Anybody play go / baduk / weichi

[markwongsk]

Seems like everybody is playing Chess here. But since it's a fun game section, anybody who play Go (weichi/baduk) here? I personally like it more than Chess.

[chiunlin]

I play Chinese Chess/Chess/Go(in order of preference and strength).

[FCHP]

In order of which games I learned first Chess / Chinese Chess / Go

I learned Go the last but I think its the most elegant.

I'm more of a fan rather than a player in them though, maybe due to the following

Go (5) / Chess (6) / Chinese Chess ( 8 ) in order of the youngest age of opponents to have beat me.

[chongkeat]

I learned Go the last but I think its the most elegant.

Hmm, interesting. I prefer complex games e.g. plenty of rules, possiblities.

So, Favourite => Master of Orion => Chinese Chess => Chess => Go => Tic-Tac Toe => Least favourite

[bluez_aspic]

No way, go is far more complex than chess. I flirted with it for several weeks (after reading Hikaru no Go) - I don't like it, but that's also because I suck big time at it.

[chiunlin]

In terms of game complexity, it's Go > Chinese Chess > Chess. Although we have Deep Blue that had beaten a World Champion, we have yet to have a computer program strong enough to beat the number 1 ranked player in Chinese Chess(there was a showcase match not long ago but the result was a draw, and the timing was in favor of the computer program). As for Go, last I remember, the strongest computer program is about 5-6 Dan.

[youngyew]

I thought Chess would be more complex than Chinese Chess due to the freedom of the King and Queen?

[FCHP]

Originally Posted by chiunlin

In terms of game complexity, it's Go > Chinese Chess > Chess. Although we have Deep Blue that had beaten a World Champion, we have yet to have a computer program strong enough to beat the number 1 ranked player in Chinese Chess(there was a showcase match not long ago but the result was a draw, and the timing was in favor of the computer program). As for Go, last I remember, the strongest computer program is about 5-6 Dan.

The complexity ranking is correct, estimated game-tree complexity is Go (10^360), Chinese Chess (10^150), Chess (10^123).

In contrast the estimated number of atoms in the observable universe of 80 billion galaxies which each make up an estimated 400 billion stars comes to about 10^80 atoms.

As for strongest computer program for Go, I've only seen Go programs play at Dan level on the 9x9 board. On the normal 19x19 board the strongest computer program i've seen is a single digit kyu player (stronger half of the average club player, non-professional)

p.s. - 10^360 is computer language for "10 to the power of 360"

[markwongsk]

strongest go program on 9X9 board is about 5-6dan = mogo.
On 19X19 board, amateur dans can crush them. I personally like go better because it makes more sense to me. I can memorize games on go board but not on chess board =.=

[chiunlin]

Chinese Chess has a higher complexity mainly because the board is larger(9x10 vs 8x8 ). With the same number of pieces, there is more room for each piece to move around.

Yea forgot to mention that I was referring to 9x9 Go board. Most of the problems with computer Go is that most of the methods(alpha-beta search, material values, position value tables) used in a computer chess/chinese chess program either do not work as well or do not work at all. I personally feel that machine learning using neural networks and genetic algorithms is the only way to develop a world class computer Go program.