Documenting the AI Era: Volume 3 of AlphaGo to Zero Arrives
Chris Garlock | Published on 12/6/2025
With the long-awaited release of Volume 3 of their AlphaGo to Zero series, Michael Redmond 9P and Chris
Garlock continue their definitive chronicle of the AI revolution that reshaped Go forever.
From the shock of AlphaGo–Lee Sedol in 2016 to the emergence of AlphaGo Zero just a year later, Redmond and Garlock have tracked this transformation in real time, building an unparalleled record of commentary and analysis that has helped players around the world understand a rapidly changing landscape.
Volume 3, subtitled Masterpieces, focuses on the 50 official AlphaGo vs. AlphaGo self-play games released by DeepMind — the “masterpieces” that first revealed how AlphaGo thought about the game when unconstrained by human play. Revisiting these games with years of additional experience and far stronger AI tools, Redmond offers fresh commentary that clarifies what once seemed opaque: the purpose of AlphaGo’s unconventional openings, its striking sense of direction and timing, its fearless invasions, and its impeccably calibrated endgame.
Rather than asking who is ahead, the commentary explores why the moves work, what ideas they express, and how they foreshadow AlphaGo Zero’s even more radical approach. Through diagrams, focused position studies, and accessible explanations, Volume 3 turns these legendary self-play games into a coherent narrative — one that shows how the conversation between humans and AI Go truly began, and where it is leading next. Available online here; use coupon ALPHAGO for a 10% discount (good through 12/15).
TUNE IN on Friday, December 12 at 7PM ET as Redmond and Garlock complete their AlphaGo vs Alpha Go series with a review of Game 55 and discuss Vol. 3. Watch on the AGA’s YouTube and Twitch channels.