Cheadle Hulme School Goes for Go

February 5, 2014 Mums&Dads 0 Comments Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle Hulme School, schools

Confucius said people “should not waste their time on trivial games – they should play Go” and to welcome in the Chinese New Year, Cheadle Hulme School students have heeded his advice, learning to play one of the world’s oldest tactical board games.

The game, originating from China over 2,500 years ago, tests students’ co-operation and the art of negotiation, and is a welcome new mental challenge for both Junior and Senior School students.

Go Juniors with Go expert, Martin Harvey | Cheadle Hulme School — Go Juniors: Go expert, Martin Harvey with Max Hufton and Tillie Conroy

Semi-professional Go player and member of the British Go Association, Martin Harvey, who has represented the UK in international tournaments, has been helping students of all ages learn the simple rules: “There’s much more to the game than chess. It will help students develop social skills, confidence good grace at losing and have fun!

“My aim is to develop a pool of great players, with Cheadle Hulme School becoming a beacon for Go in the North West!”

Go Seniors | Cheadle Hulme School — Go Seniors: (Left to right) Liam Charles, Jacob Haynes, Mr Zaheer Ahmed, Max Cahill, Miles Mountney and Yinglan Zheng

The School has followed in the footsteps of some of the top universities in the country, such as Cambridge, Oxford and Durham, who already have their own Go clubs.

CHS students say they enjoy playing Go for its meritocracy and complex strategy. Indeed, it is considered so complex that the best computer programs regularly lose when playing Go against humans and Computer Programmers refer to Go as “the last refuge of human intelligence!”