motto translation request

[ez4u]

The term calculate is interesting in this context because the word comes from calculus which, in Latin, means stone However, it also has a meaning of working with numbers, and I'd think in a go context it would refer to counting points or the value of moves rather than exploring the results of sequences of moves.

Yes, but in chess "to calculate" is a term of art for more or less what we would call "to read" in Go. That's certainly where it comes from in "Go and Go Moku"... Lasker, at least initially, uses chess terms for just about everything (tempo for sente, combination for sequence or tactic, man for stone).

Yes, we have to consider that the likely cause of the shift to "reading" was the translation of original source material from Japanese. See the use of 読み or ヨミ in book titles like:
三村智保の読みに強くなる秘訣 (NHK囲碁シリーズ)
実戦の読みを鍛える 玄妙 呉清源詰碁 (MYCOM囲碁ブックス)
加藤正夫3手のヨミ (布石) [単行本]
So to me there is nothing too interesting about the adoption of the term. However, this thread got me thinking (or worrying ) about the effect of the term "reading" to describe the task of analyzing the future course of play. At least in my mind, "reading" has the implication of rather passively absorbing a static message already fixed on paper (or other media these days). I could not help but wonder to what extent conceptualizing what I do at the Go board as "reading" induces a relatively passive attitude and overconfidence that what I am visualizing is actually going to come about. Would I be better off as a player if I thought that what I was doing was "calculating" (à la chess) rather than "reading"? What do you think?

[tchan001]

tchan's translation feels quite good, but perhaps "魔" could be replaced with "鬼" since 鬼算 is an actual term in Chinese.

I suspect some sort of two phrases with 4/5/7 characters might work even better, but that is considerably beyond my ability.

鬼算 sounds more like divination (using the power of ghosts) than devilish calculation skills. lol

Personally if I didn't need to translate the devil part, I'd prefer to use the following:
厚行妙算 "thick moves, splendid calculation"

妙 as in the first character of 妙手 miaoshou "excellent move"

[illluck]

I think tchan is right. I was thinking of it as something like "魔鬼" and the Japanese kanji "oni", but by itself in Chinese it refers exclusively to ghosts.

[illluck]

I took a stab at 5 characters.

棋厚始流光 (Thick moves radiate across the board, modified from 德厚流光)
苦思近痴狂 (Deep consideration bordering insanity)

I think this actually rhymes?

[illluck]

Apologies for triple post, but just had another idea:

棋厚可流光 (Thick moves can radiate across the board, modified from 德厚流光 - Deep virtue spreads widely)
苦算试发阳 (Deep/painful reading attempts to find subtleties, "发阳" refers to Igo Hatsuyoron)

I like this one even though it's wordier than tchan's phrase and also a somewhat liberal translation that drops the "like a devil" part. 阳 rhymes with 光 and also has similar meanings in isolation(Yang/Sun and light). The tonality also seems to work, though my elementary Chinese skills cannot say for sure.