Origin in China, 2000 BC
The board featured fixed stone placements at the start of the game, which was abolished in the 1600s by Japaneses.
Edo period, 1600
The game flourished in Japan from 1603 to 1868. The first Meijin was Honinbo Sansa.
Masters
- Go Seigen (1914-2014), The Prodigy.
- Huang Longshi (1653- 1700).
- Honinbo Dosaku (1645-1702).
- Honinbo Shusaku (1829-1862), The Invincible Shusaku.
- XiPing Fan (1709-1769) & XiangXia Shi (1710-1771).
- Honinbo Jowa (1787-1847).
- Cho Chikun (1956-).
- Lee Chang-Ho (1975-), The Stone Buddha.
- Lee Sedol (1983-), The Strong Stone.
- Cho Hun-hyun (1953-), The God of War.
Honorable mention:
- Michael Redmond
- Kajiwara Takeo
Federations
- 1924: Japan Go Institute (Nihon Ki-in).
- 1935: American Go Association (AGA).
- 1954: Korean Baduk Association (KBA), also known as “Hankuk Kiwon”.
- 1978: French Federation of Go (FFG).