Ancient board game attracting top Asian players

The sixth China-Japan-South Korea Professional Pair Go Championship, which will draw 16 of the three countries’ top players, will begin on May 3 in Hefei, capital of East China’s Anhui province, organizers announced on Monday.

Originating in ancient China more than 4,000 years ago, Go is widely believed to be the oldest continuously played board game in the world, and mainly popular in East Asian countries including China, Japan and South Korea.

Go is a game where two parties take turns placing black and white stones on a 19-by-19 grid. Players win by taking control of the most territory on the board, achieved by surrounding opponent's pieces with their own.

For the Hefei event, each party in the game will include two players, a male and a female. “So the Pair Go Championship stresses not only the player’s personal skills, but also teamwork,” said Wang Runan, former president of the Chinese Go Chess Association, at a press conference Monday morning.

As the host country, China will send six players to the annual event. South Korea will also send three pairs of players, since it was players from the country who won the championship last year. Japan will send four players.

Wang Runan said he hopes the game can help enhance friendship between the three nations.

The game will be held in Hefei’s Luyang district, the permanent venue for the championship since 2013.