All Things Go

episode artwork

Travis

25 May 2026

42m 53s

S5.13 - PlayGo.gg Co-Founders Nathan & Matthew Harwit on Spreading Go in the West | Go / Baduk / Weiqi

00:00

42:53

This episode is from All Things Go, a podcast about the board game Go, also known as Baduk in Korea and Weiqi in China.

Travis speaks with twin brothers Nathan and Matthew Harwit, co-founders of PlayGo.gg, about their lifelong connection to Go and their effort to build a more unified, engaging home for the game. They discuss how PlayGo.gg aims to combine online play, AI review, puzzles, learning tools, community features, and spectator-friendly events in one place. The conversation also explores the influence of Chess.com, the challenge of growing Go in the West, the limits imposed by a small team, and the upcoming Battle of the Sexes tournament featuring Shin Jin-seo, Choi Jeong, Kim Eun-ji, and Kim Ji-seok.

Full transcript, related episodes, and additional resources:

https://allthingsgogame.com/2026/07/27/playgo-gg-founders-growing-go-west/

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Theme music by UNIVERSFIELD & background music by PodcastAC

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