Editing Go (game) (section)

==== Boards ====
The [[Go board]] (generally referred to by its Japanese name ''goban'' {{nihongo2|碁盤}}) typically measures between {{convert|45|and|48|cm|abbr=on}} in length (from one player's side to the other) and {{convert|42|to|44|cm|1|frac=4|abbr=on}} in width. Chinese boards are slightly larger, as a traditional Chinese Go stone is slightly larger to match. The board is not square; there is a 15:14 ratio in length to width, because with a perfectly square board, from the player's viewing angle the perspective creates a foreshortening of the board. The added length compensates for this.{{sfn|Fairbairn|1992|pp=142–143}} There are two main types of boards: a table board similar in most respects to other gameboards like that used for chess, and a floor board, which is its own free-standing table and at which the players sit.

The traditional Japanese ''goban'' is between {{convert|10|and|18|cm|abbr=on}} thick and has legs; it sits on the floor (see picture).{{sfn|Fairbairn|1992|pp=142–143}} It is preferably made from the rare golden-tinged [[Torreya nucifera|Kaya]] tree (''Torreya nucifera''), with the very best made from Kaya trees up to 700&nbsp;years old. More recently, the related [[Torreya californica|California Torreya]] (''Torreya californica'') has been prized for its light color and pale rings as well as its reduced expense and more readily available stock. The natural resources of Japan have been unable to keep up with the enormous demand for the slow-growing Kaya trees; both ''T. nucifera'' and ''T. californica'' take many hundreds of years to grow to the necessary size, and they are now extremely rare, raising the price of such equipment tremendously.{{sfn|Fairbairn|1992|pp=143–149}} As Kaya trees are a protected species in Japan, they cannot be harvested until they have died. Thus, an old-growth, floor-standing Kaya ''goban'' can easily cost in excess of [[USD|$]]10,000 with the highest-quality examples costing more than $60,000.<ref>{{citation | url=http://www.kiseido.com/go_equipment.htm | title = Kiseido clearance sale}} lists the regular price for a Shihomasa Kaya Go Board with legs ({{convert|20.4|cm|abbr=on|disp=or}} thick) as $60,000+</ref>

Other, less expensive woods often used to make quality table boards in both Chinese and Japanese dimensions include [[Thujopsis|Hiba]] (''Thujopsis dolabrata''), [[Katsura tree|Katsura]] (''Cercidiphyllum japonicum''), [[Agathis|Kauri]] (''Agathis''), and Shin Kaya (various varieties of [[spruce]], commonly from Alaska, Siberia and China's [[Yunnan Province]]).{{sfn|Fairbairn|1992|pp=143–149}} So-called ''Shin Kaya'' is a potentially confusing merchant's term: ''shin'' means 'new', and thus ''shin kaya'' is best translated 'faux kaya', because the woods so described are biologically unrelated to Kaya.{{sfn|Fairbairn|1992|pp=143–149}}