Go, the game invented in China more than 2500 years ago, is an abstract strategy board game which is played by two players opposing each other where the main aim of each one of them is to conquer more territory than the other.
Due to its long back invention, go is also believed to be the oldest board game played till date. Although the playing rules are very simple yet it is a very complex game even more than chess. As compared to chess the go board is larger in size with more range for play, and longer games, and, on average, many more options to consider per move.
The playing pieces in go are known as "stones". One player uses white and the other uses black ones. The players take turns by placing the stones on the unfilled sections ("points") of a board with a 19×19 grid of lines. Newcomers often play on smaller 9×9 and 13×13 boards, and archaeological evidence also reveals that the game was played in earlier times on the board with 17×17 grid.
However, boards with a 19×19 grid had become a standard by the time the game had entered Korea in the 5th century CE and later Japan in the 7th century CE.
The sport is goverened by the Internation Go Federation which organises World Championships and frames the rules and regulations of the game.
