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Strategies and the Universe in Weiqi

Weiqi or a game of chess played with black and white pieces on a board of 361 crosses, has no shortage of enthusiasts in China, evidenced by the fact that even the most insignificant, junior level tournament is likely to be broadcast on TV. Some Europeans mistakenly believe the game to be Chinese chess, but that is a different game entirely.

Asia alone has about 25 million Weiqi players, with the best of these based in China, Japan and South Korea. Weiqi has indeed spread as far as Europe and the United States, where there are about 100,000 and 20,000 players respectively, but these are, compared with the Oriental masters, amateurs.

The origin of Weiqi

Weiqi has been played in China for thousands of years. The oldest 17x17 board ever found was unearthed in Wangdu County, Hebei Province, and dates back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC -AD 220). And one silk painting from AD 750 depicts weiqi players crowded around a board.

But according to legend, the game is much, much older - some experts believe it to be 4,000 years old. It is said that the semi-mythical Emperor Yao of the 23rd century BC invented the game to educate his son Dan Zhu, and named it yi.
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