Wei Qi

[Ian_Lee]

Wei Qi, known in Korean as Baduk, is more and better known in the West as Go in its Japanese term.

Wei Qi, just like Tofu, seems to be more popular in Japan than in China itself.

Like Tofu which is the softest item but the hardest to crack under high heat, Wei Qi is also attributed with this kind of stark contrast.

Wei Qi is the easiest game to learn. Anyone can learn all the rules within half an hour. The chessboard is the simplest with a 19*19 grid.

But Wei Qi is also the hardest game in the world. In Japan, they have the Go Academy where hundreds enroll and have Go as their lifetime career. Like Karate, its rank is divided into 9 段 with just 1 or 2 people in the whole nation capable of reaching the 9th 段.

In every Japanese newspaper, there is the Go section.

But anyhow, the best Wei Qi players are still Chinese or ethnic Chinese. Mr. Lin from Taiwan has been 9th 段 in Japan for decades and won the title of "Chess King" and "Chess Saint" for many terms.

And of course Mr. Nie from PRC has always been unbeatable either.

Anyhow, Wei Qi demands excellent memory. It is also the kind of game that yields genius. When I was 28, I played (I was merely ranked as amateur 3rd 段 by that time) with a 9-year old kid in a contest.

That kid almost beat me.

But Wei Qi is too addictive and exhausting. I don't recommend it to the faint-hearted.

[Quest]

712 posts, wei to go!

[sunyata]

reminds me of the anime series "Hikaru no Go"

It is certainly an interesting and complicated game, but having that as a career or job - umm, i don't know, that seems a bit extreme

nice parallel with the tofu...

[Ian_Lee]

Top Go players in Japan can earn prestige as well as high pay. It seems like an enviable profession to most Japanese since most white collar jobs are very boring in nature in Japan.

Interestingly Xiang Qi and Wei Qi players are listed as athletes in China. They are listed as contested items like field and track in the National Olympics.

But Wei Qi is very physically demanding. I have sweated all over after a game is over like finished running 2.000 meters.

[badboy]

But anyhow, the best Wei Qi players are still Chinese or ethnic Chinese. Mr. Lin from Taiwan has been 9th 段 in Japan for decades and won the title of "Chess King" and "Chess Saint" for many terms.

And of course Mr. Nie from PRC has always been unbeatable either.

Sorry I disagree. The best players now are Korean, such as Lee Chang Ho who is generally considered to be the best player in the world, and Lee's teacher Cho Hunhyun. Also Korea has Lee Sedol, who is the fastest player to reach 9 段 p from 1 段 p, and the 19yo Choi Cheolhan, who has already defeated Lee Chang Ho on more than one occasion. And Korea has generally come out on top in international tournaments with China and Japan.

Mind you, the best woman player in the world is Rui Naiwei, who is Chinese, and I believe now lives in Korea. And the only other woman to reach 9 段 p is also Chinese - Feng Yun, who is also the 2nd best woman player in the world.

And I agree, weiqi is addictive - more addictive than crack on payday. My girlfriend hates when I play, because I get totally absorbed during a game and if she says anything while I'm playing it's in one ear and out the other hehe...

badboy 6k, aiming for 1 段 amateur

[Ian_Lee]

Badboy:

Sorry I have not got myself updated about the news of wei qi. So Koreans are the king now in the world of wei qi.

I think this is a good phenomenon since keen competition will yield better wei qi players worldwide.

Well, my wife has banned me from playing wei qi for a long time.

[Ang Gu Kueh]

Hi, does anyone know where to find good grade Yunzi stones and a full 19x19 bamboo board for weiqi in Taiwan?