The Story Of The Board Game Go

"The rules of Go are so elegant, organic, and rigorously logical that if intelligent life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, they almost certainly play Go."

- Edward Lasker, Chess Grandmaster

There is a fascinating documentary about the board game Go called "The Surrounding Game" it is an in depth study of this awesome game that dates back thousands of years.

Go is relatively an unknown in the West but this documentary hopefully will bring a new audience to this amazing board game!

When it comes to the learning curve this game is like child's play, however trying to master the complex strategies is another thing, even computers struggle.

The documentary will follow the best players in America with their goal being the first US team to compete as professionals.

While this is taking place the film will dig deep into the legend of the game, its rich history and the culture it has spawned.

From the Surrounding Game:

THE SURROUNDING GAME follows the lives of several top American players, leading up to the competition to become the first Western professional.

Brooklyn-raised Ben Lockhart, America’s top white player, foregoes college to join an elite Korean Go school. His close friend, Chinese-American Andy Liu, is the strongest player in North America, despite little formal training.

Introverted, quirky, and deeply cerebral, Andy probes the limitations of his own mind in his quest to transcend the tedium of normal society. In the shadow of the game’s three-thousand-year legacy, the American Go community descends into a small North Carolina town to crown the first American pros.

As they battle over the Go board, the players must confront deeper questions: Can an intellectual art survive in the modern world? What drives their fanatical love for Go, and why do they find greater meaning in the game than in real life?

Uncertain about their futures, they make a pilgrimage to meet the world’s greatest living player, 99-year-old Japanese master Go Seigen. Despite their diverging paths, Ben and Andy face the same question: is a lifetime dedicated to Go truly worth living?

Browse this page for an assortment of Go Game Sets and learn to play this fasnitating board game.