Posted 2013/10/30
Having developed in China between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, Weiqi (called I-Go in English) contends with backgammon for the right to be called the oldest game still played in its original form. Today it is played by millions in Asia and thousands elsewhere.
Weiqi is an intellectual but fun game. It is much more complex than the Chinese Chess, thus usually takes quite long to finish a game. A game of Weiqi can take as quick as 15 minutes and as long as days to finish.
Weiqi helps to improve one's concentration, calculation, memory and creativity. It develops one's systematic thinking skill and develop a good sense of judgement.
Weiqi is an important part of the traditional Chinese culture. They say it has a history of over 4,000 years. A weiqi board comprising l7
lines is preserved in the Museum of Chinese History. The board was unearthed in the Eastern Han Tomb (25-220 A.D.) of Wangdu, Hebei Province. This artefact is quite similar to present-day boards even though it is one of the oldest to have been unearthed in the country.
Today's board features 19 horizontal lines and 19 vertical lines which form 361 crosses. There are 181 black playing pieces and 180
white pieces. Usually weiqi is played by two players. The black side moves first and the white side moves last. Both sides take turns putting pieces on the crosses using such tactics as setting traps, encircling and seizing their opponents. The object of the game is to acquire as many of the opponent's pieces as possible and occupy their positions. The side that holds the most crosses at the end of the game is the winner.
