Mr. Ing Chang-ki, the founder of the Ing Chang-ki Wei-chi Education Foundation, was one of Taiwan's most successful industrialists. A lifelong enthusiast, he began to play when he was just eight years old. When he was 12 he won the local championship in his hometown of Zhe Jiang Province, China.

Although he did not reach the top levels of professiona playl, Mr. Ing nevertheless became of one the most well-known and influential figures of the 20th century. Starting in 1983, when he established the Ing Chang-ki Wei-chi Education Foundation, he embarked on a series of projects that would change the face of modern go. These included:

• A set of rules simple enough for teaching pre-school children, yet widely used in important professional tournaments
• Invention and production of special equipment
• The first and largest worldwide professional tournament
• A worldwide tournament for talented children and teens
• Schools for children in San Francisco, Singapore and Shanghai
• A worldwide computer tournament
• Financial support for Western players and organizations

Mr. Ing believed in simplicity. We can see this, for example, in the four underlying principles of the Ing rules: no special cases, no undecided games, no limits on stone placement, no conventional counting.

Even complex situations were sometimes simple for Mr. Ing. For instance, in the early '90's a young woman strong enough to beat the top players in the world emerged in China. Nai-wei Rui found it difficult to gain entry to top tournaments until Mr. Ing invited her to play in the Ing Cup. As he probably anticipated, Mr. Ing was sharply criticized for this, but it gave Ms. Rui a chance to earn the attention and respect she deserved. The Korean Go Association eventually permitted her to play in top tournaments that have traditionally been all-male events. In 2000, she made history by winning the Kukso, a top Korean championship, vindicating Mr. Ing's faith in her.

As a philanthropist and visionary, Mr. Ing has had no equal in the history of the game he liked to call "goe."