if we’re going to go anywhere beyond earth, we need to add at least another dimension to 圍棋. instead of a board, it would be a 3-D lattice. the beauty of 圍棋 is that it’s rules are simple. the board can expand to accommodate for future computational capabilities. what we mean is that the game would be uninteresting if it was easily solved by a computer. to make it interesting again, one just needs to expand the board. our strategic thinking has largely been confined to two dimensions. we can fly but we still live on the surface. optimal play for 5×5 has been solved. we don’t doubt 天元 is the best first move for black on every odd number-sided board. we should think about 19x19x19 boards. add more dimensions. play on a torus or a hypersphere. ever-powerful computers will eventually solve these boards. if our strategy is to progress to the intergalactic level, we need to play 圍棋 competently in many dimensions.
