AlphaGo versus Lee Sedol
AlphaGo versus Lee Sedol, also known as the DeepMind Challenge Match, was a five-game Go match between top Go player Lee Sedol and AlphaGo, a computer Go program developed by DeepMind, played in Seoul, South Korea between 9 and 15 March 2016. AlphaGo won all but the fourth game; all games were won by resignation. The match has been compared with the historic chess match between Deep Blue and Garry Kasparov in 1997.
| Seoul, South Korea, 9–15 March 2016 | |
|---|---|
| Game one | AlphaGo W+R |
| Game two | AlphaGo B+R |
| Game three | AlphaGo W+R |
| Game four | Lee Sedol W+R |
| Game five | AlphaGo W+R |
The winner of the match was slated to win $1 million. Since AlphaGo won, Google DeepMind stated that the prize will be donated to charities, including UNICEF, and Go organisations. Lee received $170,000 ($150,000 for participating in the five games and an additional $20,000 for winning one game).
After the match, The Korea Baduk Association awarded AlphaGo the highest Go grandmaster rank – an "honorary 9 dan". It was given in recognition of AlphaGo's "sincere efforts" to master Go. This match was chosen by Science as one of the runners-up for Breakthrough of the Year, on 22 December 2016.