Life In 19x19

I really enjoy watching a game where a strong amateur gets to play a professional. Sometimes if I am lucky I stumble upon a game like that on go4go however it is very rare nowadays.

Does anyone have any clue where I could find a lot of amateur vs pro games?

Thanks.

Krama wrote:I really enjoy watching a game where a strong amateur gets to play a professional. Sometimes if I am lucky I stumble upon a game like that on go4go however it is very rare nowadays.

Does anyone have any clue where I could find a lot of amateur vs pro games?

Thanks.

GoGoD. Not "many" but probably "enough"

Tygem has a lot of pro vs. amateur games (though it's not always possible to tell whether the other side is also pro).

Yeah, but I am looking for something free, paying to download games seems absurd.

It's a huge collection. I got it included in SmartGo, but sooner or later I'll purchase it for my desktop.

Krama wrote:Yeah, but I am looking for something free, paying to download games seems absurd.

Maybe it's not reasonable for you--I didn't buy it for awhile when I didn't have much money. However, GoGoD represents years of work. John and TMark spent years finding obscure sources for games, often paying quite a bit of money to have them shipped to the UK. Then they had to do the work of comparing sources, investigating names, and adjudicating when multiple records disagreed on the moves played.

If this where just a database of games scraped off the net, your point of view might make sense, but it actually represents a ton of work.

Cho Hun Hyun Handicap Go Series

Here's a playlist of teaching games that Cho Hunhyun played against amateurs who play baduk. Very fun to watch. Cho HunHyun plays gently but lightly and I think he lets them win sometimes, or at least always tries to keep it close.

It's basically him going around to people who are doing good things in the world (businessmen, congressmen) and interviewing them, and then he plays a game with them.

He gives a 6k amateur six stones, and a 6d amateur 3 stones, so its very likely he is going very easy on them so that they can play and enjoyable and not too embarassing game.

Hayang wrote:Cho Hun Hyun Handicap Go Series

Here's a playlist of teaching games that Cho Hunhyun played against amateurs who play baduk. Very fun to watch. Cho HunHyun plays gently but lightly and I think he lets them win sometimes, or at least always tries to keep it close.

It's basically him going around to people who are doing good things in the world (businessmen, congressmen) and interviewing them, and then he plays a game with them.

He gives a 6k amateur six stones, and a 6d amateur 3 stones, so its very likely he is going very easy on them so that they can play and enjoyable and not too embarassing game.

Wow, thank you for the link. I will make sure to check the videos

Also thanks to everyone who posted with suggestions

Go4Go actually contains a large number of such games. Several major Chinese tournaments are open to Amateur players now, although they have to go through very tough preliminary tournaments to have chances to play against professionals. Here is a list of strong Chinese amateur players whose games are collected by Go4Go (use Search by Player to find their games).

Li Daichun
Liu Yiyi
Liu Jun
Bao Yun
Cai Jianpeng
Fu Li
Sun Yiguo
Huangfu Wei
Shao Guang
Xi Yanyan
Hu Yuqing
Song Pengwang
Long Lin
Ma Tianfang
Cheng Honghao
Wang Chen
Qian Liuru
Bai Baoxiang
Li Ziqi
Li Yirong
Wang Yubo
Tang Chongzhe
Zhan Ying
Yuan Tingyu
Yi Lingtao
Shi Yulai
Wang Ruoran
Luo Yan
He Tianning

If you want to be selective, the strongest amateurs in recent time are: Ma Tianfang, Hu Yuqing, Wang Chen and Bai Baoxiang - they are collectively known as the 'four kings'.

You can also use 'Tournament View' to check the Chinese Wanbao Cup Amateur tournament. Top finishers of this tournament get chances to play against professionals every year.

Hayang wrote:Cho Hun Hyun Handicap Go Series

Here's a playlist of teaching games that Cho Hunhyun played against amateurs who play baduk. Very fun to watch. Cho HunHyun plays gently but lightly and I think he lets them win sometimes, or at least always tries to keep it close.

It's basically him going around to people who are doing good things in the world (businessmen, congressmen) and interviewing them, and then he plays a game with them.

He gives a 6k amateur six stones, and a 6d amateur 3 stones, so its very likely he is going very easy on them so that they can play and enjoyable and not too embarassing game.

Thanks a lot, very interesting

Anyone know if there is a book with games like that? But preferably the pro not going easy and not giving handycaps (so basically crushing the amateur)?

paK0 wrote:

Hayang wrote:Cho Hun Hyun Handicap Go Series

Here's a playlist of teaching games that Cho Hunhyun played against amateurs who play baduk. Very fun to watch. Cho HunHyun plays gently but lightly and I think he lets them win sometimes, or at least always tries to keep it close.

It's basically him going around to people who are doing good things in the world (businessmen, congressmen) and interviewing them, and then he plays a game with them.

He gives a 6k amateur six stones, and a 6d amateur 3 stones, so its very likely he is going very easy on them so that they can play and enjoyable and not too embarassing game.

Thanks a lot, very interesting

Anyone know if there is a book with games like that? But preferably the pro not going easy and not giving handycaps (so basically crushing the amateur)?

I doubt such a book would exist - given that it's in rather poor taste (just like you probably won't find many mainstream movies featuring adults going into a kindergarten and beating the little children up) and playing weaker players without handicaps too many times will hurt playing strength. You can, however, go find 9d players on Tygem and look at their games while they are in the low dans (since they can't register above a certain level) if you are interested only in the games.

If you have SmartGo, you can use a filter to get a good handful of pro-vs-ama games:

Araban: Thanks, I'll look into buying that

illluck: How is that poor taste? I've read a chessbook like that once and its a really great way to see how better players punish common mistaks.

paK0 wrote:Araban: Thanks, I'll look into buying that

illluck: How is that poor taste? I've read a chessbook like that once and its a really great way to see how better players punish common mistaks.

It's almost a form of bullying. A chess match is a relatively fast undertaking, and a good amateur can hold on its own for "a while" against a master until a blunder happens. But the distance between a pro or top pro and a mid-level amateur (a SDK-low dan) is *huge*. If the pro puts himself into it the game may not last more than 100-120 moves and be essentially Chuck Norris against a Teletubby.

Mh, maybe this is something unique to go culture, but in any other game a result where the pro would not beat the amateur would be considered ridiculous.