Why Chess is played in Squares but Go (Weiqi) on Intersections
What caused the difference that Chess is played with pieces placed in squares, and Go (Weiqi) is played with stones placed on intersections, despite both games relying on a square grid?
The most reasonable explanation I can think of is practicality. Bishops (and queens may) move diagonally; mentally visualizing a diagonal on a plain colorless grid is difficult and error-prone. On a checkered grid, the square colors are a visual aid to help the player make moves correctly, a parity bit.
Parity is less of a concern for Go. When stones are placed on intersections, liberties (氣; breaths) are visualized by segments of the grid connected to the stone. Furthermore, when the board is filled with hundreds of stones, most of the grid is automatically hidden beneath the stones — whereas if stones had been played in the squares, the grid would have been visible all the time, which is distracting.