Supercomputer with innovative software beats Go Professional

For the very first time in history, and after 40 years of research, a program defeated a professional Go player in a 9 stones handicap game. This success was the result of revolutionary algorithms that were invented in the period 2006-2008. The match involved the collaboration between French researchers, who developed most of the software, and Dutch researchers, who provided the cutting-edge Supercomputer Huygens and contributed to the code. “MoGo played really well,” said Kim, who estimated its current strength at “two or maybe three dan,” though he noted that the program – which had a processing power more than 1000 times higher than the chess program Deep Blue – “made some 5-dan moves.” “I think there’s no chance on nine stones, it would even be difficult with eight stones. MoGo played really well; after getting a lead, every time I played aggressively, it just played safely, even when it meant sacrificing some stones. It didn’t try to maximize the win and just played the most sure way to win. It’s like a machine.” The game was played live the 7th of August at the U.S. Go Congress, with over 500 watching online on the internet Go server KGS.