See also Computer Go Programming
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There is much yet to be done in the field of computer Go. While many different approaches have been tried, the level of the best Go playing programs is still low, even compared to amateur dan players (at least 10 stones!), not to mention professionals.
Thus computer Go is a very exciting part of Artificial Intelligence (AI), many new ideas and techniques are yet to be discovered. It's interesting to note that compared to the approach which proved so successful with Chess, brute force is useless for solving Go problems given the huge branching factor of the game tree.
In fact, Go endgames been proven to be PSpace-hard, let alone other parts of the game. Also, many other aspects of Go, including life and death, are also known to be NP-hard. This means that it is very unlikely to be able to find a reasonably fast algorithm for playing perfect Go. So it looks like it's all about heuristics (surprise surprise).
Before delving into computer Go, it would behoove the novice to consider some philosophical questions about computers and Go.
Please see Go Programs for a discussion about the best programs currently available.
Some online Go servers, such as KGS, provide software opponents or robots to clients. Robot is derived from the Czech word robata meaning drudgery or slave labour which certainly describes the work needed to pummel double digit kyu players like me. PatG
Below are competitions where Go playing programs can be tested.
International Competitions:
Regional Competitions:
Small Board Competitions:
Links that appear elsewhere in senseis
(Smaller Go Bibliography, with comments) MOVED...
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Authors: Gounter, Chestnut