| What is Weiqi? |
| Prologue: Introduction to Weiqi What is Weiqi then? It is actually a type of chess that you see most frequently played in Chinese swordsman movies. It has both black and white seeds and two players take turns to place their seeds on a 19 x 19 chessboard alternatively. Players pit their skills against each other by surrounding territories on the board and capturing their opponent's seeds. The one who emerged obtaining more territories and captured seeds is the winner of the game. And please! Weiqi is NOT some game called Othello!!! In Othello, you can flip the seeds but in Weiqi, your seeds can't be touched unless they are 'eaten up' and removed from the board. Weiqi has a GREAT reputation in China - the origin of the game - and in Japan and Korea. In Japan, Weiqi is called 'Go' and this is also its official English name. ('Weiqi' is the Han Yu Pin Yin of its Chinese name.) In China, Korea and Japan, Weiqi is a way of life and is a paid profession just like all other jobs. No other chess, not even the Chinese Chess or the International Chess can reach this respectable status. In Weiqi, it confers 'Dan' to professional players just like Judo, Tae Kwon Do and other martial arts. The Great Masters of 9 'Dan' are legendary figures of the game. Amatuers like us cannot hope to even reach the first 'Dan'. Reaching this Master rank often requires devotion of whole life to playing the game and treating it as a profession. Weiqi professionals have ranked amatuer players in terms of 20 'Levels': the 20th being one who is being first introduced to the game, the 1st 'Level' describing someone has the skills to soon become an expert first 'Dan'. Hence you now know how deep and complex the game of Weiqi is. BACK Yahoo Go Heng's Weiqi Exploits |