In October 2015, AlphaGo played its first match against the reigning three-time European Champion, Mr Fan Hui. AlphaGo won the first ever game against a Go professional with a score of 5-0.
AlphaGo then competed against legendary Go player Mr Lee Sedol, the winner of 18 world titles, who is widely considered the greatest player of the past decade. AlphaGo’s 4-1 victory in Seoul, South Korea, on March 2016 was watched by over 200 million people worldwide. This landmark achievement was a decade ahead of its time.
Inventing winning moves
The game earned AlphaGo a 9 dan professional ranking, the highest certification. This was the first time a computer Go player had ever received the accolade. During the games, AlphaGo played several inventive winning moves, several of which – including move 37 in game two – were so surprising that they upended hundreds of years of wisdom. Players of all levels have extensively examined these moves ever since.
Playing the online Master
In January 2017, we revealed an improved, online version of AlphaGo called Master. This online player achieved 60 straight wins in time-control games against top international players.
The Chinese summit
Four months later, AlphaGo took part in the Future of Go Summit in China, the birthplace of Go. The five-day festival created an opportunity to explore the mysteries of Go in a spirit of mutual collaboration with the country’s top players. Designed to help unearth even more strategic moves, the summit included various game formats such as pair Go, team Go, and a match with the world’s number one player Ke Jie.
