棋魂现世? Master横扫人类顶尖棋手!

A mysterious "master" has been beating elite Go players online, leading some to suspect that it may actually be a top-level computer.

近日网络上一位神秘"大师"连续击败围棋高手，以至有人怀疑它可能是一台顶级计算机。

Until recently, even the best artificial intelligence (AI) programs have struggled to beat the world's top Go players - that is until March when a program called AlphaGo beat South Korean Lee Se-dol, one of the world's best.

去年三月，"阿尔法围棋"程序击败了世界最佳棋手之一、韩国的李世石。直至最近，即使是最好的人工智能程序也不太容易击败世界顶尖的围棋手们。

However, a player registered with an ID of "Master" on Chinese online board game platforms and has won 50 online matches since Dec 29 against a group of elite Go players, including South Korean Park Jung-hwan, Japan's Iyama Yuta and China's Ke Jie, triggering interest in its identity within the professional Go circle.

然而，去年12月29日以来，在国内在线围棋平台弈城和野狐上，一位注册账号为"Master"的棋手在网战中轮番挑战韩国的朴廷桓、日本的井山裕太和中国的柯洁等顶尖围棋高手，并已连赢50场，引发职业围棋界对其身份的兴趣。

No individual player or AI developer has so far claimed to be playing as Master.

目前尚无棋手个人或人工智能开发者承认自己就是Master。

Originating in ancient China, Go is a game where two players take turns placing black and white stones on a 19-by-19 grid.

围棋起源于古代中国，下棋时双方分执黑白，在19x19的棋盘上轮流落子。

Players win by taking control of the most territory on the board, achieved by surrounding opponent's pieces with their own.

棋手通过占据棋盘上的多数地盘来取胜，用他们自己的棋子来包围对手的棋子。

Yu Bin, head coach of China's national Go team, said the unidentified player's invincible patterns and speed in taking a move almost every five seconds raise suspicions of an AI program at work.

中国国家围棋队主教练俞斌表示，这位身份不明玩家的无敌模式、以及几乎每5秒就下一棋的速度使得人们怀疑和他们对弈的其实是一个AI程序。

"From its consecutive victories against the world's top human players in such overwhelming fashion, we can rule out the possibility that 'Master' is controlled by a person. It's highly possible that it's the latest version of an AI player," Yu was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency.

新华社援引余斌的话说：“从他对弈人类顶尖棋手而势不可挡的连胜来看，我们可以得出'Master'其实是被某人控制的这一可能性。很有可能那是最新版本的AI。”

Gu Li, another elite player from China, offered a reward of 100,000 yuan ($14,300) to the first human player to defeat Master.

另一名中国精英棋手古力则为第一名击败“Master”的人类棋手准备了10万人民币（约合14300美元）的奖金。

"It's not about money. It's about protecting the cultural treasure invented by our ancestors," Gu said on his micro blog account.

古力在他的微博上说道：“这不是钱的问题。这是要保护我们祖先发明的文化瑰宝。”