Pair Go®

Pair Go®, in which a man and a woman play alternate moves on the same side, is a relatively new way of enjoying Go. In pair go, not only do you have to analyze the moves made by your opponents, you also have to read out the meaning of your partner's moves. Before the game is over, it is virtually certain that your partner will play some stones that will either move you to admiration or leave you perplexed, providing a zest that you would never have found in the individual game. When a one-on-one game becomes two-on-two, new elements are added, and new questions arise in the formulation of strategy.


Pair Go® teams compete annually for prizes and the right to play for their country in the Amateur Pair Go Championship. It has grown rapidly in popularity since its inception in 1990. The World Pair Go Association believes that bringing more women into the game will make it more popular with all players. They also aim to introduce a social element to a game that can be a solitary pursuit. There is a growing interest in Europe, especially in Great Britain.

In the US, more than eighty players participate in the North American Pair Go Championship at the US Go Congress every year. With the support of the World Pair Go Association, the AGA is expanding the presence of Pair Go® in the US with a series of sponsored regional tournaments, culminating in an internet playoff for free tickets to the US Go Congress for the North American Pair Go Championship.

You can organize a Pair Go event in your community! The official international pair go rules may be found here. You may also email Hajin Lee for further information.

Or, use the GoPanda2 go client to play pair go—or any kind of go—on the Internet Go Server.

Follow AGA Pair Go on Facebook!

Pair Go Gallery

Photos by Roy Laird

Pair go collage

History

Year Female Player Male Player
1991 Debbie Siemon Zhi-Li Peng
1992 Judy Schwabe Thomas Hsiang
1993 Debbie Siemon John Lee
1994 Debbie Siemon John Lee
1995 Lee Anne Bowie James Chien
1996 Debbie Siemon Thomas Hsiang
1997 Pauline Pohl Ted Ning
1998 Joanne Phipps Ned Phipps
1999 Louisa Chan James Chien
2000 Gina Shi Joey Hung
2001 Debbie Siemon Thomas Hsiang
2002 Wan Yu Chen Ted Ning
2003 Gina Shi Mozheng Guan
2004 Kristen Burrall Yuan Zhou
2005 Cherry Shen Joey Hung
2006 Wang Chen Curtis Tang
2007 (SGF) Cherry Shen Eric Lui
2008* Yinli Wang Edward Zhang
2009 Yinli Wang Yuan Zhou
2010 Wan Chen Curtis Tang
2011 Roxanne Tam Yuan Zhou
2012 Kelsey Dyer Yuan Zhou
2013 Amy Wang Justin Ching
2014 Yiwen Ye Daehyuk Ko
2015 Amy Wang Daehyuk Ko
2016 Gabriella Su Jeremy Chiu
2017 Gabriella Su Justin Teng
2018 Sophia Wang Alan Huang

* Held at the Beijing World Mind Sports Games.