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Weiqi, Baduk): a Beautiful Game

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Weiqi, Baduk): a Beautiful Game Go (Weiqi, Baduk): A Beautiful Game Description Go is a strategy board game originating from China more than two thousand years ago. Though its rules are simple, the game is intractably complex; a top professional can easily defeat the best supercomputers today. It was considered one of the four essential skills of a Chinese scholar. The game spread to Korea and Japan, has flourished in East Asia, and is becoming more well-known in the West. Today, Go is enjoyed by more than 40 million players in the world. Objectives Students will learn the rules of go and become able to play at an intermediate level. They will also understand the game in a historical and/or mathematical context. We hope (but do not require) that students will be able to play at a single-digit kyu level (1k-9k). Students will also learn something significant from one of the following (or both): ◦ The culture and history of go, including its origins, historical figure, and presence in East Asia and the western world. ◦ Some mathematical results of go, including a treatment of go using combinatorial game theory. This will offer enough flexibility for students of all majors. Prerequisites None. We expect all students to be able to understand the course material. The course is designed to suit students of all majors. This course is not designed for dan-level players. We will not allow dan-level players to take this course. Course Format This course will be taught by Joshua Wu in both lecture and interactive formats. We hope to emphasize student participation. Classes will held in 90-minute sessions. 1 Lectures will be anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes long. The remaining time will be allotted for students’ practice and interaction (e.g. assignments, worksheets, or games). Readings Course readings will utilize the sources listed below. ◦ Game ⁃ Go: A Complete Introduction to the Game by Cho Chikun ⁃ Learn to Play Go series by Janice Kim 3 dan and Jeong Soo-hyun 9 dan ⁃ So You Want to Play Go? series by Jonathan Hop ⁃ Black to Play! series by Gunnar Dickfeld ◦ Culture ⁃ “Go in Ancient China” by John Fairbairn ⁃ “Some Senryu About Go” by William Pinckard ⁃ “Go in the Classics” by Donald Potter ◦ Mathematics ⁃ Combinatorial Game Theory by Aaron Siegel ⁃ Mathematical Go: Chilling Gets the Last Point by Elwyn Berlekamp and David Wolfe Quizzes A small quiz will be held at the beginning of each lecture. The quizzes will help us understand student progress and let us pace the course accordingly. They are scored out of 2 points: 0 (missed), 1 (attempted), and 2 (passed). Students who miss more than six quizzes will not pass the course. Assignments Most assignments will involve life-and-death problems or other go-related problems, with occasional material about culture, recent developments, and/or mathematics applied to go. The assignments are an important part of the curriculum and represent a large portion of the grade. Just a show of effort on an assignment is enough to receive half marks. Students who miss more than three assignments will not pass the course. 2 Paper Near the end of the course, students will each write a paper discussing either the cultural and historical aspects or an mathematical analysis of go. Exact details will vary depending on student progress. Students who miss the paper will not pass the course. Subject Matter This course will provide an intermediate understanding of go, including its culture and mathematical consequences. We will choose terminology commonly used in the United States (typically a mix of English and Japanese loanwords, with the exception of “haengma”). Provided here is a general idea of the course material. Some topics listed may not be covered while some unlisted topics may be covered. Many of these topics are more difficult than the level of the course; we will not fully cover these (or not at all). ◦ Rules ⁃ Definitions ⁃ Objective ⁃ Legal moves ⁃ Ko ⁃ Scoring ⁃ Time ⁃ Handicaps ⁃ Special Cases ◦ General Concepts ⁃ Connection ⁃ Life/Death/Seki ⁃ Sente/Gote ⁃ Opening (Joban)/Middle Game (Chūban)/Endgame (Shūban) ⁃ Fuseki ⁃ Yose ⁃ Tenuki ⁃ Miai 3 ⁃ Capturing Race (Semeai) ⁃ Shortage of Liberties (Damezumari) ⁃ Haengma ◦ Shape (Katachi) ⁃ Nobi ⁃ Hane ⁃ Jump (Tobi) ⁃ Diagonal Move (Kosumi) ⁃ Knight’s Move (Keima) ⁃ Tiger’s Mouth (Kaketsugi) ⁃ Bamboo Joint (Takefu) ⁃ Extension (Hiraki) ⁃ Watari ⁃ Ponnuki ⁃ Tortoise Shell (Kame no Kō) ◦ Tesuji ⁃ Related to Shortage of Liberties (Damezumari) ⁃ Net (Geta) ⁃ Ladder (Shichō) ⁃ Throw-In (Hōrikomi) ⁃ Snapback (Uttegaeshi) ⁃ Squeeze (Shibori) ⁃ Connect-and-die (Oiotoshi) ⁃ Crane’s Nest (Tsuru no Sugomori) ⁃ Twirl (Guruguru Mawashi) ⁃ Tanuki (Tanuki no Haratsuzumi) ⁃ Related to Shape (Katachi) ⁃ Placement (Oki) ⁃ Clamp (Hasamizuke) ⁃ Wedge (Warikomi) ⁃ Descent (Sagari) ⁃ Belly Attachment (Itachi no Harazuke) ⁃ Nose Attachment (Hanazuke) ⁃ Under the Stones (Ishi no Shita) ◦ Joseki ⁃ 4-4 Joseki (Hoshi Jōseki) 4 ⁃ 3-4 Joseki (Komoku Jōseki) ◦ Culture ⁃ Origins ⁃ Historical Figures ⁃ Modern Go ⁃ Future of Go ⁃ Other East Asian Games ◦ Mathematics ⁃ Capturing Races (Semeai) ⁃ Miai Values ⁃ Go in Combinatorial Game Theory ⁃ Definitions ⁃ Infinitesimals ⁃ Temperature ⁃ Cooling ⁃ Chilling ⁃ Numbers 5 Course Schedule (Tentative) Topic Assignment 1 Course Overview 2 Rules 3 Capturing 4 Life and Death 1 5 History L&D 1 6 Capturing Races 7 Mathematics of Capturing Races L&D 2 8 Shortage of Liberties 9 Fuseki and Joseki L&D 3 10 Proverbs and Common Mistakes 11 Special Cases L&D 4 12 Tournament 1 13 Tournament Review Kifu 14 Midterm 15 Haengma and Shape L&D 5 16 Middle Game 17 Go Today and Computer Go L&D 6 18 Endgame 19 Miai Values L&D 7 20 Go in CGT 1 21 Go in CGT 2 L&D 8 22 More Joseki 23 Life and Death 2 L&D 9 24 Famous Professional Games 25 Xiangqi, Janggi, and Shogi L&D 10 26 Tournament 2 27 Tournament Review Paper 28 Final 6 Grading Generally speaking, students will be expected to understand all concepts of go at an intermediate level. At a bare minimum, at the end of the semester we expect students to be able to play the game and understand go in a cultural and/or mathematical context. The assignments are an important part of the curriculum and represent a large portion of the grade. However, we will be very forgiving in grading the assignments. A good show of effort on an assignment is enough to receive half marks. The quizzes check student progress and are also graded very leniently. Simply taking the quiz will receive half marks. Any minimal understanding of the material will receive full marks. Students must also demonstrate an academic appreciation and understanding of go as shown through their papers. Grading will be performed as described below. 25% Quizzes 25% Assignments 10% Paper 15% Midterm 25% Final Students with scores of at least 70% will pass the course. Students with scores below that will not pass the course. Students who miss the midterm, the final, the paper, more than three assignments, or more than six quizzes will not pass the course, regardless of their scores. 7.
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