Go (Chinese: 圍棋 wéiqí, Japanese: 囲碁 igo, [nb 2] Korean: 바둑 baduk, Vietnamese: 碁圍 cờ vây, common meaning: "encircling game") is a board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,500 years ago.

Igo? apa sih Igo itu?
Pasti juragan2 sekalian pernah baca Hikaru no Go
Permainan mereka dan cerita serunya membuat kita terlena, padahal gimana mainnya kita sendiri ngerti pun kagak
Lalu lantas apa sih permainan Igo (bukan Indonesian Girls Only loh ) atau biasa secara internasional dikenal dengan nama Go itu?

Mengutip dari Wikipedia, Go dalam berbagai bahasa di seluruh dunia ditulis sebagai 圍棋 wéiqí (China), 囲碁 igo (Jepang), 바둑 baduk (Korea), 碁圍 cờ vây (Vietnam), yang artinya adalah 'catur mengelilingi'

Sejarah Permainan Go

Berasal dari China
Catur ini berasal dari budaya China dan diciptakan lebih dari 2500-4000 tahun yang lalu. Berdasarkan catatan sejarah tertulis yang ada di China, Catur Go diciptakan oleh Kaisar Yao pada tahun 2337 - 2258 BC untuk melatih disiplin, konsentrasi, dan keseimbangan pada anaknya. Meskipun demikian, asal-usul dari lahirnya permainan ini sendiri sampai saat ini masih diperdebatkan. Beberapa sumber mengatakan catur ini sebagai ajang pengasah otak bagi para jendral-jendral perang di masanya, sebagai alat untuk menajamkan siasat strategi mereka dalam berperang. Sumber lain percaya bahwa Go dibuat oleh para ahli perbintangan (semacem peramal gitu deh ) untuk mensimulasi hubungan antara manusia dan alam semesta.
Terlepas dari sumber manakah yang benar, yang jelas pada masa itu permainan ini jarang dimainkan oleh orang biasa.

Kemudian Masuk dan Populer di Jepang
Permainan Go dipercaya masuk ke Jepang melalui Kibi Makibi, seorang pelajar yang kembali ke negeri asalnya setelah belajar di China pada Dinasti Tang awal abad ke-8. Setelah diperkenalkan dari China, permainan ini secara aktif mulai dimainkan dan menyebar dengan cepat pada masa Nara (tahun 710-794 Masehi). Saking populernya, Go menjadi permainan favorit pada masa Heian (794-1185) dimana literatur Jepang klasik seperti 'The Pillow Book' dan 'The Tale of Genji' menyinggung permainan ini di dalamnya. Di masa ini, Go menjadi sebuah permainan untuk melatih strategi dan taktik perang para jendral dan ahli perang.

Pada masa Muromachi di akhir abad ke-16, pemain-pemain tangguh dari seluruh penjuru Jepang mulai bermunculan. Di masa ini pula gelar-gelar bagi pemain-pemain Go yang berkemampuan istimewa bermunculan, seperti Meijin, Honinbo,

During the Muromachi period (1336–1573), potentates employed semi-professional Go players, called Go-uchi (碁打ち) or Uwate (上手) who competed against other clans. At the end of the 16th century, Nikkai (Honinbo Sansa) served Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu as a Go teacher, and in 1578 was recognized as the first Meijin of Go by Oda Nobunaga; he also became the first Honinbō.

Sejarah bahkan menyingkap bahwa





The two players alternately place black and white playing pieces, called "stones", on the vacant intersections (called "points") of a grid of 19×19 lines (beginners often play on smaller 9×9 and 13×13 boards).[3] The object of the game is to use one's stones to surround a larger total area of the board than the opponent.[4] Once placed on the board, stones may not be moved, but stones are removed from the board if captured; this is done by surrounding an opposing stone or group of stones by occupying all orthogonally-adjacent points.[5] Players continue in this fashion until neither player wishes to make another move; the game has no set ending conditions. When a game concludes, the controlled points (territory) are counted along with captured stones to determine who has more points.[6] Games may also be won by resignation.

Go originated in ancient China. Archaeological evidence shows that the early game was played on a board with a 17×17 grid, but by the time the game had spread to Korea and Japan, in about the 5th and 7th centuries CE respectively, boards with a 19×19 grid had become standard.[7]

As of mid-2008 there were well over 40 million Go players worldwide, the overwhelming majority living in East Asia.[8] As of May 2012, the International Go Federation has a total of 74 member countries and four Association Members covering multiple countries.[9]

Rules of game
A basic principle of Go is that stones must have at least one "liberty" (Chinese: 氣) to remain on the board. "A liberty" is an open "point" (intersection) next to a stone.[5] An enclosed liberty (or liberties) is called an "eye" (眼), and a group of stones with at least two separate eyes is said to be unconditionally "alive".[11] Such groups cannot be captured, even if surrounded.[12] "Dead" stones are stones that are surrounded and in groups with poor shape (one or no eyes), and thus cannot resist eventual capture.[13]

The general strategy of Go is to expand one's territory where possible, attack the opponent's weak groups (groups that can possibly be killed), and always stay mindful of the "life status" of one's own groups.[14][15] The liberties of groups are countable. Situations where two opposing groups must capture the other to live are called capturing races (攻め合い, 'semeai' in Japanese).[16] In a capturing race, the group with more liberties (and/or better "shape") will ultimately be able to capture the opponent's stones.[16][17] Capturing races and questions of life and death are examples of what makes Go challenging.

The game ends when both players pass, and players pass when there are no more profitable moves to be made.[18] The game is then scored: The player with the greater number of controlled (surrounded) points, factoring in the number of captured stones, wins the game. Games may also be won by resignation, for example if a player has lost a large group of stones.

Rank dan Rating
In Go, rank indicates a player's skill in the game. Traditionally, ranks are measured using kyu and dan grades,[70] a system also adopted by many martial arts. More recently, mathematical rating systems similar to the Elo rating system have been introduced.[71] Such rating systems often provide a mechanism for converting a rating to a kyu or dan grade.[71] Kyu grades (abbreviated k) are considered student grades and decrease as playing level increases, meaning 1st kyu is the strongest available kyu grade. Dan grades (abbreviated d) are considered master grades, and increase from 1st dan to 7th dan. First dan equals a black belt in eastern martial arts using this system. The difference among each amateur rank is one handicap stone. For example, if a 5k plays a game with a 1k, the 5k would need a handicap of four stones to even the odds. Top-level amateur players sometimes defeat professionals in tournament play.[72] Professional players have professional dan ranks (abbreviated p). These ranks are separate from amateur ranks.

The rank system comprises, from the lowest to highest ranks:


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