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This is the second last article in our series about the top 20 Go players of 2010. Park Junghwan (9p) was ranked number 3 and Choi Cheolhan (9p) was ranked number 4, according to Dr Bae Taeil in early 2011. Park Junghwan was born in 1993, and became a pro in 2006. Choi Cheolhan was born in 1985, and became a pro when he was only 12 years old. He was the 4th youngest player to do so in Korea at the time.
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…
Here are the weekly Go problems for week 20. Black plays first in all problems and all solutions are labeled ‘correct’. Have fun! Easy Go problem [link] Intermediate Go problem [link] Hard Go problem [link]
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! Easy Go problem [link] Intermediate Go problem [link] Hard Go problem [link]
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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…