Let's "Go!": Ancient Chinese Game Board 2

The "go" stones lore is just as sublime: the ancient Weiqi stones (shown on the left) are dating from Ming or Song dynasty (from the collection of the Russian Go and Strategy School)... some stones are easily carved from seashells (see right image)... also, historically, "go" stones do not necessarily have to be black or white, but may come in various colors

The following "go" artifact (displayed at Chiddingstone Castle, Kent) comes from the collections of Denys Bower - a beautiful lacquer Beckford Casket, 1635-1640. "The arched panel on the front contains a relief of a samurai, with a stave (noginata) and two swords, standing on a decorated goban (go-board)":

Cool Electronic Go Boards from the 1980's

Panasonic came up with the electronic goban setup back in 1982

For the connected age, there is a NetGoban company which can connect your board to a laptop for a hybrid classic/modern experience.

"Go" game is extremely popular today all over Asia; there is of course, an obligatory manga tie-in (see below) and many championships (some are performed with live players instead of stones)

"In chess you start with everything you have on the board. In go you start from nothing and build." -- Tim Klinger


"The Room of Deep Contemplation"

Coming back to the traditional way of playing "go", the atmosphere and ambience is all-important; the strongest Go masters are playing their games in a specially designed rooms (sporting top-notch minimalist Japanese interiors, rock gardens and ikebana arrangements).