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Comment by karamazov | Hacker News Reader

For those interested in learning to play, Kiseido Go Server (https://www.gokgs.com) has a fantastic community of users - from total beginners to professional players. It also has an intro you can skim, but don't spend too much time with it - just like programming, the best way to learn Go is to dive in headfirst.

(Don't make the mistake of practicing against a computer to start. AI plays very differently from humans, and you'll develop weird habits.)

If you're in New York and interested in an in-person game, send me an email - ben at datanitro dot com.

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The warnings against AI are overstated. It's fine to start off playing AI. By the time you're out of the 20K range, you'll start noticing that you're only winning against AIs your level because they're acting dumb. It isn't good to scare off beginners. Especially as it can feel a bit tense, playing online. AI warning is good for better players, but they should know better anyways. The real issue with AI is finding one worth playing as a beginner, especially on 9x9. Sure, you can take a big handicap, but I'm not sure there are any useful AIs at that level to have even games with.

Another good resource is DGS : dragongoserver.net. An open source turn based (correspondence) Go server. It's easy to play as there's no time pressure, and you can fire up several games at a time.

I concur. There are several computer players on KGS that are rated between 1kyu and 5dan.

Put another way, at my peak I played 5 games against Kyoto's strongest amateur player (~7 dan), holding black. I won 1 and was handily smote (no contest) in the 4 others. After leaving Go for a few years, I've come back to be beaten by the 1kyu AI.

The high kyu/dan level programs are worth playing against. The ones under 20 kyu aren't - they don't play the sort of game you can learn from, especially when you're getting started and don't know what things are supposed to look like.

There aren't any useful AIs to have games with at that level - the mistakes they make are totally unlike how real 30 kyu players play. That's why it's not worth playing them.

Plus, the folks on KGS are friendly, and there are always plenty of other 30 kyus to play with. No need for it to be tense.

I have always played bots with a handicap ratheer than artificial weakening, I think it's a good learnng experience. Humans are better opponents, but an AI doesn't care if you abandon or save the game, so it's great for when you might be interrupted or can't give the game your full attention.

Exactly. I played hundreds of 9x9 games against Hactar (which is probably 10-5K, but I thought it was supposed to be closer to 20) when I was starting. The freedom to quickly resign when I realized I'd made a critical mistake, the freedom to start and stop anytime- that gave me the boost to start really playing and got me to the low 20s.

You should use handicap. Handicap is absolutely normal in Go. Coming from South Korea, I was shocked to find that some western players avoid playing Go with handicap.

The AIs are so much better that you have to use pointless handicap to get a fair game. One beginner AI played at a 10K to 5K level (as measured against MFOG). Plus sometimes you just want an even game - it's a somewhat different feel.

Another great server is the Online Go Server (http://online-go.com/).

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