Antti Tormanen, a native of Finland, was 12 when he developed a passion for the ancient board game of go after reading the Japanese manga "Hikaru no Go."
"I got hooked," Tormanen said of the story, which follows the fortunes of a young go player named Hikaru.
Originating in China, go spread to Japan and Korea centuries ago and gradually to other parts of Asia. In it, players take turns placing black and white stones on the vacant intersections of a grid. The object is to surround the most territory when all is said and done.