steve uurtamo said: >> I have read dozens of times that computer-Go is the next big >> challenge. But in fact it is a completly amateuristic field where even >> the most basic things are missing. > > one thing that it seems to have plenty of is chess programmers who are > shocked and surprised that their lack of knowledge about the game of go > somehow seems to affect their ability to write a go playing program.
One chess player I taught (who quickly surpassed me) found many strategic principles common to both games. But the basic strategic principles of go are highly counterintuitive to most chess players. (I like to think that much of the tone of oriental culture may have originated in efforts to make sense of go strategy...) There is such a thing in chess as "a premature attack," but not to the extent where leaving an opponent alone (not to "strengthen" him by attacking) in an area you hoped to attack later would be a common consideration. A tempo can be important in a chess game, but it's seldom as important as a piece--and sacrifices are much more natural in a game like go, where a tempo and a piece are the very same thing. I see strong players using the center a lot in modern go games, but the center in chess is critical while in go it's just another area. Sente is crucial in go, but no one gets to keep it throughout a game--and pressing an opponent with no particular object in mind is more likely to backfire than pay off. For whatever reason, good chess players often have trouble catching on to good style, although many chess-playing skills prove useful later. One major difference is in how far ahead a player can (and sometimes must) read out a position--ladders being the main example. (Some 30 moves ahead without a branch, or with perhaps one or two--and the human advantage is the ability to automatically reject the many irrelevant branches a program would need to consider in such positions.) Forrest Curo ----------------------------------------- This email was sent using AIS WebMail. http://www.americanis.net/ _______________________________________________ computer-go mailing list [email protected] http://www.computer-go.org/mailman/listinfo/computer-go/
