Tune in to the AGA’s Twitch channel tonight at 7p EDT to catch the live commentary by Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock on AlphaGo vs AlphaGo Game 42. Viewers will be able to ask Redmond and Garlock questions during the live commentary.
While we all continue to take precautions for the health and safety of ourselves and our communities, the AGA wants to encourage people to continue to play Go and to socialize virtually with other people in the Go community.
The AGA is planning to put on some limited online programming during the first week of August to bring the AGA Go community together during the time in-person Go Congress has traditionally been held. We are still figuring out the details, and that’s where you all come in! If you are interested in participating, please take a minute to fill out this survey and help us plan a better event for you!
The KGS Go Server just got easier to join and use. The Java client for KGS has been an ongoing problem for some computers and blocked by many schools. The KGS Home Page features a new link to sign up for a free account. Using ShinKGS, a web-based client developed by Justin Kramer, phones, tablets, or computers can now play on the server while avoiding Java completely.
The American Go Foundation has been steadily working on improving KGS, but mostly behind the scenes until now. “This is the first of many upgrades to KGS that the AGF wants to see happen.” says AGF President Terry Benson. “To make KGS a better go community, we could use help on the open source ShinKGS code. While so many people are stuck at their computers, go is a great way to stay busy and connected to other people.” ShinKGS is still missing some features and has a few bugs, a list of areas that need work is here, access to the code is on Github here. GoUniverse, a plugin for the Chrome Web Browser developed by Ilya Kirillov, is another way to access KGS without Java, and has almost all of the features in the full client. GoUniverse is also open source, and can be accessed on Github here.
KGS has seen a boom in users with everyone staying home due to Covid-19, and many clubs now meet virtually on the site. The AGF hopes to expand that user base by improving services and growing the community. “Many thanks to lead KGS developer Lee Schumacher for his tireless work on behalf of the server. Our thanks also to Oren Laskin, on the development team, and to all the admins who work daily to keep KGS a safe and friendly space for all,” adds Benson. – Paul Barchilon, AGF Vice-President
BadukPop has added several improvements in its latest update, including the ability to play against artificial intelligence. The popular go problem app, developed by Hajin Lee 4P and Dan Maas, works on both Android and iOS. The interface was designed to be fun for all ages, including kids, and now features 7 humorous AI characters you can play against. The weakest is Bobby – perfect for people who have just learned to play. Next up is Kevin whose “mind wanders off into deep space – and so do his go moves.” As players work their way up, the AI gets much stronger. “I love playing against Cora,” says Lee “she’s my new rival – I have about a 50/50 win rate against her, and it’s really fun to have a quick game with her now and then.” At the top is Max “a powerful AI that plays at human professional level.”
The app only supports games on 9×9 for now, but 13×13 and 19×19 are coming soon says Maas. A new section of lessons has been added as well. Designed as short sequences to teach new players, you can go from learning the rules to mastering basic corner and side positions. Like everything in BadukPop, the lessons are designed to be quick so one can learn something in just a few minutes, but build deep knowledge over time. Lee goes over the new features on her Youtube channel here. The app is free, but has in app purchases for extra features. Download from the Apple or Android stores, or from BadukPop’s website here. -Paul Barchilon, EJ Youth Editor
The Austin Go Club has continued to meet twice per week online on Tuesday evenings from 6-12PM and Saturday afternoons from 1-5PM. Players meet up on KGS in the Austin Go Club room where a Google Hangout link is posted, so that players who join the hangout can still see each other and carry on conversations. “Just like our face-to-face meetings prior to COVID-19, anyone is welcome to attend and play some games,” reports Bart Jacob. “Though we miss being in the same physical room, this has allowed us to continue playing each other and keep up-to-date on our lives and well being. We hope you can come visit!”
For more information email austingoclub@gmail.com.
Tune in to the AGA’s Twitch channel tonight at 7p EDT to catch the live commentary by Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock on AlphaGo vs Lee Sedol Game 2. As they write in their book AlphaGo to Zero: The Complete Games, “AlphaGo’s move 37 is the move heard ‘round the go world. The move that, if AlphaGo were human, would have been the equivalent of announcing that ‘There’s a new sheriff in town.’ On Main Street. At high noon. To call it shocking would be an understatement.” Tune in tonight at 7p, when viewers will be able to ask Redmond and Garlock questions during the live commentary.
Michael Redmond 9p, hosted by the AGA E-Journal’s Chris Garlock, reviews the 40th game of the amazing AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo selfplay games. The 50-game series was published by Deepmind after AlphaGo’s victory over world champion Ke Jie 9p in May 2017.
Originally broadcast live on the AGA’s Twitch channel on April 5, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael and Chris begin by checking in on the status of the professional go community in Japan, and they also talk about Michael’s YouTube channel, which he had just launched.
“In this game, AlphaGo is going to look a bit like two human players,” Michael says. The game starts with the mini-Chinese opening and the rest of the game “looks like a game two human players would play, but then it gets weird in the endgame.”
Also, tune in this Sunday on Twitch at 7p EDT for another live commentary on the historic 2016 AlphaGo vs Lee Sedol match; and you get to help choose which game Michael and Chris analyze! Click here now to vote!
AG #40 produced by Stephen Hu, Allen Moy and Chris Garlock
The AGA Board is meeting on Sunday, May 17th at 8pm EDT. Topics of discussion include: Financials, Investment Report, Budget, International Affairs, Update on Teaching, Update on Congress, a Privacy Policy, Online Ratings, and topics related to Coronavirus and no US Go Congress in 2020. For more information, you can find the detailed agenda here.
Are you an AGA member interested in listening in to the meeting? Please contact the Chairperson at lisa.scott@usgo.org for call-in information.
Are you interested in commenting on past board meeting minutes? You can submit your comments here, and they’ll be available to entire board and relevant officers. Past minutes are available here.
Brian Allen, Operations Manager, Seattle Go Center
Nick Sibicky in Cyberspace
The Seattle Go Center has been closed due to coronavirus precautions for almost two months now. I still go there to check on the building, and to do office work. The neighborhood is much quieter, due to a huge reduction in traffic on nearby I-5, and in jets crossing above. The veterinary clinic downstairs is still open for urgent care, so the building doesn’t feel too lonely. They recently changed their name to “Caring Pet Clinic”, and put up new signs.
The pet clinic pays us rent, so it is very good to see them still open. Our financial situation is stable for now, but I worry about the effects of a long closure on the Go Center. Meanwhile, the plans for developing the property, with space for us in the new building, are proceeding energetically, despite COVID-19 worries. The property is owned by our benefactor, the Nihon Ki-in of Japan.
Our March calendar showed that we were planning to be open five days a week. It also showed nine weekly meet-ups in the Seattle-Tacoma area, and two major festivals for outreach in April: Sakura-Con and Cherry Blossom Festival. Tuesdays were our big days; we had 20-40 visitors each Tuesday this winter. All that has changed. Some of those Tuesday players are meeting on go servers now at the same time of the week. Go Center Member Bob (Mingcun) Fan reports that he is now playing Mr. Yao on OGS, and then they have a phone call to review the game. This is happening with some of the meet-ups too. The Zoka coffeehouse group that used to meet in person on Monday and Friday mornings now meets on the KGS server, using the Go Center “room”. Member Frank Brown writes that about six players have made the transition, while three others have not, for various reasons.
Member Dan Cooper is sad that the Seattle Go Center closed. He really enjoyed watching other people’s games in person. Now he spends a lot of time watching games on KGS in his apartment. Deborah Niedermeyer misses “Go Center players’ quiet wry humor, accompanied by the rhythm of clicking stones.” Now she sometimes plays quick games online, sandbagging as “Goldilocks”.
Seattle Go Center members have been taking advantage of online Go education for years. Some have private online lessons with pros, while others are part of the American Yunguseng Dojang. Our Wednesday SDK class with Jonathan (Chin Jung) Cheng has now gone completely online. This class is designed for 9K – 1D players. He is doing a series on using opening moves suggest by AI. Jonathan teaches the class live on Wednesdays from 6-7 pm PDT through Zoom. He also posts the lectures afterwards on YouTube .
Before COVID-19, Nick Sibicky used to give his DDK lectures in front of a live audience at the Go Center on Monday nights, and then posted them on Youtube. Now he is recording them at home. He is up to lecture #387! Nick’s popular lessons were originally intended for double digit kyu players, but his scope has widened to include many issues of interest to stronger players as well. His most recent lecture at the Go Center was with Nihon Ki-in Pro Daiki Komatsu in early March.
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee recently announced “Washington’s Phased Approach” to reopening, with four phases. The Seattle Go Center Board of Directors will meet online to decide how our organization fits into the opening rubric. Certainly, it will be a while before we open. In the meantime, I will finish washing all the go stones. Photo and Report by Brian Allen, Operations Manager, Seattle Go Center.
Dave Weimer reports that the April 25th to May 1st issue of The Economist includes an obituary for mathematician John Horton Conway on page 82, who died at age 82. He taught at Cambridge and Princeton, and was famous for inventing the Game of Life, which was widely played after it was published in Scientific American in 1970. He discovered “surreal numbers” and made contributions to a variety of fields in mathematics. “He seems to have been a bit eccentric,” says Weimer. “The following passage caught my attention: ‘Or, ensconced in some hallway nook, he would just observe a game. It had been while watching Go players that he realized each game contained many sub-games; and this had led him, first, to surreal numbers, and second to the light-bulb thought that playing games was not a distraction from mathematics. It was mathematics.'”
LIVE TONIGHT: Redmond and Garlock on AlphaGo vs AlphaGo, Game 42
Sunday May 24, 2020
Tune in to the AGA’s Twitch channel tonight at 7p EDT to catch the live commentary by Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock on AlphaGo vs AlphaGo Game 42. Viewers will be able to ask Redmond and Garlock questions during the live commentary.
Also of interest: The 2020 China-US Internet Go Tournament, Day 1 with commentary by Kim Yoonyoung 8p (Originally aired on April 14, 2020).
AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo with Michael Redmond 9p: Game 40. Originally broadcast live on the AGA’s Twitch channel on April 5, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael and Chris begin by checking in on the status of the professional go community in Japan, and they also talk about Michael’s YouTube channel, which he had just launched.