There is a new capture go app for Apple devices, designed for the very young. “I created this app for my six-year-old grandson who was showing interest in my go playing, but was not yet mature enough to understand ko fights, trade-offs, and sacrifice,” says developer Tim Hoel. The app walks users through rules and basic concepts, all with spoken narration. Beginners can see examples of how situations play out, and then find solutions themselves. Simple lessons build from there, of which there are several, and then you can play against the computer. It has three difficulty levels, so players can move up against the machine. At level three, it is smart enough to occasionally catch even an experienced player. Level one stays easy enough to keep young kids from getting frustrated. Lessons can be reviewed at any point, and the rules are printed out in a separate tab as well. As this is capture go, and not regular go, one has to keep playing until one or more stones are captured. Passing is not an option, which means you will need to fill in your own eye if there are no other moves. Young players likely won’t make it to this point anytime soon, but when they do, it is arguable they are ready for full go. “Capture Go is a great way to get started because the rules are a little simpler and the goal is easy to understand, but it still teaches a lot about recognizing liberties, contact fights, forcing sequences, and planning ahead,” adds Hoel. iPhone and iPad users can find the free app in the App Store, there is no Android version. -Paul Barchilon, EJ Youth Editor
9P’s commentaries with E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock. The episode was recorded live on 
Friday, September 7 at the National Go Center in Washington DC, before a live audience, which had braved torrential rains to be on hand. Redmond first provides a brief overview of the game and then the two move to a demonstration board (at 18:40) for a more in-depth analysis, along with Q&A with the live audience. Check out the video here and the commented game record below.
AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo; Game 24: More human?
Saturday November 17, 2018
“It could be that the way humans play go is changing, but in this game AlphaGo plays a lot of moves that human players are
playing these days,” says Michael Redmond 9P in the latest installment of his game commentaries with E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock. “There’s a lot of fighting, as usual, but the territory is balanced and right up into the endgame there are groups whose life and death status is ambiguous,” Redmond says. “That affects the way the endgame is played, which makes it really interesting.”
Thanks to NGC Executive Director Gurujeet Khalsa for technical support, Jeff Fitzgerald for camera, lighting and sound; produced by Nathan Epstein and Michael Wanek.
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