I originally read this story well over 20 years ago, in a collection that I can no longer recall any details of. The story in question centered in some way on a board game that I somehow recall having the impression is something like Go, except that it's played with bicolored pieces like Reversi. There was a passage about a game being played by a master, and the move that the master made was to play the piece as the opponent's color, thus showing his status as a grand master because he gave as his reason for doing so something to the effect of "I could not spoil that perfect pattern".
I do also recall that it was a galactic society, not strictly based on Earth. It was classed as SF rather than fantasy, and was by an author whose name I'd recognize, but can't recall at the moment.
What story am I thinking of, and is it available in an in-print form?
Answer
It seems that the story I was thinking of is "Out There Where the Big Ships Go", by Richard Cowper, and it's appeared in several anthologies, including one by the same title. The game in question, if anyone is interested, was called "kalire", or just "The Game".
The first story is also the title of the collection, and the cover illustrates it well. A young boy unknowingly turns out to be the generational catalyst for mankind on our evolutionary path to the stars, based on one chosen leader’s proficiency in The Game, designed by an alien race to determine whether or not we are ready.
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