Go Online

All A-Board
June 30, 2003
By Roy Laird

A full size go board features a 19x19 grid measuring 45.45 cm by 42.42 cm. Smaller sizes are becoming increasingly common, especially 13x13 and 9x9, for quicker games. The term "small board" also has another meaning. I remember asking a friend to bring a "small board" to a go party at my home. He brought a small magnetic set! (We'll talk about magnetic sets in another column.)

Full size boards come in two basic varieties. Most common are "table boards," intended for use on a table, though not necessarily a dining table, which can be too high, as players do not have the best overview of the board. Coffee tables, on the other hand, are too low, and players must lean forward to reach the top of the board with their stones. The ideal height is somewhere in the middle. Table boards come in various thicknesses, up to 2" or more, but it's worth bearing in mind that the added height will make the board even harder to view properly on a high table. Card tables are too wide -- it's hard to reach the center of the board. The best solution is a narrow dining table with shortened legs.

The other major category is the "floor board," the ultimate goban, between five and eight inches of beautiful solid wood standing on carved legs. Shindou Hikaru discovered a table board in his grandfather's attic, and look at the trouble that caused! Floor boards are made according to rigorous specifications. Legs are carved in the shape of a lotus blossom, to encourage silent contemplation of the game. On the underside, the maker usually carves out the center in a certain way to enhance the sound. 

Any wood can be used to make a board, but some woods are better than others. Connoisseurs look for light color and fine grain -- 200-300 lines or more across the surface. The right texture is also important -- hardwoods can give the stones a harsh sound. The best wood for go board is kaya, an ornamental evergreen also known as "Japanese nutmeg," though it does not grow only in Japan. A magnificent "Japanese nutmeg" dominates the front yard at the Frank Lloyd Wright museum in Chicago. Kaya trees are plentiful in Japan, but the ones that make the best go boards are more than 500 years old, so very few new genuine kaya boards, especially one-piece boards, are made these days. Instead, board makers use Alaskan spruce and other similar, sometimes misleadingly termed "shin-kaya" or "new kaya." Katsura, a round-leaved deciduous hardwood, is most commonly used for fine boards. It is lighter and a bit softer than other hardwoods, with a fine grain. Katsura's cousin the gingko biloba, better-known as a controversial memory supplement, is also used for boards sometimes.

Wooden boards do not require much in the way of maintenance. Ishi Press offers special camellia oil polish at http://www.ishigames.com/gomisc.htm, but don't polish the top too much. You don't want reflected highlights to distract you during play. If you have an old board you want to refinish, you can get special wax from Samarkand at http://www.samarkand.net/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=RW1A.html&cart_id=2796844_24975. Treat a high quality board as you would any fine wood -- out of the sun, away from strong heat, adequately hydrated -- and it will last for centuries. That's why the best table boards are so thick. Every generation or two, the grid wears away and the top must be sanded and refinished. 

If you're ever actually seen a floor board, you know why the best ones sell for $20,000 and more. But these days, you don't have to go that high. You can own a beautiful floor board for the cost of a good digital camera. Samarkand and Yutopian offer very serviceable floor boards starting at under $300. I have owned one of Samarkand's "pre-dinged" items for years, and I love it. On a narrow coffee table, it's the perfect height. They are a "Go Online Best Buy."

A fine go board is worth protecting. Samarkand sells a plexiglas cube that turns your best table or floor board into a stylish conversation piece. See http://www.samarkand.net/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=C1AF.html&cart_id=8591530_27481 for details. Keep a favorite game laid out, and explain to your friends that you've been studying . . .

To learn more about fine equipment, see The Go Player's Almanac 2001 Chapter 13 (pp. 142-157), or visit 
http://www.samarkand.net/equipment.html or http://www.kiseido.com/go_equipment.htm. The Yutopian site has some interesting material concerning the history of the game and its equipment, at http://www.yutopian.com/go/misc/gohistory.html

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