#surrounding game

[ellisdee161]

Intersections

[erima]

Robert Jasiek vs. Stefan Kaitschick (2004)

10" x 10" watercolor and ink

[erima]

Surrounding Game logo

Created in Adobe Ideas and slightly tweaked in Adobe Illustrator. I wanted to create a Simple Desktops vibe. You can see it in action on my new website about the game of Weiqi (also known as Go and Baduk) at The Surrounding Game.

[surroundinggame]

Introduction

"Surrounding Game" is the literal translation of the chinese characters 圍棋 or in Pinyin, Weiqi, but better known as Go. It’s one of the oldest board games in existence. There is direct evidence of it’s existence a little over 2,000 years ago but it may be 4,000 years old, according to folklore. I've been playing weiqi (I will refer to it as Weiqi, because the Korean Baduk isn’t familiar to me and Go is a nightmare of a search term) for a little less than that, about two years now. I have considered making a website about it for quite some time but in my mind I said, "What do I know about it? I’m just a beginner." In my studies of weiqi I have realized that a simple description of the game is impossible (except that it’s a surrounding game, duh!). Much like playing the game it cannot be described simply in what it is, but must also be described as what it is not – a surrounding description, each piece arranging itself to describe itself and the area around it. In realizing that I have begun chronicle my experiences and discoveries regarding the game, regardless of my rank or to experience. The Surrounding Game will be an exercise in the direct and the indirect, chronicling strategy and understanding how it fits in with everything else, to the best of my knowledge. I feel that it is not a game that can be simply understood by memorizing patterns or strategies but needs to be placed in the larger context of how it fits into Chinese philosophy and beyond. Weiqi often turned up in poetry, and was considered one of the noble arts of the chinese scholar, along with guqin (a musical instrument), calligraphy, and painting. A post here may be a 1,000 year old poem, or a current news story, or something actually directly relating to weiqi strategies. I hope you play along.