Go, or weiqi, a 4,000-year-old Chinese game that demands admirable mental strength, fascinates kids with its intelligence-shaping power

IT'S a black-and-white world.

It's hard to imagine what magic can quiet those frisky and noisy children, but it's a common scene: A pair of kids sit tight for hours with a small, low square table between them, picking up a white or black stone and placing it with confidence on the board after pondering the move for a while.

Their childish nature is revealed only when some naughty kid mischievously smashes the stone down onto the board to scare his opponent.

This world is the world of go, or weiqi, a Chinese game believed to be nearly 4,000 years old and now also popular in Japan and South Korea.

Though still a bit mysterious to most foreigners, the game has hooked thousands of local kids and their families.

Ing Changki Go School, located on Tianjin Lu of Huangpu District, is just a place to find clusters of go-infatuated kids.

The latest proof of that enthusiasm came last Sunday when the school received over 200 candidates, mostly accompanied by their families, who signed up for the 45 openings in a grade 6 class specialized in go.

After a strict screening by the school, which mainly tests fundamentals of go and thinking capability of the kids, those lucky ones, besides their regular studies, will enter a special training programme under the guidance of the city's best go teachers, including Liu Jun, the former amateur go world champion, and Qiu Bairui, who initiated Chang Hao, one of the world's top go players, into this field.

"Our target is to bring out professionals in the coming three to five years and top players like Chang Hao in 10 years," principal Jin Weiliang said.

Funded by the Shanghai Ing Changki Go Educational Foundation, the school was set up two years ago with a total investment of 160 million yuan ($18 million). The foundation was established by Ing Changki, a Taiwanese businessman who, out of his life-long love of the game, initiated a set of new go rules and the Ing World Championship. It is now one of the world's most prestigious international go events.

The school now boasts that every one of its more than 1,800 students knows how to play go thanks to its go-oriented lessons that start early on in the school's programme.

Even though a large part of the students are later found to have inclinations other than go, those really addicted to the game, whose age range from 6 to 15, can undergo special training at the school for their growth in this field, according to Jin.

While arranging a coach for six students, somewhat similar to the training method of national teams, the school has also set up special files for each student to note down their progress in the training programme, including some tiny comments from their coaches on certain go skills.

In addition, those students can be excused from some lessons, exercises and even exams if such academic tasks are found to be of an obstacle for their growth in the field of go, Jin said.

After two years' efforts, the school has seen some reward: It now has, besides the country's only exhibition hall on weiqi history, more than 200 students who own a certain amateur go grade or qualification, part of a system intended to evaluate the level of go players.

The school netted a team title at 2000 Tianshan Cup Shanghai Go Championship for Middle and Primary School Students. It won second place in the team go event of the Seventh Shanghai Primary School Games in the same year.

Wang Zhiyu, 9, one of the school's go addicts, said: "I always dream of becoming a world-famous go player like South Korea's Lee Changho and China's Chang Hao some day. I want to follow their suit and, with my wins at international games, earn big money...say, $10 million?"

But the monetary reward isn't the only thing Wang wants.

"What really counts is the international reputation you get if you win some big games, and I would really enjoy that fame," he said.

Starting to learn to play go under the guide of his father when he was a first-grader, Wang now spends at least one hour every day on the game.

"I don't feel tired. Sometimes I even feel my time spent on go is not enough," he said.

However, not all kids have such ambitions.

"When I was younger, my dad found that I just couldn't sit tight, so he introduced the game to me," said Shen Lichen, a 12-year-old girl.

"After learning weiqi for nearly four years, I have really noticed some changes in myself. At least I can easily concentrate on my studies now," she said.

Also, the game has not only brought her many new friends but also taught her how to use her mind efficiently in dealing with problems encountered in her studies.

"I don't feel that I have lost something when I have to go to training courses during weekends while other kids can play as they like," said Shen, who also takes Chang Hao and Lee Changho as idols. She has targeted raising her level to amateur 2-dan through the examination later this month.

To Liu Yiyi, a former member of China's National Juvenile Go Team and now part-time go coach of the school, the game is quite useful in helping cultivate children's logical thinking.

"At least they will have no problem with mathematics, a headache for many other kids," said Liu, who comes to the school twice a week to coach more than 30 kids, including some top-notch players of the school who have potential to become professionals.

It's a piece of cake for his students to outplay those older teachers of the school who also come to learn Go at his class, Liu said.

"It may be helpful for kids' memory, and more importantly, it is good test of their emotional quality," said Wang Yulian, whose son began to learn the game two years ago.

The one-on-one direct encounter with their rivals and losing due to a tiny mistake, which will be good lessons for their growth in their lives, Wang said.