The Master of Go
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The Master of Go (ISBN 0679761063) is a novel by Kawabata Yasunari, originally written in Japanese and titled Meijin. Based on a true story, it chronicles the 1938 "retirement game" of Go by the respected master Honinbo Shusai, against the up-and-coming player Kitani Minoru (though his name is changed to Otake in the book).

As well as describing the game, the book also reflects the tension between old traditions and new pragmatism - for example, commenting upon the rigid rules governing the contest, the author writes:

From the way of Go, the beauty of Japan and the Orient had fled. Everything had become science and regulation.

The game, as actually played in real life, lasted 237 moves, and is documented in the book by means of diagrams. Kitani Minoru, playing Black, won by 5 points. The game can be downloaded in SGF format.

The original article can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_of_Go.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.