Blackwood Go Club

About: Blackwood Go Club

Go is probably the oldest board game known. Created in the Chinese Emperor Shu dynasty (approx. 2200 BC), it is a game where balance of territory is primary but balance of power enables influence and enhances security. I agree that Go is to chess as chess is to checkers, but I’m no checkers expert! Go is played on a rectangular block with a grid of 2 sets of 19 black lines. Black & white stones are placed on the interstices of these. At the end of the game the player with control of more territory is the winner. Unlike chess, all pieces in Go are equal. In chess if a major piece is lost, that probably means the game is lost. In Go, one can lose a battle but still win the ‘war’. In the Japanese Tsin dynasty (200 BC - 600 AD), 2 warlords, after much bloodshed, decided to let the resolution of their antagonisms rest on a game of Go played against each other. Now that’s an idea!