Shin Jin-seo secured a victory playing as Black with a 11.5-point margin in the final match of a three-game series. The game lasted 3 hours and 5 minutes. With this victory, Shin has become the first human to defeat a state-of-the-art Go AI in an official series played with a two-stone handicap.
World No. 1 Shin Jin-seo Defeats Go AI KataGo with a Two-Stone Handicap
This article is a translation. Read the Japanese original
Although Shin suffered a significant defeat to KataGo in the first match of the series, he staged a comeback in the second match. In the third match, he played a game emphasizing defense and territory securing. It is reported that Shin built the board through an attack launched on the 80th move, maintaining a 99% win rate from the mid-game onwards.
Following the match, Shin said that he learned the importance of constructing the board in his own style rather than imitating the AI. He also stated that this series holds great significance.
Shin was awarded 250 million KRW as playing fees and prize money, along with a luxury sedan as a special prize. Considering the gap in skill between modern AI and humans, this match was conducted under conditions that provided a handicap.