Welcome to Games of Go on Download
Games of Go on Disk began in the era of floppy disks, and we have since moved to a more modern format of digital download.
GoGoD Books
Wizardry from the stone chamber (1590)
Description
The third book in the series on the evolution of go theory as a ‘medieval tour’ through a museum is now available on Amazon: “Wizardry from the Stone Chamber” 石室仙机.
The core period being covered is 1600 to 1900, and this book, dated to circa 1590, can be regarded as the foundation book in the series, providing the benchmark from which the evolution of theory shown in other books can be considered to have begun.
This book is from the late Ming. If you can’t quite afford a Ming vase for your house, you can at least have a Ming book on the coffee table. As is typical of most go books of that period, it was an anthology made up largely of older material, which I suppose in itself makes it fascinating. This includes the oldest known games, old texts, and a huge treasure house of openings (useful for studying the game commentaries in other books. There are novelties such as the very old games that suggest very strongly that sunjang baduk came from China. There is also a large selection of exquisite life & death problems that will delight the antiquarian. But there is clearly also much of what was then contemporary material, including the first glimmerings of the commentator’s art, making this an ideal book (a relatively large one of over 220 pages) to understand how go theory took off soon after in the Qing period.
Part of the length is explained by the translator’s addition of extensive notes, ranging from the genesis of the book and details of the author to explanations of the problem names.
| Publisher |
| Independent |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 25/08/2021 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
Evergreen Go Records (1682)
Description
The Evergreen Game Records (不古编) of 1682 is the second book in the Museum of Go Theory series, but is the first truly mature go commentary manual. It is one of the earliest commentary books anyway, but the comments here are by a genuine Chinese master of the game, Wu Ruizheng, and his comments cover all aspects of the game with a rich technical lexicon, encompassing not just moves but concepts.
We can see from this book that Chinese masters as early as the start of the Qing era were aware not just of concepts that we take for granted now, but of others that stemmed from group tax and so are either not known now or which now have a different slant. Remarkably, these ‘new’ concepts can show the way to tease out the concepts that AI programs apparently use but cannot describe.
Evergreen Game Records was also the book to introduce the genius Huang Longshi to a wider public. But all the 66 games here are by Wu’s contemporaries, the top masters of late Ming and early Qing.
Offered here is a complete translation, also with the original text, and contains extensive additional notes on the vocabulary and thus on the theory of old Chinese go. Biographical notes on the players are also added.
The ethos behind the Museum series is to offer something of a ‘medieval tour’ in which the various masters and their milieu are brought to life, using above all their own words.
| Publisher |
| Independent |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 25/06/2021 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
Evening Fragrance Pavilion (1754)
Description
Game Records from Evening Fragrance Pavilion (1754).
A translation of the commentaries of 15 games by Cheng Lanru, one of the Four Great Masters of the 18th century in China and much admired by Hayashi Genbi in Japan. With extra games and extensive notes on old Chinese go and its players. The first book in a planned series, “Museum of Go Theory”, designed to show how go theory evolved in China, especially in the period 1600-1900.
| Publisher |
| Independent |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 22/05/2020 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
The Incident Room: Transgressions on and off the go board
Description
The Incident Room: Transgressions on and off the go board
This is a collection of incidents from the game of go, presented as bite-sized accounts suitable for bedtime reading, that relate to rules transgressions, rules disputes, rules etiquette, go diplomacy, and sometimes just plain daftness. For a game that is widely touted as having the simplest of rules, there is a remarkable variety of such incidents. This is not a complete catalogue, but certainly captures the scale and scope of the problems. The main intention, apart from entertainment, has been to try to capture the first or best examples of each oddity, or to point up cases where different interpretations or adjudications are used in the principal countries where professional go is played.
| Publisher |
| Independent |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 22/05/2020 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
The First Teenage Meijin
Description
The First Teenage Meijin: At the end of 2019, Shibano Toramaru became the first teenage player to win a major title in the Japanese go world. When he became the new Meijin, it was almost as if the story of the manga Hikaru no Go had come true.
This book tells the story of the title match against Cho U. The first four games are presented with traditional commentaries, but the momentous fifth game – regarded as being of unusually high quality – combines tradition with AI analysis, which confirms the quality.
The coverage of the title match is preceded by a substantial account of the history of the Meijin title. The games themselves are also given with their atmospheric content and biographical details.
An index to topics in the Go Wisdom theory corpus presented in earlier books is also given.
| Publisher |
| Independent |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 23/04/2020 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
Games of Shuei
Description
Games of Shuei: with Commentaries – now available as print-on-demand via Kindle Direct Publishing or Amazon. 133 commented games involving the Meijin of Meijins, Honinbo Shuei. This is a paper edition of a book previously issued as an e-book, but now has many more games, is about 50% larger, and (as with Genjo-Chitoku) comes in our new fully indexed Go Wisdom format, a new colour enhaced format designed to encourage, facilitate and improve private study. 538 pages.
| Publisher |
| Independent |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 23/04/2020 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
Gengo-Chitoku
Description
The Meijin (or Master) as long been the most prestigious title in Japan for the best players of the oriental game of go. Only one Meijin at a time was allowed. Two of the very best players were Honinbo Genjo and Yasui Chitoku. Neither was Meijin. The reason was that they were at their peak in the same era, the early 19th century, which is often referred to as the Golden Age of go in Japan. They were rivals, but were also friends. Many of their games survive and each one is treasured. A major part of the reason is that both had contrasting styles – one favouring early territory then digging in, the other favouring early strength and gaining territory, or reducing the opponent’s, by later fighting. This, along with the very high standard of play, has made their games almost a standard text-book for students of the game. The present book collects all their 80-odd games with each other – several being recent finds – and gives detailed commentaries based on a combination of the very many professional commentaries that these games have attracted over two centuries.
| Publisher |
| Independent |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 08/04/2019 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
Honinbo Shuei (1852~1907)
Description
Honinbo Shuei (1852~1907) is the go player that masters of the calibre even of Go Seigen and Takagawa Kaku professed to admire the most. Many consider him the Meijin of Meijins, and in his late years no-one could
play without a handicap against him. Yet he achieved his dominance only in middle age, having several times disappeared from the mainstream go world for months on end. He lived at a time of enormous upheaval and uncertainty in the Japanese go world, seeing tragedy strike his father, his brother and his mentor. His own life was marred by a debilitating disease. But he compounded his problems by choosing to struggle – with some success – to uphold the Honinbo name and the game’s traditions in the brave new world represented by the rival Hoensha organisation. This book is a ground-breaking, detailed biography of Shuei set within the background of the tumultuous times he lived through. It is sympathetic but candid.
| Publisher |
| Independent |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 18/04/2015 |
| Type |
| Paperback,eBook |
The Honinbo Tournament
Description
The Honinbo Tournament is go’s oldest annual tournament. By trial and error it set the standards for every tournament since. This book describes in detail how it came about, and goes carefully through each of the early years in the 1940s and 1950s, and each year’s changes. The games of each title match up to and including Term 6 are given with rich commentaries (32 games), showcasing also the most famous players and
anecdotes featured in the highest level of go.
| Publisher |
| SmartGo |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 02/05/2013 |
| Type |
| eBook |
Today We Have a Splendid Feast
Description
Today We Have a Splendid Feast The great Inoue Inseki Meijin, the 17th century author of the famously hard-to-impossible problems of the Igo Hatsuyoron, produced other, easier tsume-go works. One was the Yoshin Teiki, most of which is now lost. But the portion that survives gives a fascinating insight into how he worked on his problems and (presumably) taught his pupils. The surviving sections, given here in full, are eminently suitable for beginners, but even strong players can learn amply from the way the Meijin used his mind, and be severely challenged by the hardest problems.
| Publisher |
| SmartGo |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 10/01/2013 |
| Type |
| eBook |
New Ways in Go
Description
New Ways in Go is a complete translation of Honinbo Shuho’s 1882 classic, covering handicap openings, even-game openings and commentaries on his games with Shuwa and Shusaku.
| Publisher |
| SmartGo |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 29/11/2012 |
| Type |
| eBook |
Unfinished Symphony
Description
Unfinished Symphony gives extensive commentaries on the shortened ten-game match between Go Seigen and Karigane Junichi, with comprehensive historical background. This continues the series of Go Seigen’s matches that was begun in paper form by Slate & Shell.
| Publisher |
| SmartGo |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 06/09/2012 |
| Type |
| eBook |
The Life, Games and Commentaries of Honinbo Shuei
Description
The original version of The Life, Games and Commentaries of Honinbo Shuei was published as a Kindle book
over six separate volumes, but is now available as a SmartGo book with interactive game replay.
| Publisher |
| SmartGo |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 16/05/2016 |
| Type |
| eBook |
The Gateway to All Marvels
Description
The 1347 Chinese go classic Xuanxuan Qijing, or Gengen Gokyo by its Japanese name, is the most significant go book ever produced. It has become the foundation for virtually every problem book since. Gateway to All Marvels brings together every problem and every variant from perhaps every subsequent edition, and discusses how the almost 500 problems and their solutions have evolved and varied.
| Publisher |
| SmartGo |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 22/05/2012 |
| Type |
| eBook |
Inoue Genan Inseki
Description
inoue Genan Inseki is a short biography of Honinbo Jowa’s main
rival and one of the most interesting characters in the go world.
| Publisher |
| SmartGo |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 15/10/2011 |
| Type |
| eBook |
Brilliance | Power
Description
This is a flip book – two books in one. The first is Jowa’s Three Brilliances: Honinbo Jowa Plays Akaboshi Intetsu. This game is commonly known as the ‘blood vomiting’ game, but it is Jowa’s three brilliant moves that make it famous. The second is The Insha Game: Honinbo Shusai versus Karigane Junichi. It is the
first game of the pivotal match between the newly established Nihon Ki-in and the rival professional organization the Kiseisha. Not currently in print owing to Slate & Shell’s decision to end paper production of books.
| Publisher |
| Slate & Shell |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 01/11/2011 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
Old Fuseki vs. New Fuseki
Description
Old Fuseki vs. New Fuseki describes both the evolution of New Fuseki and also the 1933 game between Honinbo Shusai and Go Seigen.
| Publisher |
| Slate & Shell |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 02/09/2011 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
The Meijin’s Retirement Game
Description
The start of a series on famous games, intended also as a way of filling in gaps in the history of 20th century go. The Meijin’s Retirement Game covers in depth the famous game between Honinbo Shusai and Kitani Minoru. Not currently in print owing to Slate & Shell’s decision to end paper production of books.
| Publisher |
| Slate & Shell |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 02/08/2010 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
9-dan Showdown
Description
A massive book, 9-dan Showdown covers no fewer than three ten-game matches between Go Seigen and Fujisawa Kuranosuke, the first two 9-dans in history. A book of excerpts was also published by SmartGo as an e-book. Complete book not currently in print owing to Slate & Shell’s decision to end paper production of books.
| Publisher |
| Slate & Shell |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 01/02/2010 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
Final Summit
Description
Final Summit was the second in the series on all Go Seigen’s ten-game matches, of which Kamakura was the first volume. It features his last match, against Takagawa Kaku. Not currently in print owing to Slate & Shell’s decision to end paper production of books.
| Publisher |
| Slate & Shell |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 02/11/2009 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
Kamakura
Description
A detailed account of the famous ten-game match between Go Seigen and Kitani Minoru which took place mostly in Kamakura in 1939-41. Extensive biographies of both players and the go, social and political background to the match are followed by complete analysis of all ten games. Kamakura is based on over 60 years of pro commentaries we have collected. Not currently in print owing to Slate & Shell’s decision to end paper production of books.
| Publisher |
| Slate & Shell |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn |
| Publish Date |
| 01/09/2009 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
The Go Consultants
Description
The Go Consultants describes one of the famous consulation games
of the 1930s in which Go Seigen and Kitani Minoru, stars of New Fuseki, took
on the top players of the old order, their teachers Suzuki Tamejiro and
Segoe Kensaku in a consultation game. The discussions of the two teams were
recorded and provide a unique insight into how professionals think.
| Publisher |
| Slate & Shell |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn, T. Mark Hall |
| Publish Date |
| 09/04/2009 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
The Go Companion
Description
The first book to appear under the strapline “From the GoGoD Archives”,
The Go Companion is a selection of popular material from our New In
Go column combined with newly written material (about 60%) in similar vein,
to present a 300-page wide-ranging survey of go culture and history. Not
currently in print owing to Slate & Shell’s decision to end paper
production of books.
| Publisher |
| Slate & shell |
| Author |
| John Fairbairn, T. Mark Hall |
| Publish Date |
| 01/01/2009 |
| Type |
| Paperback |
About Games of Go on Download
Games of Go on Disk began in the era of floppy disks. T Mark Hall had begun transcribing games of Honinbo Shusaku from Invincible onto disks, and then small collections of other games from English sources – collections were then limited by disk size to 300 games.
A major step forward came when Mark was able to acquire a complete edition of Go Seigen games in Korea and eagerly began transcribing over 800 games. But he needed help with translating the names and tournament data that went with the games. This was where John Fairbairn came in.
The resulting collections were in great demand among British go players, and the GoGoD partnership was formed to offer sets for each player.
For the first few years, only player sets were offered, but in August 2001 we began offering a database. The first edition, introduced at the European Go Congress in Dublin, had around 11,700 games.
At that stage, looking at our own resources and the number of pro games being played, and the time it took to input games, we thought that the upper limit for any database would be in the region of 40,000 games. As of January 2014, the total had zoomed to over 79,000.
The number of pro go tournaments expanded rapidly, and we also became more efficient at inputting games. But two other factors spurred on growth. One was the fact that the two founders were in a position to build up a library of sources through frequent visits to the Far East. The other was that many friends began helping with the project.
A list of people who have helped in some significant way is given below. But two, in particular, have helped with inputting: Jan van Rongen of the Netherlands and Tom Koranda of the Czech Republic. Harry Fearnley and Charles Matthews have also given massive help by providing loans of rare sources.
In the course of producing twice-yearly updates, both Mark (a diplomat) and John (a journalist) officially became grumpy old men and so were able to devote themselves to the database fully, and to a huge encyclopaedia that was bundled on the database CD. Nevertheless, they decided that a finite cut-off point was needed, and settled on a target of 100,000 games.
Sadly, Mark was cut off in his prime with a long illness that eventually took him from us in December 2013.
Nevertheless, he expressed a strong wish that GoGoD should continue. Over the years, as Keith Arnold of Baltimore kindly pointed out in the many tributes that accompanied the announcement of Mark’s passing, “according to GoGoD” had become to the western go world what “according to Hoyle” had become to games players in general. Mark was also the public face of GoGoD, through the miniature stall he set up at tournaments throughout the world. He was well aware of how attached today’s players had become to the idea of having a huge number of games on tap.
He, therefore, left a large reserve of games to be added towards the 100,000 and John has undertaken to try to keep the ship afloat.
Still, it has to be said that Mark, indefatigable and totally reliable, is quite irreplaceable, and so some major changes have had to be made – all with his blessing.
The first is to shift from CD distribution to an online download via this site – no more CDs will be issued at all. Second, the encyclopaedia and the various programs such as the database reader, all of which require constant maintenance, have been ditched. We now offer only raw sgf data and it is up to the user to find ways of using the data – as many have already done, of course, most notably with Kombilo (www.u-go.net/kombilo/) and Drago (godrago.net), superb free resources proved by Ulrich Goetz and Gilles Arcas-Lukue.
But for those who like their ready-cooked beans in a can with lashings of sauce, the entire database is also available on SmartGo (www.smartgo.com) products for Windows, Mac, iPhone and iPad. The Mac and iOS versions of SmartGo also include access to the massive GoGoD Names Dictionary which contains biographical data on just about every go personage – players and others – of note.
New from 2019: Extracts from the GoGoD Encyclopaedia
The GoGoD Encyclopaedia ceased publication following the untimely death of GoGoD partner T Mark Hall in 2012. It appears it has been much missed but we have had mostly to ignore requests to make it, or parts of it, available so as to concentrate on the sgf database. However, we have now been persuaded to offer extensive an extract of most the GoGoD Encyclopaedia HTML suite.
But that does not change our time constraints, and so these files are offered strictly on an as-is basis as a kind of legacy item. They are partly out of date and will not be updated, use old technology (pre-Unicode, for example), and have gaps where series left off. On the other hand, they
contain a wealth of go information not available in English elsewhere. They include the popular New In Go, Coffee Break and Concepts columns, as well as things like tournament data, historical and other features, and so on. In all there are about 3,000 files packed into something like 25MB.
We must clearly stress again that this data has not been updated or fully corrected and is supplied ENTIRELY AS-IS, with no guarantees as to how it may (or may not) appear on your machine. You are expected to read the usual ReadMe file and to know how to access and manipulate html files. No correspondence will be entertained as the GoGoD database alone takes too much time already.
Games of Go on Download
- October 2021 GoGoD Database
- Autumn 2021 edition (October 2021).
- Well over 112,000 zipped sgf games.
- 149 games by prodigy Nakamura Sumire.
- Newly discovered Shusai-Sakata game.
- Many more old Chinese & Japanese games.
- View all features
GoGoD & Encyclopedia
- October 2021 GoGoD Database
- 2019 GoGoD Encyclopedia
- Contains everything from both GoGoD and the Encyclopedia!
- View all features and description
GoGoD Encyclopaedia
- 2019 GoGoD Encyclopedia
- New In Go
- Coffee Break and Concepts columns
- Tournament data
- Historical data
- 3,000+ files
- View full description
Frequently Asked Questions
- When I unzip the database why am I not seeing all the files?
Because of the amount of files in the GoGoD zip file some unarchiving tools struggle to unzip them all. We have found that 7-zip is the best free program to unarchive all the files successfully. Click here to download 7-zip
- GoLibrary search program from Summer 2016
From Summer 2016, after many requests, we are including our own GoLibrary search program. But please note this is complimentary and unsupported - although it has worked for many years bug free, and we still use it daily. It is also for Windows users only. See the file ReadMeFirst.txt in the download package.
- What is in the download?
The download includes individual sgf files. Note that the sgf files include games on board sizes other than 19×19. You may wish to delete the folders for other sizes if the program you use cannot cope with other sizes. It also includes the updated names dictionary in xml format (Windows reader included) - over 4,000 entries! Also includes a complimentary GoLibrary database search program (Windows only). Please note that your purchase only includes the latest database. It does not include access to any future updates. New editions can be purchased twice a year, summer and winter.
- Is the New In Go archive included?
No, but as of October 2019 we are including New In Go as HTML documents in the GoGoD Encyclopedia.
- Names Dictionary now updated!
You can read this in a browser, of course, but for Windows users the complimentary XML file is included to enable you to search on players' names (in several languages) and biographical data. Please note that both the xml file and program should be treated as beta versions. The xml file needs a more thorough proof-read and while it is very up-to-date as regards actual players, some of the rank data still needs updating. Refined versions of both items will be included in the Summer 2017 edition.
- Why do I have to download the whole database every time, and not just get the latest games?
We constantly check the current games and do make corrections or add moves, and other data, as we aquire new sources. By downloading the entire database, you are getting the latest version of every game.
- Are the sgf files encrypted?
No. They are all text files in simple ascii format. Our philosophy has always been to trust go players, and that trust has largely been rewarded.
- Are go games copyright?
We operate on the widely accepted (though strictly untested) assumption, based mainly on chess practice, that individual game records cannot be copyrighted. However, commentary data added to the records is copyrightable, and a collection is also copyrightable. GoGoD asserts its rights to any copyright that may apply. If you use selected games in articles of your own, we do ask that, as a courtesy, you quote GoGoD.
- Is the SmartGo version identical?
The main difference is that the files there have been compressed and so are not easily accessible as individual files. Also, SmartGo's use of the names dictionary file is specific to itself.
- Can I get a CD?
From Winter 2013, we no longer will produce CDs or alternatives such as USB. The only method of obtaining the database will be via download from this site.
- Are old CDs still valid?
In general yes, but we do quite extensively update and correct existing games as we acquire new sources.
- Can I view my purchase history?
Yes, if you created an account. Click this link to log in Log-in here.
- Problem with the website or your download?
Send us an email to gogodonline@gmail.com or message us through twitter @GoGoDonline
- Ready to Order?