Go: Is the portable old man the nine-time champion?

Chapter 423 Times are Changing

"There is actually a fixed pattern here. I touch the left side, then Black chooses to extend upwards, I follow suit and extend upwards, then Black makes a flying move, and I push downwards."

This seems like a situation where each side gets one side, resulting in a 50/50 split. No one loses out, and it looks very straightforward, hence this established pattern.

However, AlphaGo previously demonstrated an unconventional and innovative move in online games, choosing to block directly from the right side.

Although some people briefly considered similar ideas in the past, they were quickly rejected by the entire Go community. Everyone generally believed that blocking in that way would be a bad move because it would severely limit one's liberties.

Even now, this move seems like a clumsy one, because many times people hope to keep a certain distance between their pieces at the beginning of the game, and not to stick so close together right away, as that is not a good move.

However, after AlphaGo played this move, everyone realized that it was not a simplistic move, because there was no good way to deal with it after it played this move, and the originally thought-out solutions were completely useless.

You can't explain this with existing traditional Go theory; it doesn't make sense logically, but he's still a good player.

Real-world practice doesn't lie; it's always been the fairest judge. So, the problem actually lies in the initial nature of our Go theory. Although many people haven't fully grasped it, the effect here is that many people immediately start playing.

However, I still hope everyone can change their mindset more directly. There's a huge difference between blindly imitating others and simply copying their walk. Whoever can truly change their mindset will progress much faster.

At this moment, Yi Zheng was intently staring at the situation on the chessboard and began to explain it to everyone in detail.

The Go world has changed so rapidly in the past two years that many Go teaching systems haven't kept up with the trend. Yi Zheng himself feels that he won't hold back any of the parts he can explain during his live streams and is willing to share them all.

Many people think that AI Go is unreasonable, domineering, and inexplicable, purely based on calculation.

It's actually a flawed viewpoint; it simply breaks with existing theories. However, it doesn't tell you the correct theory, only the path, requiring you to think and summarize based on its approach.

Like magic, many people believe that magic is essentially a science.

Therefore, you must carefully study his moves and understand what he is "thinking" in order to truly play AI Go.

Looking at the explanation from the other side and the shapes on the chessboard, Yun Linglei couldn't help but sigh. The change in the lower right corner of this game was something AlphaGo had previously played against another top player, and everyone had studied it.

The reason why the Go community originally thought that blocking was not good was because if the move involved the player himself and Yi Zheng, Black could directly turn out.

Once the black stones turn outwards, they can both move inwards and push forward, forming a tacit understanding on both sides, seemingly giving them a complete advantage.

But AlphaGo tells you, it doesn't matter if you rush in, I'll just climb the second lane, and I'll eventually eat your corner.

So now, everyone has realized that what was originally considered a good turn can no longer be made. The national team has studied this privately, but everyone has their own opinions. After a long period of research, Yun Linglei believes that a jump should be made here.

Furthermore, his jump here contains a little trap, tempting those who are not familiar with this place, whose first instinct will definitely be to charge.

But actually, you can't rush in here. If you do, the two white stones on the right will have no way to escape. It might seem like rushing out would be satisfying, but it's actually very damaging.

So brothers, don't rush in!
Yi Zheng could definitely see through Yun Linglei's little scheme, so naturally he wouldn't charge at him.

Li Zongrui, who was watching the game, couldn't help but exclaim, "This is absolutely an unprecedented and completely new change, completely altering our previous thinking."

Watching the new developments that Yi Zheng and the unknown player in the lower right corner had just begun, many top professional players couldn't help but stroke their chins and fall into deep thought, trying to figure out the mystery behind it.

Lunar New Year's Eve is supposed to be a day of rest, but because of Yi Zheng's live stream, everyone is now watching his live stream, afraid of missing anything.

It's not so bad for the athletes from Europe and America in this world. Although they are also influenced by the New Year customs there, it's not widespread, just like the influence of Christmas on China in another world.

However, Chinese players, including those having their New Year's Eve dinner, were all watching the live stream on their phones, forced into a state of intense competition. It seems the Go world has entered an era of intense competition.

Regarding this particular approach, everyone has discussed and researched it to some extent, but their experiences and understandings differ. The new approach presented by this person in collaboration with Yi Zheng is undoubtedly worth learning from and referencing.

"The times are changing faster and faster."

Many players watching the live stream couldn't help but marvel at how novel changes that were rarely seen in major official competitions even once every year or two were now frequently appearing in ordinary online matches, which seemed almost unbelievable.

However, as people see more and more of this, they seem to get used to it, because there are so many new changes. People can only keep learning to keep up with the times.

However, there are still some older people in ordinary professions who feel they can no longer keep up because their learning ability has declined and they simply can't keep up.

However, once you haven't done much research, you find that you can't understand many of the games you're playing when you enter a match.

I originally thought that once I reached the professional level, there wouldn't be much left to memorize. But now, the new generation of professionals has discovered that everything I memorized during my studies has been overturned, and I have to memorize everything from scratch.

Have I wasted all these years of my education?!

Professor Ke: It wasn't a waste of time! Once artificial intelligence is truly developed, there will be new changes every day!
It is said that many people have already made an AlphaGo dog puppet and a Yi Zheng puppet, and are secretly poking them with small needles.

After all, I finally thought that I wouldn't have to study anymore once I finished the college entrance exam and went to university, but who knew that a reform would come and university would become like high school.

So you're trying to fleece us young people, huh?
Yi Zheng had previously studied similar variations with Ke Lao. Black could block from above here because there is a very good tesuji on the right side, and there are also some exciting moves to follow.

However, Yun Linglei's direct ko fight is also an option, but it immediately complicates the game.

Clearly, Yun Linglei did not simply treat this game as a game where he would give up the first move; he showed no intention of backing down.

(End of this chapter)