American Go E-Journal » Master/AlphaGo Commentaries

In AlphaGo self-play game 21, the AI’s play is “a little less alien,” says Michael Redmond 9P in his latest game commentary, hosted by the AGA E-Journal’s Chris Garlock, adding that the game features some moves that human players have been playing recently. “And then towards the end of the games there’s just a lot of exciting fighting.” Redmond’s commentaries return after a late-summer break; he’ll also be doing some live commentaries on Twitch in early September during a visit to the National Go Center in Washington DC; stay tuned for more details soon.

Game 18 of the AlphaGo self-played series “starts with a big fight on the right side but you won’t be sure which side is attacking and which side is defending,” says Michael Redmond 9p in his latest AlphaGo video commentary, hosted by the AGA E-Journal’s Chris Garlock. “It’s very complicated, and about a quarter of the board for each side dies.” “Another absolutely beautiful game and awesome review,” says viewer GerSHAK. “Excellent,” adds hippophile. “The game was surprisingly easy to follow for AG vs AG, good choice!”

Michael Redmond 9p, hosted by the AGA E-Journal’s Chris Garlock, reviews the eighth game of the new AlphaGo Zero vs. Master series.

“Zero just doesn’t care about its opponent’s moyo,” says Redmond. “It can do anything inside the moyo. Human pros who have tried to emulate this strategy have just crashed almost every time. Miserably. But Zero has no trouble dealing with its weak groups, so in this game we’re going to see a lot of dancing around inside Master’s moyo. Plus a really weird endgame.” Redmond also has some interesting observations about the similarities — and differences — between top human players and AI players.

Join Chris Garlock and Michael Redmond 9p for Episode 10 of Redmond’s Reviews. In this game, Michael plays against Mizokami 9p in the Kisei – First Tournament. “Mizokami is a very tenacious, steady player who I’ve had no success against in the past,” says Redmond, “but my new style works better this time.” Viewer Dontbtme calls it a “very interesting and inspiring game, showing (once again) how go is a game so deep it’s got room enough for even pros to make many mistakes and then recover.”

Michael Redmond 9p, hosted by the AGA E-Journal’s Chris Garlock, reviews the first game of the new AlphaGo Zero vs. AlphaGo Lee series. In this game, we see AlphaGo Lee “playing very human-like moves,” says Redmond. Zero “builds a big moyo and then turns it into territory,” which Redmond says “doesn’t usually happen in these games. Usually a lot of stuff happens before it gets into (making) territory.”

“Refreshing change of pace with this game,” says Rory Mitchell. “Thanks for the wonderful videos,” says Ryan Smith. “These are the highlight of my week.”

Click here for Redmond’s video commentary, and see below for the sgf commentary. To support this content, please consider joining or renewing your membership in the American Go Association; click here for details.

Video produced by Michael Wanek and Andrew Jackson. The sgf files were created by Redmond, with editing and transcription by Garlock and Myron Souris.
NOTE: The original video was mis-titled as AG Zero vs Master Game 8 (which is forthcoming soon); we apologize for the error.

AG Zero comes up with a new variation to handle Master’s shimari, “and then there’s a bit of a magic show, in which Zero does all sorts of stuff inside Master’s moyo,” says Michael Redmond 9P in his commentary. “It’s pretty hard to believe.”

“The relaxed and fun atmosphere (Redmond and Garlock) have when doing these reviews is great,” says Rory Mitchell. “It keeps things light amidst all the intense thinking required, and ultimately makes these videos very rewatchable.” Adds GerSHAK, “Absolutely BEAUTIFUL game to watch. Loved the post-game summary of white’s most exciting moves, too.”

Click here for Redmond’s video commentary, hosted by the AGA E-Journal’s Chris Garlock, and see below for the sgf commentary. To support this content, please consider joining or renewing your membership in the American Go Association; click here for details.

Video produced by Michael Wanek and Andrew Jackson. The sgf files were created by Redmond, with editing and transcription by Garlock and Myron Souris.