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RE: One photo every day: Go (109/365)
This is a great game i can say that. Since it doesnt only develop ones knowledge, it also involves smartness, right thinking and wellness of mind. I dont know of this game before, i knew about it when i started curating @gamer00 posts. I will like to ask if this go game is in Olympics and how much international exposure has it got? I dont know of it in Africa and South America.
You are right in that go develops the mind in a well-rounded manner. Emotional balance is important in many sports but in go it is crucial. The space of possible moves is so vast that, particularly in the opening and the middle game, there countless possible strategies. Too much aggression or fear lead to defeat. A player must strike the right balance between the two. If the situation requires, a player will have to turn their thinking upside down and devise another strategy better suited for the overall situation. At every step of the way a whole-board evaluation must guide the choice of moves. It is cognitively hard but clinging to ideas will show and a skillful opponent will use that against you. For example, if you demonstrate that you absolutely must have some piece of territory or a framework and your opponent judges that they can afford to give them to you, they will try and extract maximum price for that. The stronger a player is the longer they will put off commitment, only committing to a strategy at the last moment.
Go is not in the Olympics and neither is Chess. Go is also known as Igo in Japan, Baduk in Korea, and Weiqi in China. It is played by millions or tens of millions of amateurs in China, Korea and Japan. In Europe, there are about 10,000 to 20,000 people playing it. Ditto in North America. It is played in Latin America as well. There are amateurs at the highest levels in Argentina and Brazil. At least South Africa and Madagascar have national federations. It has very little exposure in the Middle East. For some reason, Mongolia is rather weak at go despite the fact that Ghengis Khan knew the game and I think he might have played it. Australian go is at a level similar to a typical European country.