KataGo's Bad Shape Move Again –
Flying Below the Radar of Area Scoring (2019)
KataGo – like all Go playing programs, which are based on Artificial Intelligence – uses area scoring (typical for Chinese rules) for the determination of a game's result, because this kind of scoring is much easier to implement than territory scoring (typical for Japanese rules). With area scoring, occupied board points matter. This implies that the parity of played stones (even or odd) plays an important role for scoring.
The problem's starting position contains 71 White, but only 70 Black stones, which will be interpreted by area scoring that White (and not Black) started the game. So, for example, a result of White + 2 (area scoring) is equivalent to either
This equivalence is valid in all games that do not contain any surprising (and rare) endgame positions like special kinds of seki or a final ko that can be deferred until all neutral points have been filled. We can safely assume that these "exotic" shapes will not emerge in Igo Hatsuyōron 120.
Whilst further analysing variations after KataGo's new bad shape move at the left, we accidentically stumbled across a corresponding application case, which we explain below. | |
Joachim's Tesuji in the Bamboo Joint After Black's Tenuki | ![]() |
Too Much Noise for KataGo? | ![]() |
We ask for your kind understanding that we have not been able to adjust the structure of our website according to the new correct order of moves, but only added a corresponding note in the affected variations. |