From Chess to Go: The China-US Rivalry
The intelligence and strategy game that the Chinese call “weiqi”, the Koreans call “Baduk” and the Japanese call “Go”, has a history of thousands of years and is also a tool that reflects the cultural codes of the Far East. The training for this game, played on a 19x19 board, is given in schools for intelligence and character development. Go is a simple yet complex game, easy to learn but difficult to play. The pieces do not move after they are placed, but you die when surrounded by your opponent. Its characteristic is that it is based on patience, balance and long-term planning.
Chess, on the other hand, is a strategy game that has been included in the cultural sphere of the Western world since the Middle Ages and has been modernized with the cultural codes of that region, although it originates from India and Iran. The goal is to checkmate the king, the most valuable player of the opposing side, with pieces that have different mobility on an 8x8 board. You must be both offensive and defensive. Since today’s foreign policy arena is seen as a chessboard that reflects the Western system’s view of the world, the world is also subject to a parallel reading. But what if someone took the game from the chessboard to the Go board?
