Pair Go

Pair Go (ペア碁, pea go) is a team strategy game where pairs of players compete with each other in a game of Go. “PAIR GO,” created in 1990 by Taki Hsiao , is the registered trademark of the Japan Pair Go Association, a public interest incorporated foundation. Pair Go is a competitive game, and yearly competitions are held. Professional Pair Go Championship 2020 was held on February 8 & March 1, 2020. The 30th International Amateur Pair Go Championship was held December 7–8, 2019. Pair Go World Championship 2019 Master Mach took place on August 20th in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Gameplay

Pair Go is a competitive game played in pairs, with each team holding either black or white stones. Each team consists of a male player and a female player who share a Pair Go board. The members of the teams play as follows:

1. Female player of the black team.
2. Female player of the white team.
3. Male player of the black team.
4. Male player of the white team.

Players of the same gender can form pairs, but the Japan Pair Go Association's official rules specify that a pair is formed by a male and female player. In general, to popularize Pair Go and to promote exchange, almost all Pair Go events adopt the male/female format. The inventor of Pair Go, Taki Hsiao, had a strong wish to popularize the game among women.

According to the official rules, the members of a pair are not permitted to consult each other. To win, it is necessary for the pair to understand each other and to play with consideration, covering for each other’s mistakes. Pair Go is popular among older men and younger generations, women, and children.

There are international tournaments and domestic tournaments for both amateurs and professionals. Pair Go contests have been included as official events in international sports gatherings. It has also been recognized as a mind sport.

For popularization purposes, the Japan Pair Go Association (JPGA) also awards Best Dresser prizes as a side event at all tournaments that it organizes.

Invention

Pair Go was created in Japan in 1990 by Taki Hsiao, the founder of Guru Navi, Inc."年" /> The origins of Pair Go were Team Go, an ancient variant of Go. In Team Go, two Go boards are placed side by side, and several players play in turns. The players play the move on the neighboring board on the board in front of them, though this has the effect of lessening the competitive meaning of the game. Based on this, Mr. Taki conceived of Pair Go, in which two players are matched against the other two players while using just one Go board. This game was considered to be more interesting because as several players take part, the number of variations increases.

At the first tournament, held in 1990, Ishida Yoshio acted as chief referee. He described Pair Go as “an interesting game when you try it.”

Rules

The official rules, as determined by the Japan Pair Go Association, are listed below.

• A male player and a female player form a pair; the members of the pair sit on the same side of the Go board. Players of the same gender face each other over the board.
• The male and female players play alternately. The first move is made by the female member of the pair taking black; next, the female member of the pair taking white plays; next, the male member of the pair with black plays; next, the male member of the pair with white plays. This rotation continues throughout the game.
• The members of a pair must not consult each other or give advice. Conversation is permitted only for deciding to resign or to check whose turn it is to play.
• In consulting the partner about resigning, the player whose turn it is asks their partner, who must reply with yes or no.
• When a mistake is made in the order of players, an objection can be made only about the move just played. When a rotation error has been made, a move cannot be replayed. A penalty of three points is levied on the pair that made the mistake.
• If it is confirmed that partners have made an illegal exchange of information, the pair concerned forfeits the game.
• When passes are made in succession, the game concludes.
• When handicap games are played in tournaments for amateurs, the ranks of the two players in a pair are added, then divided by two to calculate the “pair points.” The handicap is decided by the difference from the pair points of the other pair.

The rules are available in five languages: Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish. (The rules were formally defined in 1991. Drafting was supervised by Yoshikuni Ichiro, Honorary President of the Japan Pair Go Association and previous director of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau.)

Tournaments

The tournament that determines the world’s number one amateur pair each year is the International Amateur Pair Go Championship, which was founded in 1990. A Japanese Pair Go tournament in which top male and female professionals from the Nihon Ki-in and the Kansai Ki-in compete, the Professional Pair Go Championship, was founded in 1994. In 2008, Pair Go became an official sport at the Mind Sports tournament. In 2010, it was included in the Guangzhou Asian Games; in 2011, it was an official sport at the SportAccord World Mind Games, which is recognized by the IOC. The following international professional tournaments have been held: the Pair Go World Cup 2010 in Huangzhou, China; the Pair Go World Cup 2016 Tokyo; the Pair Go World Championship was held each year from 2017 to 2019.

In 2019, an international tournament was held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the birth of Pair Go. At present, the game is played in 75 countries and territories (as of September 2020).

The Pair Go World Cup 2020 is scheduled to be held in Tokyo from June 30 to July 4, 2021. The top-rated professional and amateur Pair Go players will compete. The Pair Go Official Handicap Tournament will occur on July 1–2, 2021, in which amateur pairs will compete. Ratings determined by the rating system on the Internet, Go Salon Pandanet will be used as the unified basis for the rankings of all the players taking part. The handicaps will be decided by the “pair points” calculated on the basis of the rankings determined by this rating system. Ratings in Go differ in different parts of the world, meaning that there are often considerable variations in skill among players of the same nominal ranks. Accordingly, the lack of a unified rating system has been a problem. Since the games in the Official Pair Go Handicap Tournament will use ratings determined by a unified system, it will be possible to eliminate these differences and calculate the correct handicaps. For this reason, it is expected that this tournament will have a tremendously positive effect on the popularization of Pair Go.

Popularization

Pair Go is popular in many countries. The World Pair Go Association (WPGA) was established in 2008. As of September 2020, this association had 75 countries and territories affiliated with it. Matsuura Koichiro, the 8th Director-General of UNESCO, serves as president.

The Committee to Make Pair Go an Olympic Sport was launched on June 30, 2015. In October 2019, the Japan Go Federation, an incorporated foundation, was founded by the Japan Pair Go Association in cooperation with the Nihon Ki-in and the Kansai Ki-in; it is the only body that represents the world of Japanese Go outside of Japan. In addition, the committee also carries out activities to secure the adoption of Go and Pair Go as Olympic sports in the future.

Artificial intelligence research

Researchers in artificial intelligence are also paying attention to Pair Go. The design of Pair Go as a game in which the player has to understand not only the planning of the opponent pair but also communication (not as a conversation but in the sense of “transmission”) with their partner may mean that Pair Go may be useful for basic research in communication between humans and artificial intelligence, as humans can engage in contests while coordinating with someone without visual or audible forms of communication.

See also

• Go (game)
• European Pair Go Championship
• Bughouse chess
• Pair Shogi

External links

• Japan Pair Go Association
• Professional Pair Go Championships

This article "Pair Go" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Pair Go. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

• Chronos Digital Game Clock

---