DeepMind has just published extensive new commentaries on the historic AlphaGo-Lee Sedol match, played earlier this year
in Seoul. Fan Hui 2P, who first faced AlphaGo in October 2015, has teamed up with Gu Li 9p and Zhou Ruiyang 9p to conduct “exhaustive analysis” not only of the five games between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol, but of three games AlphaGo played against itself shortly before the match. The commentaries provide both analysis of the moves as well as insight into AlphaGo — and its team — behind the scenes, including the AI’s realtime assessments and tidbits such as “it is clear from AlphaGo’s data that it prefers White.” For anyone who watched the games in March, these commentaries provide a fascinating opportunity to see them with a fresh eye.
“We found its ideas both exciting and inspiring, and it became clear to us that AlphaGo represents not only a scientific and technological advancement, but also a milestone in human understanding of Go,” says Fan. “Unconstrained by human biases, and free to experiment with radical new approaches, AlphaGo has demonstrated great open-mindedness and invigorated the game with creative new strategies…AlphaGo has created a unique and extremely powerful approach to the game of Go.
Noting that “no one strategy can guarantee a player’s success,” Fan adds that “learning from these games is sure to have a positive, enlightening impact on one’s Go strength and style.”
– Chris Garlock. With Michael Redmond 9P, Garlock co-hosted DeepMind’s English game commentaries on the AlphaGo-Lee Sedol match.
