Go Club

For information phone Tom 021 434 642
Our club is in recess. Go or Baduk is... an ancient board game which takes simple elements — line and circle, Black and White, stone and wood — combining them with simple rules to generate subtle strategies and complex tactics that stagger the imagination.

. . . [it is] something unearthly . . . If there are sentient beings on other planets, then they play Go. - Emanuel Lasker, chess grandmaster

Beyond being merely a game, Go can take on other meanings to enthusiasts: an analogy with life, an intense meditation, a mirror of one's personality, an exercise in abstract reasoning, or, when played well, a beautiful art in which Black and White dance across the board in delicate balance. But most important for all who play, Go is challenging and fun. Find the home of the New Zealand Go Society here: Go.org.nz.

"Go poses a daunting challenge to computer programmers. While the strongest computer chess software has defeated top players (Deep Blue beat the world champion in 1997), the best Go programs routinely lose to talented children." Text taken from this Wikipedia page.

Computer beats Pro!

On August 7, 2008 a copy of MoGo running on an 800 proc., 4.7 GHz = 15 Teraflops supercomputer won a one hour, 9-stone handicap game against 8Dan Pro, Kim Myungwan (Korea). The supper computer had a processing power more than 1000 times higher than the chess program Deep Blue. You can read a report of the event here. It it not clear how seriously the pro was playing, as it was reported that he only used "about 10 or 12 minutes" out of his allotted time.

Tags: Baduk, game of go
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