Thursday February 13, 2020
Tune in to the AGA’s Twitch channel tonight at 7p EDT to catch Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock with their latest live game commentary on the AlphaGo vs AlphaGo series. “This is amazing content,” says viewer Funaru, “like the Go TV channel we never got in the West.” Viewers will be able to ask Redmond and Garlock questions during the liver commentary.
Friday February 7, 2020
Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock return with their latest Redmond’s Review, Episode 19, posted on the AGA’s YouTube Channel.
Kudo is a seasoned 9-dan professional in his late 70s. Though not as well-known in the West as some other players, he’s posted good records throughout his career and was a contender for titles from the 1970s through the 1990s, including taking the Oza from Cho Chikun and the Tengen from Rin Kaiho. “He’s a very steady player,” says Redmond. “As a younger player he had an attacking style, and doesn’t bother so much about territory. Still what you might call a very thick player, he likes to build strong positions and doesn’t like to be under attack. He’s got a well-balanced game with a solid opening. And interestingly for a player of his age, he’s been integrating a lot of AI stuff too.” Redmond also discusses how he prepares for matches like these, although he warns viewers at the outset that “This is not a well-played game on my part, so you can probably learn more” from his opponent’s play.
The commentary was originally streamed live on Twitch, which gave viewers a chance to interact with Redmond and Garlock, who will be live-streaming more game commentaries in the weeks ahead on the AGA’s Twitch channel, which you can follow to get notified of live streams.
Video produced by Stephen Hu, Allen Moy, Chris Garlock and Andrew Jackson.
Friday January 31, 2020
Tune in to the AGA’s YouTube Channel at 6p EST today when Redmond’s Reviews Episode 18 with Chris Garlock and Michael Redmond 9p is released.
In this episode, Michael reviews his Oza tournament game with Ri Ishu 8P from Taiwan. This game, played in Tokyo, came after Redmond’s win against Otake, and was the final game in the Oza B section. “Ri Ishu is a very strong young player,” says Redmond. This game features some modern, post-AI joseki, “and then a fairly dangerous fight develops near the end of the game, so the game actually resembles AG-AG 35”
The commentary was originally streamed live on Twitch, which gave viewers a chance to interact with Redmond and Garlock, who will be live-streaming more game commentaries in the weeks ahead on the AGA’s Twitch channel. Follow the AGA’s Twitch channel and get notified of live streams.
Video produced by Stephen Hu, Allen Moy, Chris Garlock and Andrew Jackson.
Tuesday January 28, 2020
Keith Arnold, hka with Patrick Bannister
Perhaps the best evidence of time flying appears in an ad in the January issue of Go Review. A Deluxe Go set is offered for sale – Cherry bowls, 7.5mm Clamshell and Slate stones and a two inch thick Kaya board for the princely sum of $110, shipping from Japan included.
On January 15, Sekiyama Riichi, the first tournament Honinbo, passed away. He was the teacher of Kajiwara Takeo 9 dan
We will be seeing a lot of Ishida Yoshio in this series, as he begins his dominance in this period. But he still had time for fun, as shown in this striking photo. Below is a photo of the second game of the Nihon Kiin Championship against the champion, Ohira. This was the only game Ishida lost, securing the title 3-1 on January 20-21. Game records of the match here. Game 1; Game 2; Game 3; Game 4.
Here in the United States, Takao Matsuda 6 dan of New York, author of the famous Matsuda Go Letters, won the New Jersey Open, defeating Takahiko Ishikawa 5 dan of Philadelphia in an all-Japanese final. Ishikawa was a judo instructor, and was the All Japan Judo Champion two years in a row.
League matches started with the New Year. Pictured at right is Kajiwara Takeo taking black against Fujisawa Hosai 9 dan in the Meijin league on January 21st. Perhaps you can see Kajiwara’s first move, on tengen. An expert on the fuseki, Kajiwara played the move to offset Hosai’s penchant for mirror go. Did it work? Find out in the game record here.
Finally, just to show that we have not come that far, a go computer was demonstrated by Toshio Ikeda of Fujitsu. The computerized board, 2 meters square, could solve “any problem given to it” but could not play a full game. A steal at $30,000 dollars. The article concludes “one day we may yet have a computer become a pro!” Pictured next to Ikeda is Go Seigen. Ikeda was an avid go player and rule expert, his “On the Rules of Go” was published posthumously by Fujitsu in 1992. Here’s a game between Ikeda and Go Seigen.
photos courtesy of Go Review, Igo Club and GoBase.org, game records courtesy of SmartGo/GoGod
Saturday January 25, 2020
Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock return with their latest AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo game commentary, Game 35 of the series, posted on the AGA’s YouTube Channel.
The game features “A lot of intense fighting in the center of the board that sort of spreads to the corners,” says Redmond. Plus, “We’ll see some ko’s, as well as some ko’s that didn’t happen.”
The commentary was originally streamed live on Twitch, which gave viewers a chance to interact with Redmond and Garlock, who will be live-streaming more game commentaries — some AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo and some of Redmond’s games — on January 30 on the AGA’s Twitch channel. Follow the AGA’s Twitch channel and get notified of live streams.
Thursday January 23, 2020
Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock return to the AGA’s Twitch channel this Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7p EDT with two brand-new live game commentaries. Both will be on games by Redmond in the Judan B elimination tournament last year, one against Shiraishi Yuichi, the other against Kudo Norio, who won the Oza in 1977 and the Tengen in 1997. “Lots of fighting and dead groups,” says Redmond. “The high point of the game against Kudo was that I calculated a difficult endgame to win by half a point and got it right.”
“Love these commentaries,” says viewer Frank van Will about the latest Redmond Review (Redmond’s Reviews, Episode 17: Michael Redmond 9P vs. Takao Shinji 9P). “The analysis of the lower right corner joseki was fascinating,” added hippophile. “You could have gone on for an hour and I would have been happy!”
Friday January 17, 2020
Tune in to the AGA’s YouTube Channel at 6p EST today when Redmond’s Reviews Episode 17 with Chris Garlock and Michael Redmond 9p is released.
In this 93-minute episode, Michael reviews his Meijin tournament game with Takao Shinji 9P, which he calls his “best game of the year,” or as he also puts it, “my one half-decent game.” Most of the time, Redmond adds, “I seem to have the right idea” in this game, which features a lot of fighting. Takao held the Meijin title three years ago, dropped out of the league the next year, and the following year made the league’s final section. “He’s still at the top of the tournament scene in many ways,” Redmond says, noting that Takao is in the highest league of the Kisei tournament. A prodigy from an early age, Takao “played a thick, influence-oriented style, until he was confronted by Cho U,” whose territory-oriented style “inspired Takao to adapt his style and he does more fighting nowadays.” Chris and Michael also chat about what they were up to during their break from producing video commentaries, along with an update on their AlphaGo book-in-progress.
The commentary was originally streamed live on Twitch, which gave viewers a chance to interact with Redmond and Garlock, who will be live-streaming more game commentaries — some AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo and some of Redmond’s games — on January 23 and 30 on the AGA’s Twitch channel. Follow the AGA’s Twitch channel and get notified of live streams.
Video produced by Stephen Hu, Allen Moy, Chris Garlock and Andrew Jackson.
Thursday January 16, 2020
Tune in the AGA’s Twitch channel tonight at 7p EST for a livestream game commentary by Michael Redmond 9P with Chris Garlock. Follow the AGA’s Twitch channel and get notified of live streams. “Hope this series never ends!” said psyopus syzygy. “Learn so much from Michael. Thank youuuuu!!”
Friday January 10, 2020
After a brief break for the holidays, Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock return with their latest AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo game commentary.
The game features a ponnuki* near the center of the board,” and Redmond says that “nowadays with people getting new ideas from AI’s, a lot of the old ideas — the old values, you might say — about things like ponnukis or josekis have been questioned. So in this game we get to see how an AI handles a ponnuki.” After that, Redmond warns, “things get very tactical, there’s a lot of calculating, a lot of groups and you have to figure out what’s alive and what’s dead; there’s a lot to figure out.”
The commentary was originally streamed live on Twitch, which gave viewers a chance to interact with Redmond and Garlock, who will be live-streaming more game commentaries — some AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo and some of Redmond’s games — on January 16, 23 and 30 on the AGA’s Twitch channel. Follow the AGA’s Twitch channel and get notified of live streams.
* Capturing a single stone, leaving a diamond shape. According to the proverb, “A ponnuki is worth thirty points” Sensei’s Library
Redmond on AG-AG Game 36 tonight on Twitch
Thursday January 30, 2020
Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock return to the AGA’s Twitch channel tonight at 7p EDT with their latest live game commentary on the AlphaGo vs AlphaGo series. ” Entertaining and enlightening review,” commented SpaceTimeMachine on the previous commentary. “I recommend this series to my friends all the time.”