English presentation of the game of go (in France).

1. The Game of Go “ Gentlemen should not waste their time on trivial games -- they should play go.” -- Confucius, The Analects ca. 500 B. C. E.

7. Because the board is empty at the start of the game, the stronger player can give his opponent a “head start” to even things out. Nearly any two opponents can play a game that either of them could win.. HANDICAP: THE GREAT EQUALIZER

8. IT’S A BIG CHALLENGE The number of possible go games has been estimated at 10 761 (=361!, OMNI , June 1991 ), far more than the number of subatomic particles in the known universe.

9. COMPUTERS CAN’T PLAY! Go is so complex that the best programs routinely lose to talented children. Computer programmers call it “the last refuge of human intelligence.”

10. Go exist since at least 3000 years old, probably much older. No one knows where it came from. Some people think the board and stones were originally used to foretell the future, or as a calculator.

11. THE FOUR SACRED ARTS During China’s “golden age” (the Tang and Song dynasties ca. 700-1400 A.D.) the cultured person mastered four skills: painting, calligraphy, lute-playing and go. attributed to Kano Shoei (1519 - 1592)

13. Go became a common theme in 19th century ukiyo-e prints. Here, Tadanobu, a famous samurai, fights off his enemies with a go board.

14. Repelling demons while playing go. (1861)

16. THE “MINISTER OF GO” Tokugawa Ieyesu, the first shogun , established four “houses” to study go and compete in annual “Castle Games” of great national importance. Each year’s winner became the go-doroko (“Minister of go”), occupying a cabinet-level position in the government.

26. HIKARU NO GO In this popular “coming-of-age” story, the ghost of a famous player guides our hero to the pinnacle of the go world -- or does he?