GO

• “GO is … an ancient board game which takes simple elements—line and circle, Black and White, stone and wood—combines them with simple rules and generates subtleties which have enthralled players for millennia. Go's appeal resides not only in its oriental elegance, but also in practical and stimulating features in the design of the game.
• “Go's few rules can be demonstrated quickly and grasped easily. It is enjoyably played over a wide range of skills. Each level of play has its charms, rewards and discoveries. A unique and reliable handicapping system leads to equal contests between players of widely disparate strengths. Go is uniquely flexible and rewards patience and balance over aggression and greed. An early mistake can be made up, used to advantage or reversed as the game proceeds. There is no simple procedure to turn a clear lead into a victory.
• “Go thinking seems to be more lateral than linear, less dependent on logical deduction, and more reliant on a 'feel' for the game, a 'sense' of form, a gestalt perception of significant patterns.
• “Beyond being merely a game, Go can take on other meanings to enthusiasts: an analogy with life, an intense meditation, a mirror of one's personality, an exercise in abstract reasoning, or, when played well, a beautiful art in which Black and White dance across the board in delicate balance.
• “But most important for all who play, Go is challenging and fun.”

Statement of the American Go Association.

• As in photography, the elements of black and white come into play in this current primary pastime. The game illustrated is from the 1999 U.S. Go Congress in San Francisco. It turned out to be a clear win (I'm black) with the capture of the large group on the right, but as is common is this game, I squandered an early lead through oversight and had to battle to regain the advantage. The marked stone was the last play - and the one which convinced my opponent to resign.
• The game record (sgf).