Overview of the Game

Go is typically classified as an abstract board game. However, a resemblance between the game of Go and war is often suggested. The Chinese classic 'The Art of War', for instance, has often been applied to Go strategy as well. On the other hand, general strategies of Go are well described by proverbs and are applied in other contexts such as management.

The two players, black and white, battle to maximise the territory they control, seeking to surround large areas of the board with their stones, to capture any opposing stones that invade these areas, and to protect their own stones from capture. The strategy involved can become very subtle and sophisticated.

Real wars end when the participants sign treaties. Likewise, in Go, the players have to agree that the game has ended. Only then is the outcome finally determined.