According to Yonhap, the world number one Korean player Shin Jin-sung defeated the Go AI model KataGo by 11.5 points in the final round of the 'Precise Mathematics·Korean Chess God War' held at the Korea Chess Academy on the 21st. The total score was 2-1, marking a victory for the human-machine battle.
According to reports, this committee continues to adopt the rules that allow Shen Zhenyu to retain his time of 5 hours for each move, with one additional move taking 30 seconds. KataGo does not have a total time limit for each move, but each move must be completed within 20 seconds.
On July 21st, Shin Jin-su (right) defeated the Go AI model KataGo by 11.5 points in the final round of the "Elite Mathematics·Han Gyeonggi Chess God Battle" held at the Korean Chess Academy. Yonhap News Agency
At the start of the game, Shen Zhenyu has a lead of 18.5 points, with a winning rate of 99%. KataGo changed the opening strategy from the previous two games; his first move was to the upper left-hand corner, while Shen Zhenyu responded with a move to the lower right-hand corner. Both sides proceeded with a steady layout.
There was no intense middle-game fighting in this match. The two sides mainly engaged in a drawn-out battle, which coincided with the strategy of "avoiding conflict and securing a stable position" revealed by Shin Jin-sung before the match. He launched an attack in the 80th move, constructing a large black power structure from above to the middle of the board, successfully turning it into an advantage in the real estate, and securing a win early on. After the situation became clear, Shin Jin-sung continued to be cautious and repeatedly checked the number of moves, steadily progressing until the end of the game.
Ultimately, with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss, Shin Jin-yup received a bonus of 250 million Korean won (approximately 1.15 million yuan), including the match fees, and was also given a Genesis G90 sedan.
It is noteworthy that this human-machine battle was not a match under equal conditions. According to the Korean newspaper ‘Chosun Daily’, KataGo had previously achieved overwhelming victories in games against professional players where they conceded 2 points. Therefore, Seon Jin-seung’s two consecutive wins are particularly significant.
According to Yonhap, there was widespread skepticism among the industry before the match, believing that it would be considered a success if Shin Zhenyu won even one game. This reverse turn of events, with two consecutive wins, fully demonstrates that human players still have the potential to compete with top AI and continue to improve.
In 2016, South Korean chess player Lee Sedol, ranked 9th dan, faced AlphaGo and lost by a score of 1-4. Later, Chinese chess player Ke Jie, also ranked 9th dan, was defeated by AlphaGo with a score of 0-3.
