All about Go, the ancient game in which AI bested a master

[...] playing it is anything but.

Go is considered to be far more complex than chess, making it remarkable that a cutting-edge computer program by Google has swept the first two games of a five-game match against a human Go champion, Lee Sedol.

Global Go fans were shocked, artificial intelligence experts called the moment historic and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis compared the victory to landing on the moon.

In Go, also known as baduk in Korean and weiqi in Chinese, two players take turns putting black or white stones on a 19-by-19 square grid.

South Korean TV channels show Go matches and teaching strategies all day.

A popular online cartoon that was made into a TV drama series featured a main character who failed to become a professional Go player after spending his childhood dedicated to Go.

To take control of territory, players surround vacant areas with their stones.

Kim Jung-min, a staff writer for South Korea's sole monthly magazine on Go, said reading the other player's next moves is the fun of the game.