Go Pages of Aleš Cieplý

If not the oldest the strategic game of go (also known as igo in Japan, wei-qi in Chinese or baduk in Korean) is definitely one of the oldest board games. It had originated in ancient China, later become very popular also in other parts of eastern Asia (especially in Japan and Korea) and has been spreading over all the world during the last century. Despite the rules of go are quite simple the game is much more complex than (for example) chess and it has not been mastered by computers yet.

The first go enthusiasts in former Czechoslovakia appeared already before the second World War but the first go club (if fact, it was only the part of a chess club, where other board games were played as well), in which the game was played not only for fun but also on the competetive level, emerged at the beginning of sixties. Since then the number of Czech go players has been growing as well as their skills and strength. At present, there are more then 10 go clubs and about four hundred regular players in Czechia. I myself attend the go club in Prague.

In late 1997 I started a work on Go Rating, the rating system that was originally intended only for Czech players. The computer code was written by a friend who I owe a great deal for its successful implementation and smooth service. As the tournament database had been continuously enlarged many foreign players have got into the system, although their ratings may not be established so well as GoR of players participating regularly at tournaments hold in Czech Republic.

I have also written two articles (in Czech language) for Igo, the journal of the Czech Go Association. The first one is devoted to the history of go in Czechia (and former Czechoslovakia) and the second to the description of Go Rating.

Some useful links:

	Prague Go Club - visit the largest and oldest go club in Czechia
	Czech Go Association - written in Czech language but with some hints in English as well; contains information on tournaments hold in Czech Republic, contact addresses and links to some go clubs
	MSO Worldwide - a nice site bringing information and current news from mind sports all over the world
	The Web Go Page Index maintained by Ken Warkentyne - the most comprehensive list of www pages related to go
	Go Encyclopaedia maintained by Jan van der Steen - everything you want to know about go including a huge collection of game records
	European Go Tournament Calendar and results of European go tournaments compiled by Andre Engels

Acknowledgement: The background image was created by Pelle Evensen.

This page is maintained by Aleš Cieplý. Any comments and suggestions are welcome.