
History of Go
   Ancient History
   Go is was invented more than 3000 years ago in China, though some think   it was nearer 4000 years. In the beginning, the game had a close   connection with the laws of nature, politics and economics, strategy   and intelligence, and it was also a theocratic tool for the ancient   emperors to rule society. The game is mentioned in the Analects of   Confucius, the greatest ancient work of Chinese philosophy and ethics,   written in the 6th century BC. It came to Japan about 1,500 years ago   via the Korean peninsula, and became popular at the Japanese court   among the Imperial family, the aristocracy and court ladies. It makes   several appearances in the 11th century masterpiece "The Tale of   Genji", often described as the world's first novel. Later, it spread to   the warrior classes and the Buddhist priesthood and eventually   flourished throughout the country.
 Japan 1600-1868
   The game of Go made its most significant development during the Edo   period (1603-1868). The central figure was the first head of the   Honinbo school, Sansa (1559-1623), who taught the three warlords who   ruled Japan during his lifetime, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. Sansa   became the head of the state Go Academy (Godokoro) and established the   system of hereditary Go schools. The head of the four Go schools   (Honinbo, Yasui, Inoue, Hayashi) would compete for the honor of their   schools in games played at Edo Castle in the presence of the Shogun.   Many great players, such as Dosaku, Jowa and Shusaku, appeared during   the Edo period. State support of Go, in the form of stipends for   professional players, made possible great advances in the level of Go   skills and theory during the Edo period, and this laid the basis for   the modern prosperity of the game.
 Japan: the Modern Era
   After modernization and westernization began in the Meiji period   (1868-1912), various new Go organizations appeared. Stimulated by the   advances in Go technique in Japan, the game started to enjoy a revival   in China, its original homeland. Also, during the Meiji period,   Westerners visiting Japan learnt the game and began to teach it in   Europe and America.
 In 1924, the different Go organizations in Japan combined to form the   Nihon Ki-in or the Japan Go Association. This is still the main Go body   in Japan; it promotes the playing of professional and amateur Go among   people of all ages in Japan and around the world. The game first became   strongly established in the 1920s and 1930s in the U.S. and in Europe.   One result was the founding of the European Go Championship in 1938, a   tournament which remains today the most important European tournament.   Today numerous tournaments are held throughout the year in many   countries throughout the world, including those held by the   Iberoamerican Go Federation, in Canada, Australia or elsewhere. Most   prominent are the European Go Congress (held in a different European   country each year) and the American Go Congress.
 International Events
   The history of international tournaments on a worldwide basis begins   with the holding of the 1st World Amateur Go Championship in 1979 in   Tokyo. Only 15 countries participated in the 1st championship, but the   number increased steadily, reaching 29 in 1982. These 29 countries   became the initial members of the International Go Federation (IGF),   which was officially founded on 18th March 1982. The IGF has now   expanded to more than 71 members.
 Go in Korea
   Go (known in Korea as Baduk) was transmitted to Korea before it came to Japan, but, unlike the   latter, Korea did not establish a professional system until after World   War II. The founding father of Korean Go is Cho Nam-chul 9-dan (born in   1923). Cho came to Japan in 1937 to become a disciple of Kitani Minoru   and he returned home in 1943. Cho founded the Hanguk Kiwon (Korean Go   Association) in September 1955. By the turn of the century, the number   of professional players who were members had increased to around 170;   they competed for prize money in around 15 tournaments sponsored by   newspapers and other organizations.
 By the 1980s, Korean Go   had caught up with Japanese Go, so this practice of studying in Japan   became rarer. The top Korean player of the 80s was Cho Hun-hyun, who   holds the Korean record for most titles won. In the 90s, he yielded the   top place to his disciple, Yi Chang-ho, who is one of the greatest   plPayers in the history of Go. Korean Go really came into its own in the   90s, with the establishment of a number of international tournaments.   Players such as Cho and Yi and also Yu Chang-hyeok began to dominate   the international scene, with the result that Korea has taken the   lion's share of international victories. Thanks to their successes, Go   has become very popular in Korea, especially among children, and today   it is estimated that one in four Koreans knows how to play the game,   the highest degree of popularity in the world.
 Go in China
   The   game of Go was invented in China where it is known as Wei Qi. At the   beginning of the modern era (beginning of the 20th century), Go was at   a low ebb in China because of the state of political disunity. However,   the greatest player of the 20th century, Go Seigen, was born in China   in 1914; he went to Japan in 1928 and in the middle of the century   dominated Japanese Go.
 After the Communist revolution in   1949, the government promoted Go as an intellectual sport. In the   1960s, a series of Go exchanges with Japan began, with teams from each   country touring the other in alternate years. The series was suspended   during the Cultural Revolution, but was resumed in 1972. Chinese   players improved rapidly and in the 1980s they won a majority of their   games with Japanese players in Japan-China international matches, thus   confirming that China had become established as one of the top three   Go-playing countries. These days Go has become extremely popular in   China, which probably has the biggest Go-playing population of any   country, and many strong young players are emerging.
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