Leela
Leela is a Go program by Gian-Carlo Pascutto, author of the strong chess program Sjeng. As of February 2008, the website states that Leela plays at the 4 kyu level on a 19x19 board, and at a high dan level on a 9x9 board. ( KGS rank of LeelaBot? - a sample of recent games is available via KGS as well)
Website
Implementation
According to its web site, Leela is a mix of different approaches. It seems to use a Monte Carlo engine, because when it wins, it wins with 0.5 points.
Strengths
- Like other Monte Carlo programs, it performs well against traditional Go programs.
- Leela likes to make a large moyo in the center, which often compensates for the opponent having all four corners.
Weaknesses
- Leela likes to play long sequences of ataris. Against weaker players this often works, but stronger players can easily beat the engine by playing solidly.
- Like GNU Go, its impression about the status of groups isn't always correct, and sometimes it just misses to save a large group from being killed.
Comment
Tapir: I don't know whether this is appropriate on this page. After looking at some of Leelabots game records I got the impression it is especially good in exposing some major weaknesses of the single digit kyus it wins against - lack of whole board thinking, passivity/following Leela around, not counting, weak at invading / breaking up frameworks...