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This systematic qualitative review synthesizes research on the cognitive benefits of the board game Go, focusing on its role in fostering cognitive development in children and supporting cognitive maintenance in older adults. It addresses two key questions: (1) Which studies have examined the relationship between Go and cognition in children and older adults? (2) What cognitive benefits have these studies reported? Thirteen peer-reviewed studies (2000–2024) were identified, all of which used Go as the main intervention and reported cognitive outcomes. Studies were coded for participants, methodology, setting, and outcome measures. Participants included children and older adults, with cognitive outcomes ranging from global cognition to attention, executive functioning, and memory. Methodologies in the quantitative studies varied and included randomized controlled trials, pre- and post-tests of cognitive function, neuroimaging (QEEG, PET), and biomarker analyses. Evidence indicates that Go may foster cognitive growth in children and support cognitive functioning in older adults. Among older adults, including those with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer’s, Go was associated with improved or stable cognitive performance, reduced depressive symptoms, and enhanced quality of life. Neuroimaging and biomarkers suggest increased brain activation and improved brain health. For children with ADHD, Go supported improvements in attention regulation, working memory, and executive function. Its visual-spatial and strategic features also support reasoning, problem-solving, and mathematical thinking. Overall, Go is a low-cost, accessible tool with potential cognitive, educational, and therapeutic benefits across the lifespan. However, research on children and classroom contexts is limited, with small sample sizes and inconsistent reports on effect size. Future studies should expand to young children, explore classroom applications, and continue longitudinal research to fully assess Go’s developmental and cognitive potential.

The game of Go represents a major challenge for artificial as well as human intelligences due to its profound complexity. Although computer programs capable of playing Go have existed for decades, the period from 2015 to 2025 has marked a turning point, with these systems achieving—and even exceeding—professional human performance. A notable shift in gameplay strategy emerged around 2016, driven by the adoption of unconventional yet effective moves demonstrated by AI programs, challenging previous conventions of preferred moves. Nowadays, the process of learning Go has evolved from traditional knowledge transfer, based on centuries of established conventions regarding strategy, positional judgement and move value to modern trends developed by AI playing style, lacking the explanatory heuristics inherent in both human style of playing and oral tradition. Facing this new challenge, we rely on our curiosity to understand our opponents’ moves beyond technological and language barriers as we continue to explore the mysterious depths of this timeless game.

As an outstanding female Go player in the world, Rui Naiwei’s life experience clearly shows the constraints that female Go players in China and the world have faced and the breakthroughs they have made in recent years. This article will analyze Rui Naiwei’s experience from the aspects of social environment and career development, and discuss the challenges faced by female Go players in the middle and late 20th century, as well as a series of breakthroughs, and finally obtain a relatively equal status and recognition with the male players in the field of Go .

Through my experience promoting the game of Go in Australia I have developed a strategic framework which has helped me navigate the challenges involved in spreading my passion for this wonderous, humbling, and insight provoking game. This paper introduces the Go Promotional Framework (GPF), combining theoretical approaches with practical applications. The GPF framework consists of four pillars: Accessibility, Inclusivity, Engagement, and Integration. The paper utilizes empirical research from Australia, based on my active participation of promoting Go activities in the community, to businesses and to educational institutions, between 2019-2025.

Against the backdrop of global Go development and China’s sports governance transformation, traditional elite-oriented models (national system and Go dojos道场) fail to meet local demands for popularization, cultural inheritance, and industrial linkage. In China，as Go promotion shifts to local cities, constructing a comprehensive system becomes critical. Luoyang, a “Hundred-Dan Go City,” offers rich empirical data with its 43 professional players and 152 total dan ranks by 2023. Existing studies focus on competition, cultural value, or single cases, lacking analysis of multi-factor synergy and the interaction between cultural embedding and market drive. This study addresses three questions: how cultural embedding supports market drive; whether Luoyang’s multi-source funding model is sustainable; and how to balance popularization and elite cultivation. Using case study, in-depth interview, bibliometrics, and cost-benefit analysis, this study employs cultural embedding, market drive, and sports ecosystem theories, proposing a “Culture-Market-Talent” triangular synergy model. Findings show that cultural embedding and market drive synergize to form a positive cycle; Luoyang’s multi-stakeholder collaboration achieves an ecological closed-loop; the model is universally applicable. The study enriches sports ecosystem theory, provides practical solutions for local cities, and offers policy references for integrating sports, culture, and tourism. Limitations include single-case bias and historical data gaps; future research could expand case scope and explore digital integration.