Comes to mind a footnote I found on an Italian translation of The Go Master by Yasunari Kawabata (also titled as Meijin).
“Here, the sidereal distance that separates Go from the “noble game” of the West - chess - appears very evident. These are the clear illustration of a “full” universe (the game begins with the pieces already arranged on the chessboard) and hierarchical (different pieces that perform different functions): a typical example of a centered model in which the game ends with the final death of one of the two kings and therefore with the definitive annihilation of the opponent. Although full of medieval flavors and suggestions, chess - in its infantile rudeness which appeals more to the use of the spinal cord than to that of the nervous system - constitute an excellent metaphor for the evolution of the western social system starting from the beheading of Louis XVI on the public square”. (Cristiana Ceci)