.  It is both in comic form and as an animated series you can purchase on DVD.  It is a great was to introduce children to the game.  - Read More About Hikaru no Go on Wikipedia