Qijing Shisanpian (The Classic of Weiqi in Thirteen Chapters) II

THE CLASSIC OF WEIQI IN THIRTEEN CHAPTERS
INTRODUCTION
The Classic of Weiqi in Thirteen Chapters was written by Zhang Ni during the Huangyou period (1049-1054 A.D.) of the Song dynasty.
Zuozhuan stated: “To stuff oneself with food all day without worrying about anything is difficult indeed! But what about weiqi players then? it is better to be one of them than to do nothing!” .
In his Xinlun, Huan Tan wrote: “There is now a game called weiqi, concerning which some say that it is a kind of simulation of war. The skilful player, fully cognisant of its configurations, places his pieces so as to encircle those of his opponent and thus win. The average player, although he aims at gaining advantages, can isolate his adversary. Therefore, whether he wins or loses, he must always be attentive and circumspect, and must also carefully calculate and evaluate in order to be certain of winning. The inexpert player, although able to defend sides and corners, moves in small areas, limiting himself simply to surviving in small portions of territory” .
Since the period of the Springs and Autumns all ages have had players of these categories, so that the Way of weiqi has always prospered.
The most important problems dealing with victory and defeat, divided into thirteen chapters, are now examined. Extracts from Sunzi Bingfa have sometimes been inserted in the text.

CHAPTER ONE: ON THE PIECES AND THE BOARD
The number of the Ten Thousand Beings originates from the One. Therefore, the three hundred and sixty intersections of the weiqi board also have their One. The One is the generative principle of numbers and, considered as a pole, produces the four cardinal points.
The three hundred and sixty intersections correspond to the number of days in a year [1]. Divided into four “corners” like the four seasons, they have ninety intersections each, like the number of days in a season. There are seventy-two intersections on the sides, like the number of hou [2] in a year. The three hundred and sixty pieces are equally divided between black and white, modelled on Yin - Yang .
The lines on the board form a grid called ping, and the squares they compose are called gua [3]. The board is square and quiet, the pieces are round and active [This comparison was stated for the first time in the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.).
Ever since ancient times, no player has ever happened to place the pieces on the board in exactly the same way as he did during a preceding game. Zuozhuan states: “Every day is new” . Therefore, reasoning must go deep and analysis must be perfect, and an attempt must be made to understand the processes that lead to victory and defeat: only in this way is it possible to attain that which is still unattained.

CHAPTER TWO: ON CALCULATIONS
The player whose configurations are correct can exercise power over his adversary. He must therefore establish his strategy internally, so that his configurations are complete externally too .
If he is able to work out who will win while the game is still being played, he has calculated well. If he is not able to work this out, he has calculated badly . If he does not know who is the winner and who is the loser at the end of the game, he has made no calculations at all!
It is written in Sunzi Bingfa: "Those who calculate greatly will win; those who calculate only a little will lose. But what of those who don't make any calculations at all?!" . This is why everything must be calculated, in order to foresee victory and defeat .

CHAPTER THREE: ON CONTROL OF TERRITORY
Control of territory means the need to lay down the general lines of the game while the pieces are being positioned.
At the beginning of the game, the positions are divided up at the four corners. Then play begins, and pieces are placed obliquely [4], missing out two intersections and placing one "below". Starting from two adjacent pieces, three spaces may be skipped; with three adjacent pieces, four . Five spaces may be skipped, if the player wishes to be nearer another configuration; but nearness does not mean adjacency, nor must distance be excessive .
All these things were debated by the ancients, and the rules were then studied by their successors. Therefore, those who do not wish to accept but who wish to change their methods, cannot know what the results may be .
Shijing states: “Without a good beginning, there can be no good end” .

CHAPTER FOUR: ON ENGAGING CONFLICT
In the Way of weiqi, it is important to be careful and precise. [At the end of the game], the skilful player will have succeeded in occupying the centre of the board , the average player will have occupied the sides, and the inexpert player will find himself in the corners. These are the eternal methods of players.
It is generally believed that sometimes many pieces may be lost, provided that the initiative is not lost. This is because losing the initiative means passing it to the other player, who did not have it before.
Before attacking to the left, observe the right; before invading the space behind your opponent’s lines, observe what is in front of them .
It is not necessary to divide two “living” groups, because both will live in any case, even if they are not linked together . The distance between pieces must be not excessive; nearness must not be adjacency.
Rather than keeping endangered pieces alive, it is better to abandon them and acquire new positions.
Instead of expending effort in making worthless moves, exploit every opportunity which allows you to strengthen your position.
When there are many enemy pieces but few of your own in a given territory, first of all carefully consider your own chances of survival. If the opposite situation arises, when your own pieces are numerous and your enemy is in difficulties, exploit that situation to extend your configurations.
As the best victory is that gained without fighting, so the best position is one which does not provoke conflict . In any case, if you fight well you will not lose, and if your ranks are not in disorder, you will lose well.
Although at the beginning of the game, you must arrange the pieces according to the rules, at the end you must use your imagination in order to win.
Carefully observe the most minute details of all territories: if they are solidly constructed, they cannot be overwhelmed, but, if you surprise your adversary with an idea which has not occurred to him , you will be able to overwhelm him where he is unprepared.
If your adversary defends himself without doing anything, it is a sign that in reality he intends to attack. If he neglects small territories and does not play in them, he is in fact plotting to make great conquests there.
A player who puts down his pieces haphazardly is devoid of strategy: if he does not reflect and simply responds to his adversary's moves, he is on the path towards defeat. As Shijing observes: “Trembling with fear on the edge of the precipice” .

CHAPTER FIVE: ON EMPTINESS AND FULLNESS
In weiqi, if you follow too many main strategies, your configurations will become fragmented. Once they are disrupted, it is difficult not to succumb.
Do not play your pieces too close to those of your opponent, for if you do, you will make him “full” but you will “empty” yourself. When you are empty it is easy to be invaded; when you are full, it is difficult to overwhelm you .
Do not follow a single plan, but change it according to the moment. Zuozhuan advised: “If you see that an advance is possible, then advance! If you encounter difficulties, retreat” . It also observed: “If you seize something but do not change your method, at the end only a single thing will have been seized” .

CHAPTER SIX: ON KNOWING ONESELF
The wise man is able to foresee even things which are not yet visible. The foolish man is blind even when the evidence is placed in front of his eyes.
Thus, if you know your own weak points, you can anticipate what may benefit your adversary, and thereby win. You will also win if you know when to fight and when to avoid conflict ; if you can correctly measure the intensity of your efforts; if, exploiting your preparation, you can prevent your adversary from being prepared too; if, by resting, you can exhaust your adversary; and if, by not fighting, you can subdue him.
In Laozi it is written: “He who knows himself is enlightened!” .

CHAPTER SEVEN: ON OBSERVING THE GAME
The configurations taken on by the pieces must be harmoniously linked together. Try therefore, to take the initiative and maintain it, move after move, from the beginning to the end of the game.
If, when engaging conflict on the game-board, one adversary does not know which is the stronger and which is the weaker player, he must examine even the tiniest details. So, if you notice from the arrangement of the pieces that you are winning, you must take care to maintain your configurations; if, instead, you realize that you are losing, you must astutely invade larger territories.
If your advance along the sides only allows you to survive, you will be defeated . The less you retreat when in difficulties, the greater your defeat will be [5]: a desperate struggle to survive leads to many defeats.
If two configurations are encircling each other, first constrain your adversary from the outside. However, if there are no nearby configurations granting you support and the pieces are arranged unfavourably, do not place further pieces there. When danger looms, when your adversary has penetrated one of your configurations, do not play there, because to do so would simply mean placing pieces and not placing them. This is not proper play.
There are many ways of committing errors by yourself, but there is only a single path which leads to success. Many victories go to the player who knows how to observe the board properly .
In Yijing it is written: “He who cannot see the way ahead must change: it is only by changing that connections may be made , and only thus may he live long” .

[1] The Chinese solar year had twelve months of thirty days each.
[2] A "hou" is five days long.
[3] "gua" literally “small spaces”.
[4] This description refers to the early phases of the game, during which this kind of move is made.
[5] A peculiarity of inexpert players is that they struggle hard to prevent their groups of pieces being captured, with the inevitable result that they lose an even larger number. It may be said that the capacity to understand when a group of pieces is “dead” truly discriminates among players of various levels.