List of famous go games

Throughout history, a number of notable Go games have taken place.

The blood-vomiting game (Japanese: 吐血の一局) was played during the Edo period of Japan, on June 27, 1835, between Honinbo Jowa (white) and Intetsu Akaboshi (black). It is noted for the three moves that were allegedly given to Jowa during the game by ghosts, and for the premature death of the Go prodigy Intetsu Akaboshi who died after coughing up blood onto the board after the game.

The ear-reddening game (Japanese: 耳赤の一局) was played during the Edo period of Japan, in 1846 between Honinbo Shusaku (black) and Inoue Genan Inseki (white). The game contains the "ear reddening move", so named when a doctor who had been watching the game took note to Genan as his ears flushed red when Shusaku played the move, indicating he had become upset.

The game of the century refers to a famous game of go between Honinbo Shusai (white) and Go Seigen (black) that was played to celebrate the 60th birthday of Honinbo Shusai. The game began on October 16, 1933, and finished on January 29, 1934. Each player was given twenty-four hours of thinking time. Shusai was the doyen of the Go world, as he was the head of the famous Honinbo Go school, the most prestigious of the schools founded at the behest of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu at the start of the 17th century. Go Seigen was famed as a prodigy, first among a generation of young new brilliant players, and would go on to become one of the most celebrated players of the 20th century. This led newspapers to dub the match the game of the century.

The tradition at the time dictated whoever played White had the right to adjourn the game at any time, and there was no sealing of moves. This meant that Shusai, being the nominally stronger player and thus holding White, could adjourn the game whenever it was his turn to play and continue deliberating at his leisure during the adjournment. Shusai called adjournments some 13 times, all at the start of his turn to move, thus prolonging the match to a period of three months (16 October 1933 – 19 January 1934). For instance, on the eighth day of the match, Shusai played first and Go Seigen replied within two minutes. Shusai then thought for three and a half hours but only to adjourn the game. During these adjournments, Shusai would retreat home to study the game with his students.

...
Wikipedia