Game of Stones

[proteus moteus]

While rereading the Sennadar series the many references to Tarrin playing stones grabbed my attention. I assume it is referring to the same game that the Wheel of TIme was referencing by that name, the game of Go. Are there any other avid fans of the game here? How long, what strength, and what do you most like about the game?

For the uninitiated stones is a nickname for the ancient (~2300 BC) game of Go wherein two players (one with black stones, the other with white) seek to surround territory and stones without their own stones being surrounded. The rules are simpler than chess but the game play is much more complex. It is a major area of Artificial Intelligence research since humans are so much better at it than computers. Deep Blue beat Kasparov at chess but the best Go programs can't beat the weakest Go professionals.

If you want to play or learn then playing at your local Go club is probably the easiest and most fun.
http://www.usgo.org/cgi-bin/chapters.cgi
(Non-americans have a different organiziation which I would be glad to help you research if necessary)

Here is a pretty good video for introducing the game.
http://blip.tv/file/262606/

And lastly probably the most popular English site for playing the game is KGS.
http://www.gokgs.com/

I first got into the game in 1999 from watching the movie Pi. I have only recently been playing seriously since I started attending the local Go club about a year ago. After experiencing the strength of the Go club I got into playing online on KGS as well and have raised my strength up to 9 kyu. My favorite part of the game is relating the underlying philosophies of right judgment and harmony to real life.

[andy_t_roo]

sensi's library, http://senseis.xmp.net/ , is the best go resource that i know of, explaining concepts from basic strategy through to more complex problems. (see http://senseis.xmp.net/?StartingPoints for a good place to start)

[Mad Monk]

If you are interested in old games, it is worth getting a copy of Alfonso X of Castille's "Book of Games"

http://www.gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/Vir ... index.html