[math-fun] Sedol loses game 1: In defense of the final move
While I agree with Warren D. Smith's observation that game programs can have bugs that may be triggered by playing the game out (which I simplify to "You can't win by losing."), there are practical and abstract reasons that resigning a good move. On the practical side, go programs are best in the yose (end-game) phase, where plausible moves are much more limited than in the opening or middle game. As Michael Redmond (the 9-dan commentator on the YouTube stream) observed, there are programs on the go servers that can solve even very difficult life and death problems. In the end-game there's a dance between the players where they tidy up the boundaries between settled groups in an order determined by maximizing relative value and retaining initiative ("sente"). There's an optimal order, and Lee Sedol knew from AlphaGo's five published games that the program could handle it. Given that confidence (misplaced or not), tactically it made sense for Lee to save his energy for the next game in the match, which will start 24 hours after the first one. Playing tournament-length matches on subsequent days is hard -- it's rather like a baseball pitcher pitching two days in a row -- and Lee Sedol had just gotten off a grueling string of games in the Nongshim Cup where he'd played games on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th of March against top competition. My pitch for an abstract reason is more... abstract. He could read on the board that he had lost by a few points - less than the komi (the bonus given to the white player to make up for the advantage of black's first move) but still obvious to a top professional. All the top go players as well as duffers like me will be studying this game for generations. Playing it out and hoping for the box to blow a transistor would be like completing a masterpiece oil painting and then signing it across the center in red. To get a feel for this, read "The Master of Go" by Yasunari Kawabata. It's better to lose a uniquely ground-breaking game played brilliantly on both sides than win by a bug. Lee Sedol still has four games to go - it appears that they were evenly matched, so there's still a good chance that he can win the match -- especially if he wins in the middle-game, which is his forte. -- Jim Gillogly
Yes. Resigning here was simply proper etiquette. To not resign when you can read out a loss is showing disrespect to your opponent, something a pro would never do (regardless of the fact that in this case, the opponent was not human). It would be very embarrassing. Bob Hearn
On Mar 9, 2016, at 9:58 AM, Jim Gillogly <scryer@gmail.com <mailto:scryer@gmail.com>> wrote:
My pitch for an abstract reason is more... abstract. He could read on the board that he had lost by a few points - less than the komi (the bonus given to the white player to make up for the advantage of black's first move) but still obvious to a top professional. All the top go players as well as duffers like me will be studying this game for generations. Playing it out and hoping for the box to blow a transistor would be like completing a masterpiece oil painting and then signing it across the center in red.
participants (2)
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Bob Hearn -
Jim Gillogly