In South Korea, dreams of fame at the School of Go

SEOUL – For the past two years, 12-year-old Cho Sung-bin has spent nearly all his waking hours focused on a wooden board covered with black and white stones, honing the skills he hopes to translate into a lucrative career as a professional go player. I never get tired," said Cho, one of dozens of preteens sitting at rows of desks topped with playing boards at the Lee Sedol School of go in central Seoul. Many spend 12 hours a day practicing match play with each other in the small, largely windowless rooms of the school, which is named after the grandmaster they all hope to emulate. Already well known in East Asia, Lee achieved global recognition in March when he took on Google's artificial intelligence AlphaGo program in a five-match showdown. The 33-year-old lost the series, but the battle gave an unprecedented boost to the ancient board game's international profile. Go originated in China 3,000 years ago and has been played for centuries mostly in China, Japan and South Korea, with more than 40 million fans worldwide. Two players take turns placing black or white stones on a square board with a 19-by-19 grid. But the strategies needed to secure victory are complex, with reportedly more possible move configurations than atoms in the universe. "Go is not just an entertainment.