Over 60 participants from across Europe are expected to attend the five round event. The Japanese Ambassador will be presenting cups and prizes to the winners on Sunday afternoon. Go is a game of skill for two players. Once played, stones may not be moved although they may be surrounded and so captured, in which case they are removed from the board and held as prisoners. Victory goes to the player who ultimately controls most territory.
Players stake out territory by surrounding it.
However, fights between enemy groups provide much of the excitement in a game and can result in dramatic exchanges of territory. Go is thought to have originated in central Asia. Its age is disputed with varying sources estimating it between 2,000 and 4,000 years old. Chinese texts of 1,000 BC refer to it and it formed one of the Four Sublime Pastimes, the others being music, painting and calligraphy. The appeal of Go today for many people comes from its relation to traditional oriental culture.