American Go E-Journal » Go Spotting

The Glory of go?
“I haven’t watched it yet, but the Korean show The Glory now streaming on Netflix has go as a major element,” reports Peter Armenia. If anyone has more info, please let us know!

AlphaGo’s “Sputnik moment”
Former U.S. Go Congress Director Dave Weimer’s wife Melanie Manion spotted this mention of AlphaGo’s win over humans as a “Sputnik moment” for Chinese leaders in AI thinking in Susan L. Shirk’s Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise. (Oxford University Press, 2022).

“The latest catalog (July 2022) from the Great Courses introduces a new course called Great Board Games of the Ancient World,” reports Joel Sanet. “The fifth lecture (of 12) is on go. In 33+ minutes the lecturer briefly covers the history of go from the legendary Emperor Yao to modern AI, the rules of the game including the rule of ko and the area method of counting, and a few tips for raw beginners. If you want to know more about the full course, you can find it here.

Sarah Andersen is an American cartoonist and illustrator, and the author of the webcomic Sarah’s Scribbles. Thanks to Phil Straus for passing this along.

Earlier this year Go Minimal was released for direct download on the Nintendo Switch. The game features local and online multiplayer. Another Go game for the Nintendo switch, Being Stronger While Playing! SilverStar Go DX, has local multiplayer only, but includes a tutorial mode and AI of various levels.

Gomoku, or the “connect five” variant of Go, is included in Clubhouse Games™: 51 Worldwide Classics, as well as the standalone Gomoku, also on the Nintendo Switch.
–Derek McGuire

Christine Ames reports that in the Korean historical drama Jewel in the Crown, Palace Lady Jang keeps a go board in her room. The first time we see her there, in Episode 5, she is studying with a beautiful go set. 

–Image/editing by Derek McGuire

“As an adolescent, I fancied myself a devotee of the ancient Chinese board game Go. I had never actually played it, but in one of my favorite novels — “Shibumi,” by Trevanian — the super-assassin hero praised Go as a fitting pastime for the kind of warrior/poet/lover he was and that I hoped to become. “Go is to Western chess what philosophy is to double-entry accounting,” he says, probably before killing someone with a toothpick. Sadly, when I actually tried to play Go, it turned out be … a board game, and a difficult one at that. I gave it up when I realized that in return for the labor of truly learning Go, I would become not an enlightened international assassin, but just a guy who could play a game.” Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” reviews Oliver Roeder’s “SEVEN GAMES A Human History” in The New York Times; read more here.

Cylise Snow reports that the anime series Blade Runner: Black Lotus features Go.

– screen capture by Cylise Snow, editing by Derek McGuire

Colin Williams reports that the Turtlebun store features go equipment in many of its product photographs.

-photo and editing by Derek McGuire

In its November 13 issue, The Economist described last year’s flare-up in the decades-long Sino-Indian border dispute as though China and India were engaged in a match of go. These two powers have largely avoided direct conflict, for they “were focused on building their own core structures,” as go players in the early stages of a match might do as they peacefully lay claim to the corners and sides of the board. At times, India has sought to define its border with its neighbor. But China—as any go player would—resisted, knowing that the unsettled border is one that can be exploited for further advantage. Now, with these two powers entering the later stages of the game where “the board fills up and one player emerges dominant, there should be no surprise for [China] to push the advantage.”

You can read the piece here. The article is behind a paywall which may require either registering an account that will grant limited access for free, or becoming a paid subscriber.
– Paul Adamski, with thanks to Bart Lipofsky and Pete Schumer for flagging this.

Ted Terpstra reports that a new children’s book highlighting Go and Go terms, has become available. “Aji’s Quest is a fascinating story of a young Quoll who goes in search of a great Go master, Tenuki, so he can learn to become a Go master himself,” says Terpstra. “During Aji’s quest, he learns much about the game of Go and is tested repeatedly at the board. The book is best appreciated if the reader has a basic knowledge of Go.”

Aji’s Quest is a comic series by Collette Bezio originally released online that is now published in print by Board’N’Stones.