Gojo

Chengyou (the kid I played in the tournament yesterday) and his parents came to Gojo today!  I'm so glad they did, and I hope they keep coming to meetups.

Chengyou wanted revenge, so we played again today.  I won again, so he'll have to come back soon for another chance at revenge.  Chengyou (who apparently goes by Charlie) has his very own low-tech but expensive game recorder: his dad.  He does a beautiful job, using different colors for white and black moves.  Here's our game from today:

Gojo was catered by the folks from Mei Mei again today.  We are so spoiled.

Boston Spring Open

We had the Boston Spring Open at the Microsoft NERD Center yesterday.  It was a great tournament, run by our intrepid organizer, Chun:

(My apologies for the blurriness -- I was hurriedly trying to take a few photos before the round started.)

I went 2-2 overall.  (Chun said that, in all my games, I was not aggressive enough, that I did not attack when I had the opportunity.)  I only managed to record fragments of my games, choosing, instead, to spend my time between matches playing Chinese hacky sack (courtesy of Audrey):

It was a great way to loosen up both mind and body between rounds -- a chance to forget the last game and head into the next with a clear head.

My first game was with Andrew.

(Obviously, I was not focussed on photography.)  He had a better opening, but I killed a big group and ended up winning this one.  We briefly reviewed our game afterward, so I was able to record enough to give the gist of what happened:

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50] GN[2016-03-19a]PW[Andrew]PB[Becci]DT[2016-03-19]EV[CPL]PC[Cambridge]C[Black+time] ;B[pd] ;W[dp] ;B[qp] ;W[dd] ;B[oq] ;W[qj] ;B[fc] ;W[cf] ;B[jd] ;W[qf] ;B[nd] ;W[dj] ;B[fq] ;W[dn] ;B[ql] ;W[oj] ;B[ip] ;W[qc] ;B[qd] ;W[rd] ;B[re] ;W[rc] ;B[qe] ;W[ob] ;B[nb] ;W[oc] ;B[nc] ;W[pc] ;B[pf] ;W[pm] ;B[qm] ;W[pl] ;B[pn] ;W[on] ;B[po] ;W[kp] ;B[mp] ;W[kn] ;B[in] ;W[dr] ;B[fe] ;W[db] ;B[ch] ;W[cj] ;B[mn] ;W[mm] ;B[nm] ;W[nn] ;B[lm] ;W[mo] ;B[ml] ;W[ln] ;B[no] ;W[mm] ;B[dm] ;W[cm] ;B[mn] ;W[lo] ;B[mm] ;W[km] ;B[il] ;W[kk] ;B[mj] ;W[rf] ;B[se] ;W[pk] ;B[om] ;W[qh] ;B[ij] ;W[jq] ;B[iq] ;W[np] ;B[oo] ;W[mq] ;B[nq] ;W[lp] ;B[jr] ;W[kr] ;B[jp] ;W[kq] ;B[ir] ;W[lr] ;B[pg] ;W[ph] ;B[nh] ;W[jk] ;B[ki] ;W[nr] ;B[or] ;W[os] ;B[ps] ;W[ns] ;B[ri] ;W[rh] ;B[rj] ;W[si] ;B[rk] ;W[ik] ;B[hl] ;W[ho] ;B[gn] ;W[hk] ;B[gl] ;W[hc] ;B[hd] ;W[fb] ;B[gc] ;W[gb] ;B[ec] ;W[eb] ;B[ic])

My second game was with Gus Heck.  (I didn't even get a blurry picture of Gus.)  I made a huge 5k mistake early on.  I did manage to attack and come close to killing a group of his later in the game, but I misread that, too.  It was not a good game for me.  But he did a great job of punishing my mistakes!  You can see my big goof-up here:

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50] GN[2016-03-19b]PW[Becci]PB[Gus Heck]DT[2016-03-19]EV[CPL]PC[Cambridge]C[Black+resign] ;B[dp] ;W[pd] ;B[dd] ;W[pq] ;B[dj] ;W[fc] ;B[ee] ;W[jc] ;B[jp] ;W[lq] ;B[lo] ;W[pj] ;B[qc] ;W[qd] ;B[pc] ;W[oc] ;B[ob] ;W[nb]LB[pj:A]C[Oops! This doesn't work when A is high. I used to know that...] ;B[rd] ;W[re] ;B[qe] ;W[pe] ;B[rc] ;W[qf] ;B[nc] ;W[mb] ;B[od]C[Ugh.] ;W[cn] ;B[co] ;W[dn] ;B[fp] ;W[dl] ;B[ck] ;W[cl] ;B[fj] ;W[gm] ;B[hd] ;W[cc] ;B[dc] ;W[db] ;B[eb] ;W[cb] ;B[cd] ;W[ec] ;B[ie] ;W[ig] ;B[gb] ;W[fb])

My third game was with a little Chinese kid, Chengyou Zhong.   I talked to his parents after the game (his dad goes by George, but I didn't catch his mom's name).  They recently moved to the states and said Chengyou has been playing for about 3 years.  I talked to them about our regular meetups, and it sounds like they'll try to come to the Saturday meetups at the library.  The little kids tend to be formidable opponents, so I was happy to win this game.  He played in a very classical, territory-oriented style.  But it was obvious he liked his territory a little too much, and he let me get all the big end game moves.  He also didn't count the game until I had already won.  He'll improve another stone or two just by counting earlier and fighting back in the end game a bit harder.

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50] GN[2016-03-19c]PW[Becci]PB[Chengyou Zhou]DT[2016-03-19]EV[CPL]PC[Cambridge]C[White+~5] ;B[dc] ;W[pd] ;B[cp] ;W[pq] ;B[eq] ;W[cj] ;B[ce] ;W[nc] ;B[po] ;W[qo] ;B[qn] ;W[qp] ;B[pn] ;W[nq] ;B[qj] ;W[qh] ;B[oj] ;W[ic] ;B[gc] ;W[kd] ;B[cm] ;W[cg] ;B[qd] ;W[qc] ;B[qe] ;W[rc] ;B[pe] ;W[oh] ;B[od] ;W[pc] ;B[me] ;W[nd] ;B[ne] ;W[mh] ;B[kf] ;W[kh] ;B[if] ;W[jq] ;B[he] ;W[ih] ;B[hq] ;W[lp] ;B[dk] ;W[dj] ;B[ck] ;W[ek] ;B[el] ;W[fl] ;B[fm] ;W[fk] ;B[em] ;W[gb] ;B[fb] ;W[hb] ;B[hc] ;W[bf] ;B[be] ;W[gm] ;B[gn] ;W[hm] ;B[hn] ;W[mk] ;B[nl] ;W[ml] ;B[nm] ;W[bj] ;B[bk] ;W[ak] ;B[al] ;W[aj] ;B[bm] ;W[ir] ;B[hr] ;W[in] ;B[io])

Here's a photo of Chengyou, with Jason on the left:

By my last game, I was literally barely able to focus. Four tournament games in one day is just too much for me. But it was a good game nonetheless.  My opponent's name was Deren.  Here's a blurry photo of him:

He had really great timing in our game, and definitely controlled the game.  I managed to stay in the game enough to count it.  I was ahead on the board, but not by nearly enough to overcome the 7.5 komi.  At the end of the game, I passed and handed him a stone (AGA rules) and he moved to start counting.  I pointed out that he needs to pass and hand me a stone in turn, and he said, "But White is supposed to play last."  After a bit more confused back and forth he realized, "Oh!  I'm White!"  Clearly he was tired out by the end of the day too.  :)

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50] GN[2016-03-20b]PW[Deren]PB[Becci]DT[2016-03-20]EV[CPL]PC[Cambridge]C[White+~5] ;B[pd] ;W[dd] ;B[qp] ;W[cq]C[I always have trouble handling the 3-3. I never really know how to approach it, and my opponent always seems to end up with a huge territory, even though the 3-3 is so low. ] ;B[oq] ;W[qf] ;B[nc] ;W[rd] (;B[qc] ;W[qi] ;B[cn] ;W[ep] ;B[cf] ;W[di] ;B[ef]TR[cn]C[I probably should have chosen a different joseki. I know the follow-up to this, and I knew he would play that and then attack the marked stone. Why do I play things that I know are wrong?] ;W[fc] ;B[bd] ;W[cc] ;B[bi] ;W[iq] ;B[qm] ;W[mq] ;B[hc] ;W[dg] ;B[df] ;W[bh] ;B[ch] ;W[ci] ;B[bg] ;W[bj] ;B[ah] ;W[ck] ;B[en] ;W[go] ;B[el] ;W[fj] ;B[gm] ;W[bc] ;B[kd] ;W[in] ;B[gk] ;W[gj] ;B[hk] ;W[ii] ;B[bq] ;W[cp] ;B[bp] ;W[br] ;B[co] ;W[no] ;B[lo]) (;B[qh]C[Walther suggested this move in this position, which is probably even better with White having the 3-3, but I chickened out. ]))

Updates:  I forgot to mention before that Andy Liu (1p) played in our tournament!  (Of course he won.)  How many American tournaments have professionals playing in them?  Also, Chun posted a full report and much better photos than mine.

Boston Spring Open tomorrow!

We have the Boston Spring Open tomorrow!

Four rounds in one day, starting at 9 am.  It's too many games for me, and the time setting is too fast for me (only 1/2 hour open time, and then 3 byo yomi periods of 30 or 40 seconds -- I'm still not quite sure which).   But hopefully I can get in a few good games and, if nothing else, it's good tournament practice.

On the bright side, I won't end up playing a bunch of handicap games because, except for the beginner band, the games are all played without handicaps.  So the games should be good.  Also, it's just nice to spend time with the Go community in the wake of the AlphaGo games.

And Chun says, "It will be fun."

Wow! What a day for Go!

My day started late last night, watching Lee Sedol play his fourth game against AlphaGo.  After Lee Sedol (Lee Sedol) got his butt kicked by AlphaGo in game 3, the pros had taken to calling AlphaGo "AI Sensei".  But then Lee did what, by this point, had become unthinkable -- he won!!  What joy!  Even though it was (with daylight savings time) 5 am.

Then this afternoon I played Audrey (a local 4-5 dan) in our City League game.  We were both exhausted from staying up all night but giddy that Lee had finally won.  We played even because the City League rules are handicap-2.  (I'm playing as 1 dan and she's playing as 4 dan.)  I took white. I nearly resigned in the middle but, inspired by Lee, I fought on and managed to win by 0.5 point!!

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50]TM[3600] GN[miso-mq4ever(B) IGS]PW[miso]PB[mq4ever]WR[1k]BR[4d]DT[2016-03-14]CP[ Copyright (c) PANDANET Inc. 2016 Permission to reproduce this game is given, provided proper credit is given. No warrantee, implied or explicit, is understood. Use of this game is an understanding and agreement of this notice. ]EV[Internet Go Server game: miso vs mq4ever]PC[IGS: igs.joyjoy.net 6969]US[Brought to you by IGS PANDANET]RE[W+0.50]LT[]NB[32]NW[28]RR[Normal] ;B[pd]BL[3595] ;W[dp]WL[3575] ;B[oq]BL[3586] ;W[dc]WL[3523] ;B[qn]BL[3583] ;W[jq]WL[3507] ;B[oo]BL[3580]C[Ack! What am I supposed to do about that *huge* corner?!?] ;W[nc]WL[3492] ;B[pf]BL[3572] ;W[kd]WL[3482] ;B[de]BL[3564] ;W[cg]WL[3457] ;B[cc]BL[3553] ;W[cb]WL[3415] ;B[cd]BL[3540] ;W[eb]WL[3412] ;B[ef]BL[3468] ;W[cj]WL[3398] ;B[fc]BL[3449] ;W[gc]WL[3357] (;B[fb]BL[3299] ;W[gb]WL[3219] (;B[fd]BL[3292] ;W[fa]WL[3217] ;B[gd]BL[3194] ;W[ic]WL[3202] ;B[cq]BL[3184]C[Ugh! Low double wings! This invasion is painful for White. ] (;W[cp]WL[3179] ;B[dq]BL[3182] ;W[eq]WL[3166] ;B[er]BL[3180] ;W[fq]WL[3165] ;B[fr]BL[3177] ;W[gq]WL[3164] ;B[bp]BL[3174] ;W[bo]WL[3163] ;B[bq]BL[3174] ;W[cn]WL[3163] ;B[dh]BL[3158] ;W[ch]WL[3148] ;B[dj]BL[3155] ;W[di]WL[3143] ;B[ei]BL[3150] ;W[ci]WL[3142] ;B[ej]BL[3111] ;W[qh]WL[3027] ;B[qg]BL[3106] ;W[ph]WL[3023] ;B[pj]BL[3100] ;W[mh]WL[2969] ;B[pb]BL[2959] ;W[dd]WL[2961] ;B[cf]BL[2922] ;W[qe]WL[2935] ;B[qf]BL[2908]C[Oops. I used to know the sequence with the peep on the outside that makes this work...] ;W[dg]WL[2818] ;B[eg]BL[2869] ;W[eh]WL[2801] ;B[fh]BL[2845] ;W[rh]WL[2764] ;B[re]BL[2828] ;W[qk]WL[2758] ;B[pk]BL[2576] ;W[rl]WL[2749] ;B[pl]BL[2535] ;W[df]WL[2722] ;B[ee]BL[2518] ;W[bf]WL[2721] ;B[ce]BL[2514] ;W[gh]WL[2687]C[This doesn't really work. And I thought I could play P15 as a ko threat, but thought better of it after Black took. (Bad timing for thinking better of it...)] ;B[dh]BL[2509] ;W[mq]WL[2649] ;B[eh]BL[2501] ;W[qq]WL[2558]C[This was also a total misread. I did not have enough sleep.] ;B[pr]BL[2448] ;W[rn]WL[2426] ;B[ro]BL[2439] ;W[qm]WL[2422] ;B[pn]BL[2437] ;W[so]WL[2376] ;B[sp]BL[2429] ;W[sn]WL[2331] ;B[qp]BL[2411] ;W[pm]WL[2304] ;B[om]BL[2404] ;W[rj]WL[2277] ;B[oi]BL[2348] ;W[oh]WL[2265] ;B[ie]BL[2319] ;W[ob]WL[2217] ;B[oc]BL[2290] ;W[od]WL[2148] ;B[pc]BL[2281] ;W[nb]WL[2146] ;B[nf]BL[2207] (;W[dl]WL[2102] ;B[nh]BL[2177] ;W[ng]WL[2068] ;B[ni]BL[2173] ;W[og]WL[2066] ;B[mg]BL[2160] ;W[of]WL[2059] ;B[oe]BL[2018] ;W[ne]WL[1967] ;B[nd]BL[1972] ;W[mf]WL[1962] ;B[lg]BL[1968] ;W[md]WL[1922] ;B[fl]BL[1943]C[I nearly resigned at this point. Black has so much potential in the center. White just doesn't have enough points.] ;W[hl]WL[1741] ;B[jl]BL[1923] ;W[ll]WL[1649]C[What am I doing?] ;B[kn]BL[1913] ;W[ln]WL[1570]C[After I played this, I realized Black would hane underneath.] ;B[lo]BL[1771]C[Sure enough!] ;W[ko]WL[1546] ;B[km]BL[1763] ;W[mo]WL[1501] ;B[lm]BL[1755] ;W[lp]WL[1491] ;B[mn]BL[1736]C[Black has so many points in the center!] ;W[kg]WL[1467]C[Nose tesuji!] ;B[lh]BL[1727] ;W[lf]WL[1458] ;B[kh]BL[1691] ;W[gk]WL[1392]C[Inspired by Lee's fighting spirit, I decided to try just a little bit harder.] ;B[gm]BL[1451] ;W[jg]WL[1381] ;B[jh]BL[1422] ;W[hm]WL[1368] ;B[el]BL[1366] ;W[dk]WL[1363] ;B[hn]BL[1356] ;W[ig]WL[1308] ;B[ih]BL[1346] ;W[hh]WL[1293] ;B[hg]BL[1328] ;W[gg]WL[1242] ;B[hf]BL[1324] ;W[in]WL[1240] ;B[ik]BL[1208] ;W[gj]WL[1187] ;B[go]BL[1167] ;W[ho]WL[1118] ;B[gn]BL[1159] ;W[im]WL[1071] ;B[fj]BL[1100] ;W[gf]WL[1048] ;B[hd]BL[1064] ;W[id]WL[945] ;B[bb]BL[1025] ;W[ba]WL[941] ;B[ab]BL[1002] ;W[be]WL[823] ;B[bd]BL[998] ;W[en]WL[786] ;B[hk]BL[943] ;W[gl]WL[776] ;B[gi]BL[941] ;W[hi]WL[741] ;B[hj]BL[932] ;W[fi]WL[716] ;B[ae]BL[925] (;W[bg]WL[706] ;B[gi]BL[923] ;W[ek]WL[595] ;B[fi]BL[650] ;W[fk]WL[587] ;B[je]BL[647] ;W[ke]WL[569] ;B[gr]BL[641] ;W[hr]WL[535] ;B[nr]BL[536] ;W[mr]WL[533] ;B[hs]BL[466] ;W[ir]WL[505] ;B[lo]BL[447] ;W[pa]WL[495] ;B[qa]BL[442] ;W[oa]WL[493] ;B[qb]BL[434] ;W[ln]WL[483] ;B[rm]BL[403] ;W[sm]WL[478] ;B[lo]BL[397] ;W[jn]WL[428] ;B[ln]BL[312] ;W[hc]WL[351] ;B[ed]BL[165] ;W[no]WL[314] ;B[nn]BL[142] ;W[nq]WL[304] ;B[ms]BL[134] ;W[ls]WL[300] ;B[ns]BL[124] ;W[lr]WL[294] ;B[aa]BL[119] ;W[db]WL[276] ;B[ca]BL[72] ;W[ga]WL[259] ;B[ql]BL[2] ;W[rm]WL[252] ;B[qj]BL[587] ;W[rk]WL[249] ;B[qi]BL[583] ;W[ri]WL[241] ;B[od]BL[559] ;W[jd]WL[73] ;B[rg]BL[554] ;W[gs]WL[62] ;B[fs]BL[551] ;W[is]WL[57] ;B[ao]BL[529] ;W[an]WL[53] ;B[ap]BL[529] ;W[af]WL[46] ;B[ad]BL[525] ;W[gs]WL[39] ;B[ds]BL[516] ;W[sg]WL[595] ;B[sf]BL[511] ;W[sh]WL[593] ;B[np]BL[494] ;W[mp]WL[591] ;B[op]BL[492] ;W[hs]WL[543] ;B[il]BL[475] ;W[pi]WL[509] ;B[he]BL[455] ;W[kf]WL[498] ;B[ec]BL[433] ;W[ea]WL[495] ;B[pg]BL[418] ;W[jm]WL[479] ;B[ba]BL[220] ;W[]WL[448] ;B[]BL[215] ;W[]WL[448] ;TW[ha][ia][ja][ka][la][ma][na][hb][ib][jb][kb][lb][mb][jc][kc][lc][mc][ld][le][me][nf][ag][ah][bh][ai][bi][si][aj][bj][sj][ak][bk][ck][sk][al][bl][cl][el][fl][sl][am][bm][cm][dm][em][fm][gm][bn][dn][fn][gn][hn][co][do][eo][fo][go][io][jo][ep][fp][gp][hp][ip][jp][kp][hq][iq][kq][lq][jr][kr][js][ks]TB[ra][sa][rb][sb][ac][bc][qc][rc][sc][qd][rd][sd][fe][ge][pe][qe][se][ff][gf][rf][fg][gg][gh][hh][mh][hi][ii][ji][ki][li][mi][ij][jj][kj][lj][mj][nj][oj][jk][kk][lk][mk][nk][ok][kl][ll][ml][nl][ol][mm][nm][on][po][qo][pp][rp][aq][pq][qq][rq][sq][ar][br][cr][dr][or][qr][rr][sr][as][bs][cs][es][os][ps][qs][rs][ss]OS[]) (;W[gi]C[Maybe White should let Black live and then walk into the center as much as possible, finally taking sente to capture at F7?])) (;W[ni]C[Maybe this is better?])) (;W[dq]C[Maybe White should have gone this way and double hane'd (like AlphaGo!).] ;B[cp] ;W[co] ;B[bo] ;W[bn] ;B[cn] ;W[do] ;B[bm] ;W[bp] ;B[an] ;W[bq]C[(Of course, this is nothing like AlphaGo's double hanes last night, which were super painful to watch.)])) (;B[ea] ;W[da] ;B[fa] ;W[fd] ;B[ec] ;W[ed] ;B[db]C[I believe GJ also shows this variation in her lessons, and I think it's supposed to be a really heavy ko fight for Black. But, again, I'll probably get corrected later. I don't know what White will play for ko threats at this point. Maybe something in the huge corner in the lower right?])) (;B[gd]C[From Guo Juan's audio lessons, I think this fight is supposed to go something like this.] ;W[gb] ;B[hd] ;W[ic]LB[cb:A][cj:B]TR[nc][kd]C[I thought the fight would be good for me, with the marked White stones, which is why I chose A and B. Probably GJ will correct me in her review. :)]))

"The beauty is endless"

Wow.  Lee Sedol got walloped last night.  This was the first game I could watch (the others I had to teach at 9 am the next morning).  It's so exciting to watch it live.  AlphaGo is just so damned good.  All the pros are in love with her (or him, depending on their gender preference).

I really love Guo Juan's commentary on the first game.  At the end, she answers a few questions, including whether this spells the end for Go as a human endeavor.  I agree with her 100% when she says, "In the end, what I want to say is, we love Go...  the beauty is endless."  I fell in love with Go before I knew anything about how good or bad computers were at playing it.  That has nothing to do with it.  It's just stunning in its own right.

Meanwhile, in my own humble, human Go world, I have my City League round 5 game tomorrow.  There are five Boston teams playing in the City League, so we often play each other, and this round is one of those times.  I'll be playing against Audrey, who is playing as a 4d. The official play date is next week, but we also have the Boston Spring Open next week, so we decided to play this weekend to avoid being exhausted by the tournament the day before.  Of course, this weekend might be worse since I'm staying up all night to watch AlphaGo beat Lee Sedol.


So, here are a couple of Audrey's earlier City League games. Maybe I'm just too tired, but I really don't know what lessons to draw from these. In this first game, she plays black:

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50]TM[3600] GN[jingkaiwei-mq4ever(B) IGS]PW[jingkaiwei]PB[mq4ever]WR[3d]BR[4d]DT[2016-01-25]CP[ Copyright (c) PANDANET Inc. 2016 Permission to reproduce this game is given, provided proper credit is given. No warrantee, implied or explicit, is understood. Use of this game is an understanding and agreement of this notice. ]EV[Internet Go Server game: jingkaiwei vs mq4ever]PC[IGS: igs.joyjoy.net 6969]US[Brought to you by IGS PANDANET]RE[W+Resign]LT[]NB[32]NW[31]RR[Normal] ;B[pd]BL[3594] ;W[dp]WL[3595] ;B[pq]BL[3591] ;W[dd]WL[3593] ;B[fq]BL[3588] ;W[cn]WL[3592] ;B[jp]BL[3578] ;W[qn]WL[3590] ;B[po]BL[3574] ;W[rp]WL[3589] ;B[ql]BL[3572] ;W[qq]WL[3588] ;B[pn]BL[3546] ;W[pr]WL[3586] ;B[oq]BL[3541] ;W[or]WL[3584] ;B[nq]BL[3532] ;W[nr]WL[3583] ;B[mq]BL[3527] ;W[qm]WL[3579] ;B[pm]BL[3522] ;W[rl]WL[3572] ;B[rm]BL[3512] ;W[rn]WL[3566] ;B[rk]BL[3509] ;W[sm]WL[3565] ;B[qk]BL[3506] ;W[nc]WL[3563] ;B[ne]BL[3499] ;W[qc]WL[3559] ;B[qd]BL[3480] ;W[pc]WL[3557] ;B[rc]BL[3468] ;W[rb]WL[3555] ;B[rd]BL[3465] ;W[ld]WL[3537] ;B[lf]BL[3460] ;W[li]WL[3516] ;B[ji]BL[3443] ;W[lk]WL[3477] ;B[mj]BL[3433] ;W[lj]WL[3472] ;B[jk]BL[3430] ;W[oj]WL[3444] ;B[nk]BL[3356] ;W[mi]WL[3438] ;B[jf]BL[3341] ;W[oh]WL[3373] ;B[ok]BL[3272] ;W[nj]WL[3242] ;B[mk]BL[3265] ;W[mg]WL[3237] ;B[mf]BL[3132] ;W[lg]WL[3226] ;B[kg]BL[3128] ;W[od]WL[3190] ;B[oe]BL[3099] ;W[pf]WL[3187] ;B[ng]BL[3066] ;W[nh]WL[3176] ;B[og]BL[3058] ;W[pg]WL[3133] ;B[ph]BL[3052] ;W[qi]WL[3094] ;B[qh]BL[3044] ;W[rh]WL[2981] ;B[qg]BL[3036] ;W[pi]WL[2943] ;B[qf]BL[3009] ;W[rf]WL[2941] ;B[qe]BL[3005] ;W[rj]WL[2940] ;B[ll]BL[3002] ;W[kl]WL[2896] ;B[kk]BL[2993] ;W[lm]WL[2891] ;B[ml]BL[2991] ;W[jl]WL[2868] ;B[il]BL[2985] ;W[im]WL[2865] ;B[ik]BL[2976] ;W[jn]WL[2857] ;B[fo]BL[2961] ;W[kp]WL[2852] ;B[jq]BL[2954] ;W[jo]WL[2839] ;B[ln]BL[2922] ;W[kq]WL[2832] ;B[mr]BL[2881] ;W[hq]WL[2826] ;B[ir]BL[2866] ;W[hr]WL[2819] ;B[kr]BL[2861] ;W[gm]WL[2783] ;B[en]BL[2852] ;W[dr]WL[2767] ;B[er]BL[2846] ;W[eq]WL[2765] ;B[ep]BL[2843] ;W[dq]WL[2765] ;B[gr]BL[2839] ;W[gp]WL[2762] ;B[fp]BL[2837] ;W[ip]WL[2690] ;B[ho]BL[2779] ;W[go]WL[2685] ;B[hn]BL[2778] ;W[gn]WL[2682] ;B[fl]BL[2726] ;W[gl]WL[2647] ;B[fk]BL[2717] ;W[gk]WL[2646] ;B[fj]BL[2710] ;W[gj]WL[2642] ;B[fi]BL[2707] ;W[hi]WL[2627] ;B[km]BL[2704] ;W[jm]WL[2626] ;B[kn]BL[2701] ;W[jh]WL[2622] ;B[ih]BL[2621] ;W[ii]WL[2618] ;B[ki]BL[2618] ;W[kj]WL[2587] ;B[jj]BL[2613] ;W[kh]WL[2586] ;B[lh]BL[2609] ;W[mh]WL[2545] ;B[jg]BL[2607] ;W[lh]WL[2534] ;B[oi]BL[2605] ;W[ni]WL[2533] ;B[pj]BL[2602] ;W[oi]WL[2532] ;OS[])

In this game, she plays white:

(;GM[1]FF[4]CA[UTF-8]AP[CGoban:3]ST[2] RU[Japanese]SZ[19]KM[7.50]TM[3600] GN[mq4ever-qwei33(B) IGS]PW[mq4ever]PB[qwei33]WR[4d]BR[1d]DT[2016-02-22]CP[ Copyright (c) PANDANET Inc. 2016 Permission to reproduce this game is given, provided proper credit is given. No warrantee, implied or explicit, is understood. Use of this game is an understanding and agreement of this notice. ]EV[Internet Go Server game: mq4ever vs qwei33]PC[IGS: igs.joyjoy.net 6969]US[Brought to you by IGS PANDANET]RE[W+Resign]LT[]NB[29]NW[32]RR[Normal] ;B[pc]BL[3547] ;W[pp]WL[3563] ;B[cd]BL[3498] ;W[cp]WL[3556] ;B[qj]BL[3428] ;W[ed]WL[3506] ;B[ec]BL[3388] ;W[fc]WL[3505] ;B[dc]BL[3385] ;W[gd]WL[3488] ;B[cf]BL[3382] ;W[kc]WL[3481] ;B[pe]BL[3353] ;W[nc]WL[3477] ;B[pg]BL[3330] ;W[iq]WL[3471] ;B[qn]BL[3326] ;W[np]WL[3467] ;B[ep]BL[3133] ;W[eq]WL[3451] ;B[fq]BL[3122] ;W[dq]WL[3448] ;B[cm]BL[2910] ;W[fp]WL[3440] ;B[gp]BL[2903] ;W[fo]WL[3426] ;B[hq]BL[2901] ;W[fr]WL[3422] ;B[jq]BL[2890] ;W[ip]WL[3408] ;B[ir]BL[2820] ;W[gq]WL[3358] ;B[hr]BL[2810] ;W[lq]WL[3335] ;B[jp]BL[2693] ;W[io]WL[3318] ;B[jo]BL[2627] ;W[in]WL[3308] ;B[jn]BL[2616] ;W[kr]WL[3293] ;B[im]BL[2603] ;W[go]WL[3278] ;B[jr]BL[2590] ;W[om]WL[3250] ;B[rp]BL[2517] ;W[jm]WL[3207] ;B[km]BL[2514] ;W[jl]WL[3206] ;B[ln]BL[2513] ;W[kl]WL[3170] ;B[ll]BL[2510] ;W[mm]WL[3169] ;B[lm]BL[2507] ;W[cj]WL[3152] ;B[hn]BL[2504] ;W[ho]WL[3149] ;B[dk]BL[2500] ;W[dj]WL[3146] ;B[fk]BL[2497] ;W[ek]WL[3139] ;B[el]BL[2495] ;W[ej]WL[3138] ;B[gl]BL[2424] ;W[fm]WL[3118] ;B[fl]BL[2411] ;W[gi]WL[3110] ;B[hj]BL[2086] ;W[jj]WL[3094] ;B[hi]BL[2082] ;W[gh]WL[3091] ;B[hh]BL[2078] ;W[jh]WL[3057] ;B[gg]BL[2074] ;W[eh]WL[3040] ;B[he]BL[1922] ;W[fg]WL[3005] ;B[je]BL[1806] ;W[ic]WL[2685] ;B[ki]BL[1730] ;W[ji]WL[2680] ;B[mi]BL[1647] ;W[hl]WL[2658] ;B[hm]BL[1558] ;W[hk]WL[2653] ;B[gj]BL[1507] ;W[gm]WL[2646] ;B[le]BL[1294] ;W[ig]WL[2643] ;B[hg]BL[1291] ;W[if]WL[2641] ;B[ge]BL[1290] ;W[ie]WL[2637] ;B[fe]BL[1282] ;W[fd]WL[2601] ;B[ef]BL[1228] ;W[dl]WL[2562] ;B[dm]BL[1224] ;W[ck]WL[2507] ;B[em]BL[1139] ;W[de]WL[2499] ;B[df]BL[759] ;W[ce]WL[2485] ;B[be]BL[753] ;W[ee]WL[2436] ;B[ff]BL[745] ;W[hf]WL[2385] ;B[gf]BL[734] ;W[fj]WL[2382] ;B[gk]BL[723] ;W[bd]WL[2378] ;B[bg]BL[578] ;W[ae]WL[2373] ;B[af]BL[550] ;W[bf]WL[2370] ;B[eg]BL[354] ;W[ag]WL[2360] ;B[fh]BL[346] ;W[fi]WL[2356] ;B[dh]BL[342] ;W[bh]WL[2319] ;B[cg]BL[327] ;W[ei]WL[2296] ;B[bi]BL[305] ;W[ci]WL[2288] ;B[ch]BL[304] ;W[ah]WL[2286] ;B[bo]BL[248] ;W[bp]WL[2248] ;B[bl]BL[64] ;W[bn]WL[2237] ;B[bk]BL[546] ;W[bj]WL[2233] ;B[co]BL[428] ;W[cn]WL[2214] ;B[am]BL[392] ;W[do]WL[2173] ;B[fn]BL[356] ;W[gn]WL[2163] ;B[ak]BL[308] ;W[bm]WL[2143] ;B[oq]BL[280] ;W[pq]WL[2133] ;B[mr]BL[277] ;W[lr]WL[2101] ;B[pr]BL[274] ;W[nr]WL[2015] ;B[or]BL[271] ;W[ms]WL[1973] ;B[ks]BL[265] ;W[op]WL[1949] ;B[qq]BL[260] ;W[mo]WL[1925] ;B[nq]BL[252] ;W[mq]WL[1924] ;B[lp]BL[250] ;W[lo]WL[1919] ;B[kp]BL[245] ;W[mp]WL[1914] ;B[nn]BL[244] ;W[mn]WL[1904] ;B[on]BL[240] ;W[qp]WL[1812] ;B[rq]BL[234] ;W[ml]WL[1714] ;B[lk]BL[222] ;W[pn]WL[1701] ;B[hd]BL[207] ;W[hc]WL[1685] ;B[id]BL[205] ;W[jd]WL[1680] ;B[kd]BL[204] ;W[jc]WL[1668] ;B[jk]BL[152] ;W[kk]WL[1661] ;B[ao]BL[118] ;W[ap]WL[1611] ;B[kj]BL[85] ;W[ik]WL[1566] ;B[aj]BL[40] ;W[ai]WL[1549] ;B[cl]BL[598] ;W[af]WL[1539] ;OS[FindYoda][Russian6k][chenjxiang][plum][shauke][taksae3757][truman][vash3g])

AlphaGo draws first blood! (and second)

I had been really excited about how, over time, we would learn all sorts of new moves and new ideas about the game from AlphaGo.  But, after the discussion at Go club last night of the first AlphaGo/Lee Sedol game, I'm beginning to think that might not happen.  It may be that all AlphaGo can teach us is to remember the fundamentals:

1. Play what's on the board; and
2. You only have to win by 0.5.

Of course, on an individual level, this is huge.  I think AlphaGo will be an amazing trainer for us.  But because it does those things so well, we may not get the rich stories from it that we tell ourselves.  Or maybe we'll still find new stories to tell ourselves, even if AlphaGo is not telling them.

I'm still excited about all of this though.  On my way back to my office from class, I ran into a few of our grad students in the hallway.  We spent an hour talking about AlphaGo and all the ramifications.

Tonight's the night!

AlphaGo vs. Lee Sedol!  The first match is tonight!  It's so exciting, possibly the biggest moment in Go in our lifetime.  Who will win?  AlphaGo beat Fan Hui 5-0, but I'm sure Lee Sedol can also beat Fan Hui 5-0.  Maybe Lee Sedol will lose a game or two and then figure out how to beat AlphaGo...  If that's the case, will AlphaGo then be able to learn how to beat Lee Sedol?  More generally, how will AlphaGo change the game?  What will we learn from it about how to play?

Unfortunately for us here on the east coast of the U.S., the game starts at 11 pm, which is past my bedtime.  (We are definitely not the center of this world.)  But I am hoping to join our club for game review on Wednesday evening.