A brief introduction to Go

Go is a board game that was first recorded in China two millennia ago. Similar to other common board games, such as chess, shogi, and Othello, Go involves two players alternately placing black and white stones on a 19x19 board with the objective of capturing as much territory as possible by surrounding a larger total area of the board. One can capture their opponent's pieces by surrounding the opponent's pieces with their own pieces. Captured stones are removed from the board, thereby creating a void in which the opponent can no longer place stones unless the territory is captured back.

A game ends when both players refuse to place a stone or either player resigns. Upon the termination of a game, the winner is decided by counting each player's territory and the number of captured stones.

Go and other board games

Researchers have already created AI programs that outperform the best human players in board games such as chess and backgammon. In 1992, researchers from...