Go and war

In a previous column, I implied that chess was a more warlike game than go. However, there have been many comparisons between go strategy and strategy used in war, or even in guerrilla warfare.

In the 1960s, the head of a go club in Yugoslavia was trying to obtain the same government support for his club as chess clubs enjoyed. He was rebuffed until he pointed out that go was a more democratic game than chess, with its feudal structure. He told government officials that in go, all the pieces were of equal value and could be thought of as "partisans" in a revolutionary struggle. Using this argument, his club quickly received the funding requested.

More than 25 years ago, The Protracted Game, written by Scott Boorman and published by Oxford University Press, created a bit of a sensation. Boorman's thesis was that Mao Zedong's takeover of China was based on the tactics and strategy of go.

The great military classic in China is Sanshiliu Ji (The Thirty-Six Stratagems). The author and the date of this work is unknown, but historical records indicate that it must have been written before A.D. 500. Some examples of the stratagems in this tract are:

* Watch the fire from the opposite shore!

* Lure the tiger out of the mountain!

* Close the door to capture the thief!

* Remove the ladder after the enemy goes upstairs!

* Sometimes retreat is the best option!

* Feint to the east to attack the west!

In 1990, one of China's top players, Ma Xiaochun, wrote a book titled Sanshiliu Ji Yu Weiqi. An English translation was published in the United States in 1996 by Yutopian Enterprises as The Thirty-Six Stratagems Applied to Go. In this book, Ma gives examples from professional games for each of these stratagems. His examples may be difficult for a novice to understand, but I will give a simple position of how the stratagem "Feint to the east to attack the west!" can be used.

By Richard Bozulich Articles 1–46 By Rob van Zeijst Articles 47–150 Articles 151–281 Articles 282–428 0, Problems and answers 1, How go is played / Four basic rules / The object: to control territory 2, The origins of go / Four basic rules / The rule of capture 3, Go comes to Japan / Six basic rules of go / Capturing two or more stones 4, The development of go in Japan / Capturing stones in a game 5, Professional go in Japan / More about capturing 6, Defending territory / Illegal moves 7, Go in China / More on illegal moves 8, Go in South Korea / A review of the rules/ Eyes and living groups 9, International go tournaments / Eye spaces 10, Lee Chang Ho, Cho Chikun -- the superstars of go / False eyes 11, Go and computers / Seki 12, Rankings and handicaps / The rule of ko 13, Go and intellectual development in children / An example of ko in a game 14, Meijin title match / Double ko 15, Kisei title and Cho-Kobayashi rivalry/ Triple ko 16, Takemiya's cosmic go 17, Go Seigen, the 20th century's greatest player 18, Go equipment / How go is played / The rules / Elaboration / 19, Kitani and his disciples / The rule of capture 20, Atomic-bomb game / More on capturing stones 21, Dosaku and Shusaku: The saints of go 22, Go and the Immortals 23, Women in go / Capturing races 24, Eio Sakata / Capturing techniques 25, Shuko Fujisawa, the first Kisei of the modern era / Capturing techniques: Nets 26, Cho Chikun defends Kisei title / Illegal moves / Living groups 27, Opening strategy / False eyes 28, Joseki 29, Lee Chan Ho, the undisputed world go champion 30, Kobayashi wins Judan title 31, Fujitsu Cup 32, Tesuji and Intuition 33, Go and business (1) 34, Go and business (2) 35, Japan-China Tengen match 36, Go and war 37, Legends on origin of go (1) 38, Legends on origin of go (2) 39, World Amateur Go Championship 40, Go in Europe 41, Go online 42, Cho Chikun loses Honinbo title 43, The 11th TV Asia Cup 44, Long and short games 45, Fujitsu Cup 46, Go proverbs