igomath
Igo Hiroba 囲碁広場
2021 Fall Semester - Virtual Themed House
Do you want to be a better decision-maker? Do you want to be a storyteller that everyone likes listening to? Believe it or not, the ancient game of Go can help you to achieve these grand goals. How? Once your game is finished, the real work begins. Analyzing, discussing, narrating a game record can lead you on the path of self-improvement, and these activities are inherently social.
The main purpose of the house is to provide a place for discussing self-development and the improvement of decision making skills using the ancient game of Go as a shared experience. It is meant to be a friendly and welcoming place and a home for serious thinking efforts at the same time.
In more detail, the proposed house aims to provide opportunities to
- interact and communicate with other students;
- have a first-person experience of self-development and improvement through social collaboration;
- understand what is lacking from the current AI systems, the cognitive power of narratives;
- to learn about an important piece of Asian and Japanese culture.
For thousands of years the game of Go has been recognized for its capacity to make its players better people, for its holistic educational value. The proposed house puts emphasis on the self-expression and communication skills of the participants, and the game is still relevant for these purposes for several reasons.
It is accessible and equalizing, i.e. it is easy to learn and requires no previous experience in board games. The unique handicap system allows players of different skill levels to play each other in a meaningful way.
It serves as a common background for communication. Like watching the same movie provides something to talk about, playing the same game gives an interesting topic to discuss.
Progress is measurable. Playing and reviewing games leads to deeper understanding that has precisely quantified numerical measures (self-correcting ratings).
The ultimate goal is that participants will be able to do knowledge transfer, i.e. the ways to achieve the experience of progress can be used in other fields, most notably in mathematics and computing. Several of the objectives above are listed in the syllabus of the MAT230 course (AI, Math and Games: Igo Math), however due to the lack of time and the distorting effect of grading, it is not possible to realize all the benefits of the social game review approach in the classroom.
Activity Plan
Weekly ZOOM meetings for reviewing games played elsewhere (over the board or online). Thus, playing the game is not an activity in the meeting. It is about discussing the strategic plans, tactical achievements and mistakes, ways for improving, finding better moves in specific situations. Here are some guiding questions for a game commentary that can serve as a starting point for a discussion.
Who/What was the opponent? How strong? Where was it played? When? Under what circumstances? Provide game information: komi, handicap, time control. Describe the overall character of the game, Was it a peaceful one? Did it have some fierce fight? For each of your moves (except the most obvious ones, like endgame moves), consider the following questions. What was the purpose of this move? What did you think? What did it achieve? Also, for the opponent’s moves, Was the opponent’s move surprising? Did it change your plans? Regarding the whole game, What was the deciding move? Who had the initiative?
It is a basic Go wisdom that the most efficient way of learning is reviewing games. Also, Go has a very strong review culture. Even after two days long professional games, the players still take time to discuss the game on the spot late in the evening.
There are very good online tools for facilitating such a group discussion (e.g. the game review feature of the OGS server).
The time commitment for sensible participation in the themed house is expected to be no more than 2 hours per week (1 hour review meeting, and 1 hour playing).
Optional Activities
If there are many participants, then it makes sense to have game reviews in a teaching ladder. Players get advice from stronger players and give advice to weaker players. This way the knowledge gap is kept small, minimizing the chance that an explanation is not understood.
Beyond reviewing own games it is often useful and interesting to analyze professional and historical games. Participants may prepare short presentations of game reviews. Alternatively, the presentations can feature different aspects of the game: deeper cultural connections (e.g. as in the book ‘Buddhist Philosophy and the game of Go’ by William Cobb, Slate & Shell 2021.), or software packages that help in learning the game.
2021 Spring Semester - Quarantine Evenings
If you have limited opportunities for social interaction, here is one. Igo Hiroba offers evening Zoom sessions, for puzzles, playing/observing/discussing games or just having a chat about artificial intelligence, computers, life, universe and everything. Beginners welcome!
2020 Spring Semester
Igo Hiroba is the `place’ to learn and play the ancient game of Go, to talk about the personal quest for improving (in anything), discuss latest AI technologies, or simply for having a nice chat over the board.
Igo Hiroba is open to everyone in the AIU community. As the campus is closed for this semester, we move online. To connect to the meetings, please send a message egri-nagy at aiu.ac.jp.
- Beginners are welcome! The basic rules are very simple, therefore we can start playing after a few minutes.
- Friendly games, with lots of discussions.
- Game reviews for quick development.
- The games played here will get superhuman AI analysis.
| Dates | Time | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 27 | 10:00-11:00 | One new player. |
| Apr 30 | 10:00-11:00 | |
| May 7 | 10:00-11:00 |
More events to come!
2019 Fall Semester
Logical thinking, decision making, handling pressure, being able to recover from failures - skills you need. Undoubtedly. So, where do you practise them? Out there in real life, where stakes are high? Or, comfortably sitting in a cafe, sipping your favourite drink, by playing an ancient yet timeless board game. Your choice. The opportunity is here.
Beginners are welcome! Special fast track programme based on small-board midgame problems is prepared for them. Games are offered on 9x9, or 13x13. For playing on the full board, please contact in advance.
Location: College Cafe (or Student Hall if there is no available table in the Cafe, or outside of Cafe if weather is fine)
Time: lunchtime on the following dates, no need to book, just come to the table where you can see the Go boards
| Dates | Information |
|---|---|
| Sept 2 | 12:00 - 13:00 |
| Sept 4 | 13:00 - 14:00 |
| Sept 9 | 12:00 - 13:00 two beginners joined (1 student, 1 faculty) |
| Sept 11 | 12:00 - 13:00 one new player, 2 5x5, 4 9x9 games |
| Sept 18 | 13:00 - 14:00 1 player |
| Sept 23 | 12:00 - 13:00 historical moment: 2 players playing a real game |
| Sept 25 | 12:00 - 13:00 1 player |
| Sept 30 | 12:00 - 13:00 2 players, 1 new, 1-dan |
| Oct 2 | 11:30 - 12:30 1 player, 2 games |
| Oct 7 | 12:00 - 13:00 |
| Oct 9 | 12:00 - 13:00 1 player, 1 game (recorded and analyzed) |
| Oct 13,14 | Igo Playroom at AIU festival more info |
| Oct 16 | 12:00 - 13:00 this was not included before by mistake, 1 new player |
| Oct 21 | 12:00 - 13:00 |
| Oct 23 | 12:00 - 13:00 |
| Oct 28 | 12:00 - 13:00 3 players (2 new) |
| Oct 30 | 12:00 - 13:00 2 players |
| Nov 4 | 12:00 - 13:00 1 player |
| Nov 6 | 13:00 - 14:00 2 players |
| Nov 11 | 12:00 - 13:00 2 players |
| Nov 13 | 11:00 - 12:00 an hour earlier due to a meeting, 1 player |
| Nov 18 | 12:00 - 13:00 2 players, 1 kibitz |
| Nov 20 | 12:00 - 13:00 3 players (1 new) |
| Nov 25 | 12:00 - 13:00 3 players (1 new) |
| Nov 27 | CANCELLED due to a LiterAkita event |
| Dec 2 | 12:00 - 13:00 2 players |
| Dec 4 | 13:00-14:00 2 players |
| Dec 9 | 12:00 - 13:00 2 players (1 new) |
| Dec 11 | 12:00 - 13:00 1 player |
| Dec 16 | 12:00 - 13:00 2 players |
| Dec 18 | 13:00 - 14:00 an hour later due to Faculty Forum, 1 player |
2019 Spring Semester
You can take a free lesson on how to play Igo, or you can give one by showing your skills. You can solve Go puzzles, or simply just have a game and chat about it. Just come to the table with the Go boards. If you wish to secure a slot please email egri-nagy at aiu.ac.jp.
…a bit of thinking will not make you less smart…
Location: College Cafe (or Student Hall if there is no available table in the Cafe, or outside of Cafe if weather is fine)
Time: lunchtime on the following dates
| Dates | Information |
|---|---|
| April 15th | 12:00 - 13:00 1 player, 2 games and tsumegos |
| April 22nd | 12:00 - 13:00 1 player, 1 serious game with interesting turns and twists |
| May 6th | 12:00 - 13:00 Cafe closed |
| May 13th | 12:00 - 13:00 1 player, 1 spectator, a tutoring and a handicap game, one tsumego |
| May 20th | 12:00 - 13:00 |
| May 27th | 12:00 - 13:00 |
| June 3rd | 12:00 - 13:00 |
| June 10th | 12:00 - 13:00 1 player, 3 handicap games, 4 tsumegos discussing two eyes/false eyes |
| June 17th | 12:00 - 13:00 |
| June 24th | 12:00 - 13:00 |
| July 1st | 12:00 - 13:00 |
| July 8th | 12:00 - 13:00 2 players, 3 games |
| July 15th | 12:00 - 13:00 Cafe closed |
| July 22nd | 12:00 - 13:00 1 player, two games (5x5, 9x9), elementary tsumegos |
| July 29th | 12:00 -13:00 1 player, 5x5 midgame puzzles |
after that, sessions will continue in the Fall semester