All Things Go Podcast

Browse every All Things Go episode, including interviews, commentary, practical lessons, and full searchable transcripts.

All Episodes

  • S5.6 – Crazy Stone’s Rémi Coulom & a Follow-up Conversation with Anthropologist/Former Insei Chimin Oh 8d

    Rémi Coulom explains the creation of Crazy Stone, the rise of Monte Carlo Tree Search, whole-history ratings, and the long technical challenge of building Kifu Snap. Anthropologist and former insei Chimin Oh then discusses AI’s impact on Korean Go, the continuing value of human expertise, and his return to a dojang as a researcher.

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  • S5.4 – Unscripted: Go Lesson Takeaways with Nathan, AI Learning Study Tools & GM Tiger Hillarp Persson Interview Review

    Nathan Harwit joins Travis to review practical lessons about liberties, aggression, shape, contact moves, and tenuki. Travis also surveys new Go tools and projects, discusses the difficulty of turning AI moves into useful explanations, and revisits his interview with chess grandmaster and Go player Tiger Hillarp Persson.

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  • S5.1 – Unscripted: IRL Play with Adam & Updates on Using YouTube

    Travis introduces the more sustainable All Things Go Unscripted format and recounts an in-person café game with his friend Adam. He reflects on live versus correspondence Go, recording a game on OGS, playing publicly, and why the podcast will remain primarily audio-first rather than moving fully to YouTube.

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  • S4.12 – The New Wave of Western Go with Alexander Qi 3p & Season Wrap-Up

    North American professional Alexander Qi explains how focused endgame work, life-and-death training, and a calmer style helped him win the 2025 World Youth Go Championship. Travis then closes Season Four by reflecting on the guests, themes, and signs of growing Western talent explored throughout the season.

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  • S5.7 – Unscripted: Metacognition & Go, Netflix’s Carlsen-Niemann Documentary, Playing Humans vs. Bots, Go Lesson Takeaways & More

    Travis connects metacognition to the temporary decline that can come with learning new Go skills, reviews the Carlsen-Niemann documentary, and considers the benefits of playing people rather than bots. Nathan Harwit closes with teaching advice and a lesson on simplifying decisions by counting liberties.

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  • S4.5 – A Conversation with 3-dan Pro Ryan Li & Assorted Go Lesson Takeaways

    In this episode, Travis speaks with North American 3-dan professional Ryan Li about his early experiences learning Go, becoming a professional, handling competitive pressure, and teaching players through the New York Institute of Go. Ryan also discusses the future of professional Go in North America and what it may take for the game to reach…

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  • S4.4 – How Different Go Rating Systems Work & A New World Championship Tournament

    Travis reflects on a personal rating plateau before speaking with mathematician and Go player Nikola Tsarigradski about how different rating systems work. They compare Elo, Glicko, whole-history ratings, Fox-style promotion systems, and the dan-kyu system, with particular attention to uncertainty, predictiveness, handicap, and rating inflation or deflation. The episode then shifts to Gazza White, who…

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  • S3.9 – David Wu KataGo Interview & IRL Habits with TelegraphGo

    In this episode, Travis speaks with KataGo creator David Wu about how he discovered Go, taught himself programming, and developed one of the game’s most influential AI tools. David explains how KataGo learns through neural networks, search, and self-play. He also discusses the system’s efficiency, its weaknesses, its analysis of smaller board sizes, and its…

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  • S2.3 – Go & Quarto, The History of Go, Pro Dan System Discrepancies & Preventing Burnout

    In this episode, Travis speaks with former Korean professional and Go studies professor Chihyung Nam about the origins and historical development of Go, including its spread from China to Korea and Japan and the evolution of the 19×19 board. The episode also explores differences in professional dan promotion systems across countries and why rank alone…

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  • S5.18 – Unscripted: BenKyo on How to Improve & Break Through Psychological Barriers for Season Finale

    For the Season Five finale, Travis speaks with BenKyo about the mental habits that help players improve at Go. They explore move value, detachment from stones and plans, sunk-cost thinking, whole-board awareness, stronger opponents, and deliberate reading practice. Ben also considers the balance between enjoying Go casually and accepting the discomfort required for faster improvement.

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