In brief envisioned, the game of go
Is modelled on our art of war.
For on that board, just three-foot square,
Is where a battle royal proceeds -
Where rank and file deployed in force
Oppose their foes, stand face to face,
And know: clumsy men may surely fail,
But the weaker-willed will perish first.
Inherent laws lie deep in go -
I pray your leave to tell you how.
First the corners four are occupied
And so protect and prime the sides.
Then on these sides arrays align,
Till groups can glare at others from afar.
With steps like horses, large and small,
Now far apart, now one on one,
These groups move out in leaps and bounds,
And centrewards do wend their way.
Free now, they stop and plan a move:
To swoop, to soar, to left or right?
Where the way is narrow and the foe replete,
An onward march will not reach far.
Yet if you outnumber but lack an aim,
Your groups will flock like bleating sheep
Forever fleeing to and fro
As hostile raiders snap here and there.
Attack instead where he is weak,
Expose his flaws with thunderbolts.
This offers profit, which will accrue,
It offers time to consolidate.
But covet captures with plain greed,
And he instead will smash your walls.
Once dykes are breached, the floods will ne'er cease
But flow on and on and far and wide.
Or, feint to the side and break his lines
So as to catch him by surprise,
Then press him tight towards the central force -
His men in droves will unprotected run.
Then, having brought his lines to a parlous state,
You may neatly chisel out hole by hole
And consume the territory inside,
Likes rats enjoying sacks of corn.
Be sure too to mop up his wounded
And do not let them band together,
For if you ought to capture but do not,
Then 'twill be you who rues the day.
***
The plan of how the game's contested
Lies in what I have just expressed,
But how to choose 'twixt slow and urgent
I have not yet distinguished,
For the muddled multitude of white and black
Is bound together like a creeping plant,
Disordered, diffuse, diverse, deviating
As turn by turn groups connect and cross.
First mark this: if your defence is weak and patchy
You will be undone by your gloating rival.
Go too deep into territory you covet,
And he'll attack and kill your men.
And if they struggle to help each other,
Every last one will be slain.
Cut off ahead and blocked behind,
On all four sides tightly hemmed,
Encircled or sparsely scattered,
You face a sobbing, sorry end.
Yet Han Xin led soldiers through Jing Gorge
(Difficult to cross and easy to block)
Into a trap of certain death.
For in this we see another, devious plan -
He enticed the foe to come and fight
While reserves overran the enemy camp.
For if you sacrifice and tempt with bait,
You may lose three but will gain seven.
Or pursue slowly and probe quickly,
Then switch to catch him unawares,
Trading and measuring territories
So that groups connect and live
And so spread out and onward,
Like a fire whose flame never dies.
With forces massed yet well spread out,
Overflowing to left and right,
If you invade and do not waver,
Then the enemy's men will tremble.
Yet should you press too close and overstretch,
You may lose and bring forth regret,
For strategy and success may cancel out,
In time each may falter,
Yet with care you can revive.
As you pick up your piece, eschew
Confusion and embarrassment,
And avoid devious, shallow trickery.
Think deeply and ponder far.
Then you can win, and will for sure.
© John Fairbairn, 2006