Learn all about the board game Go
Here are the weekly Go problems. Easy Go problem: We solved a similar problem last week, so… Intermediate Go problem: White appears to be connected, until you find the vital point. Hard Go problem: There are only a few moves to try here, but pay attention to the move order.
You might have noticed there’s been a lack of Go news recently? There’s a good reason behind this hiatus as Korean and Chinese pros take a well deserved break to welcome in the Year of the Dragon, which begins on January 23, 2012! I’d like to wish you all a happy lunar new year!
Here are the weekly Go problems. Easy Go problem: A ko would be a failure here… Intermediate Go problem: It’s a capturing race with four liberties each. You should be able to win if you play first, but how do you stop white from getting more liberties? Hard Go problem: Maybe you think this is the same as the last problem? Perhaps so, but be careful…
Do you remember when the world watched IBM’s ‘Deep Blue’ supercomputer challenge grandmaster Garry Kasparov across the chess board? It was almost 15 years ago now, but it was big news at the time, shocking news for some, because the computer won. Many believed that it marked the beginning of the era of machine supremacy in the realm of board games, but they were wrong…
Here are the weekly Go problems for week 20. Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun! …
Chinese and Korean professional Go players have started the new year on a lighter note. From January 5 to 7, 2012, a group of Korean professionals took on Chinese professionals in nine rounds of friendly matches. The aim of the three days was for players to exchange ideas and play each other without the added pressure of competition.
Let’s start wrapping up our series about the Top 20 Go players. The next two players are Kang Dongyun and Heo Youngho. Kang Dongyun became a pro when he was 13 years old. He was regarded as a prodigy along with Kim Jiseok. Heo Youngho became a pro when he was 15 years old, but for first few years his performance wasn’t very impressive. He was not regarded as a prodigy, but he studies Go very hard when he’s alone.
Here are the weekly Go problems for week 19. Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun! …
This game is from the final round of the 1st Sports Accord World Mind Games. It’s between Yamashita Keigo and Lee Sedol. Lee Sedol is currently ranked number one in Korea, and Yamashita currently holds the Honinbo and Meijin titles in Japan. After round 4, Korea and Japan were tied at 3-1 each. China swept all rounds, so this Japan vs Korea match was the decider for the silver medal.
Man vs Machine match: Final results and game commentary
The ‘Man vs Machine’ Go match ended on January 16, with the computer winning 3-1. It was a very interesting series of games and we all got to see just how good computers are at Go now. They may not be good enough to challenge a professional player yet, but I felt that Zen’s performance was quite impressive when you think about where computer Go was at just a few years ago…