go_board.jpg

A Go board and stones from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The plaque is rather amusing. It reads:

Encirclement Chess (weiqi) has been played in China and other East Asian countries for more than 2000 years. Each player tries to encircle as much territory as possible, but at the same time must ensure that their chess pieces are not encircled by their opponent. The person who has occupied the most territory and left with the most chess pieces on the chess board is the winner.

Pair of wooden chess boxes: 18th century
FE.26&27-1999 (Gift of Galerie Bork, Copenhagen)
Chess board and chess pieces: modern

(”Encirclement chess” is, I suppose, the literal translation of the Chinese word for the game, “wei qi”. Still, an odd way to put it.)

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