World-class professional Go player Shin Jin-seo (9-dan) has finally broken through the wall of artificial intelligence (AI) with a 2-stone handicap.

Shin secured a 4.5-point victory against the Go AI KataGo after a grueling 4-hour and 50-minute match in the second game of the Ssen Math-Hankyung Gishinjeon (Go God Tournament), held at the Korea Economic TV studio in Cheongpa-ro, Jung-gu.

With this win, Shin has become the first professional player to defeat KataGo, currently considered the highest-performing Go AI, in an official match, albeit with a 2-stone handicap.

KataGo has maintained a near-perfect winning streak in numerous practice matches against professional players while giving them a 2-stone handicap.

Few professional players have managed to hold their own even with a 3-stone handicap, and some have even lost while receiving a 4-stone handicap.

Ten years ago, Lee Sedol (9-dan) achieved a historic victory (against 4 losses) against AlphaGo in an even-game match. However, given the dramatic advancements in AI performance since then, Shin's victory in a 2-stone handicap match is considered an achievement of comparable significance.

(Photo: Yonhap News)