The 6th Karamay Weiqi Tournament kicked off at Karamay Weiqi Center in the northwest city of Karamay, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, April 16.

Go is a popular game in Asia and increasingly throughout the world, especially since Google’s artificial intelligence program AlphaGo made headlines earlier this year when it beat Lee Se-dol, a Go champion.

The competition is organized by Karamay Weiqi Association and is the most influential competition among local Go fanatics. Some eight teams brought a total of 48 experienced Go players to the Karamay competition.

Each team will include one child and the competition aims to provide more chances for children to practice and to promote the game.

This year, the organizer is also webcasting the competition to attract a bigger audience. And the tournament is expected to continue until the end of September.

Go is an abstract strategy board game for two players, in which the aim is to surround more territory than the opponent. As a traditional Chinese game that originated more than 5,500 years ago, it is still the oldest board game continuously played today.

Go players compete during the competition, which was also webcast. [Photo/kelamayi.com.cn]

Edited by James Skinner