CHECKMATE – Tainan

CHECKMATE – A Go legend vanished in the Sino-Japanese War

A story happened in Tokyo, 1937. A secret Chamber gathered the best 22 Go masters assigned by the Emperor of Japan inside the Military headquarters. Using the checkerboard as a virtual battlefield, the Go masters provided military suggestions to the imperial army on their invasion of China from the calculations & theories. Before the attack on Nanjing the decision was stuck, it was when Minoru Kitani(木谷實) was invited to become the twenty-third player. He met chess players, including the national grandmaster Honinbo Shusai(本因坊秀哉), the blood-thirsty commander Matsui Iwane (松板石根), the loyal Kouhei Inoue and the gentle servant Natsu. Inspired by the final phase of the Go game, Kitani, who was passionate and ambitious, gradually realized the cruelty of war. Under the unprecedented impact he reflected a new relationship between Go and the universe.