Could someone explain why the most expensive gobans are often a little wider and longer than the ones in lower price ranges? I'm talking about floor boards (with legs) not table boards (no legs). Generally the dimensions of 42x45 cm are adhered to, gobans costing several thousands of dollars however quite often come in sizes of 43x46 cm, 44x47 cm and even 45x48 cm, 45x48 cm. You'd expect that the best gobans would have the most carefully chosen size. From the look of the pictures it's not the border that adds to the size. I realize there isn't a strict rule about size, but then why don't gobans in all price ranges come in all these sizes? An overwhelming majority of non-luxury gobans seems to be 42x45 cm. As far as plain boards are concerned even the pricier ones are this size. Is a larger board better?

I don't think you can judge well from these photos, taken at an angle, whether the differences in size are due to the border. My guess would be that the size difference is due to the borders. These are hand-made boards and the exact size is probably variable. A one centimeter difference in width or length translates to around 0.2 inch on each side of the grid, not enough to see in the angled photos. The cheap boards are machine made so sizes would be uniform. I don't think that small differences in length or width matter as far as price is concerned. Thickness is a different story, of course. Why don't you contact GoGameGuru if you are concerned about this?

Complete speculation here, but it may be due to the initial dimensioning of the block being cut oversized to compensate for shrinkage. These massive blocks are typically dried (stabilized) for 15 to 25 years depending on thickness – thick floor boards will shrink more substantially and less uniformly than thinner table boards.

Wood moves and will move its entire "life." Thicker pieces are prone to more seasonal movement than thinner pieces, even after they've stabilized. How much movement (all things being equal) depends on the species. Kaya is a soft wood and will fluctuate seasonally more than hard woods, which is why keeping your Kaya board in a consistent environment is important.

From my understanding, the final dimensioning/finishing of Kaya floor boards is done with hand planes. However, I remember watching a video (can't find the link now) where a floor board, or a very thick table board, was passed through a planer. The assumption here is that after the block has stabilized, the final dimensions are pretty much set.

In short, you would expect more variability in length and width with floor boards given the above.

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"This is a game that rewards patience and balance. You must think like a man of action and act like a man of thought."
-Jonas Skarssen

Are you referring to the grid or the whole board? The grid on all boards should be of the same standard size.

Japanese (and other international boards) tend to have a slight rectangular shape so as to appear square to the players looking down. Chinese (only?) boards are simply square in shape.

This may be mere speculation on my part but grid itself is of the same standard size while the wood lining may be thicker or thinner depending on how much was cut or how much material is available.

Compare these two pictures from Mr. Kuroki's "Gallery of Wonderful Goods."

http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/g ... 001-05.jpg

http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/g ... 102-05.jpg

Both boards are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range but the second one is obviously wider than the first though the two grids are the exact same size (in order to conform with the standard stones). As a side note, the first picture with the thinner wood is the more expensive board.

Why there is a difference in Table vs. Floor boards, Honestly I haven't really seen any but should such a difference exist I'd speculate that it's because table boards are far easier to make.

Another reason could be that the "expensive" boards are just that, expensive. More time, effort, material and money go into making them top of the line so not as many corners are cut.

http://shop.gogameguru.com/kaya-go-board-71/

Beautiful tenmasa board but I can't believe they're trying to sell it for $10,000 with those giant cracks in the bottom!

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think those are cracks. I believe that is simply the woodgrain.

Are we talking about this: http://shop.gogameguru.com/media/catalo ... -71-05.jpg

I find it very hard to believe they would be woodgrain, since they seem to run across the grain.

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It definitely looks like checking (surface cracks) to me.

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"This is a game that rewards patience and balance. You must think like a man of action and act like a man of thought."
-Jonas Skarssen

Someone was kind enough to let me know about this thread. Thanks


Very expensive Go boards are usually slightly bigger bobbykid. The grid (playing area) is a little bit bigger (almost imperceptibly to the eye) and the space around the edges is a bit bigger too. The whole board is in scale, but slightly larger.

This is because a Go board in that price range is intended to last for generations, and they're designed with that in mind. All of the boards you've linked to have already been dried for 10-20 years - to the point where the wood is very stable. However the wood will still shrink very slightly over the next 100 years or so.

The extra space is hardly noticeable between individual intersections on the board (especially if you play with thick stones that appear bigger), but it's there to make sure that the board will never become too small to play on if it shrinks. Anyone who's going to spend thousands of dollars on a board would want to be able to leave it to their children or grandchildren, right? That's why these boards are bigger.

It used to be that boards were only around 0.5 cm bigger, but now that we're able to look at boards that were made 50 or 100 years ago (and see how much they've shrunk), the trend is to add around 2 cm. I hope that answers your question, let me know if there's anything else you want to know.


I can't believe you guys honestly think we would try to sell a board with cracks in it!

Seriously? I don't know whether to laugh or cry sometimes. How about giving people the benefit of the doubt, or at least asking us first?

We asked Mr Shin, who makes these boards, about those lines when we first had the photos taken. Those lines aren't cracks or checking. They're marks that sometimes form on the surface of the wood as fluid leaves the board during the drying process. Remember that all of these bits of wood have been sitting there drying for more than a decade. Sometimes (not always) the wood will develop these markings while drying.

If the wood is flawless (not having these marks is one criterion) then the Go board will obviously be more expensive, because it's even rarer. We don't set these prices by the way, Mr Shin does. It's his art and that's what he's willing to sell the boards for. We just provide an easier way for people to buy them if they want to. We don't really expect to sell the most expensive boards, but we like having the photos in the shop as something nice for people to look at. If someone buys one, that's a bonus as far as I'm concerned.

Soon we'll be adding some more affordable kaya boards too (and at the other end of the spectrum, folding boards, plastic stones etc). The photographer got a bit carried away with the Lee Changho board and some other items the first time around and we ran out of time photographing the kaya boards (can you believe there are actually photographers who specialize in Go?).

Mr Shin says it's possible to treat the wood in a way that hides the markings, and that some manufacturers do that. However, he doesn't because he believes the natural style (with all its 'flaws') is more beautiful. He says that (for someone who knows about kaya boards) the marks show that the board has been dried for a very long time. He's proud of those marks because of that.

The work on those four boards, finding the wood and starting the drying process, started during his father's generation, so these boards represent two generations of his family's work. He's very proud of them because of that and he's willing to wait for a customer who will pay what he thinks they're worth. It's not like kaya is becoming any less rare.

Mr Shin has been making Go boards for 50 years and is incredibly knowledgeable about Go equipment. Younggil and I have learned a lot from him and trust what he says.

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David

Go Game Guru: Learn Go | How to Get Better at Go | Go Game Shop | Go Boards | Baduk TV

Wow. Thank you for the background, David. Fascinating.