The History of Go
One of the oldest board games still played in its original form.
Ancient Chinese Roots
Go (weiqi in Chinese) is traditionally said to have been invented in China more than 4,000 years ago, though the earliest reliable written references date to around the 4th century BCE. It was considered one of the four essential arts a cultivated Chinese scholar should master, alongside calligraphy, painting and playing the guqin.
Unlike most ancient games, Go's rules have barely changed: the goal of surrounding more territory than your opponent on a grid of intersections is exactly as it was over two thousand years ago.
Korea, Japan, and a Culture of Mastery
Go spread to Korea and then to Japan by around the 7th century CE, where it flourished under imperial patronage. Japan's Edo period (17th-19th century) formalized professional Go with government-sponsored schools and hereditary master titles like Meijin and Honinbo, some of which are still awarded in tournaments today.
This professional tradition is why Go terminology worldwide still often uses Japanese words - "go," "dan" and "sente" all entered English through Japan, even though the game itself is Chinese in origin.
Go Meets Artificial Intelligence
Go reached the West gradually over the 20th century, but for decades computers found it far harder to play well than chess - its huge branching factor defeated brute-force search.
That changed in March 2016, when Google DeepMind's AlphaGo defeated 18-time world champion Lee Sedol 4-1, a result many AI researchers had expected to take another decade. It remains one of the landmark moments in the history of artificial intelligence.