China Bans Teenage Go Player for Using AI to Cheat
A 19-year-old Go player in China has been banned for eight years after using AI to cheat in a national tournament, sparking fresh debate over the role of technology in the centuries-old game.
Qin Siyue, an upcoming professional player, was suspended by the Chinese Weiqi Association (the governing body for Go in China), which also revoked her rank and nullified her results.
The punishment follows her disqualification during the 2024 National Go Championship this past December, where referees found she had hidden a phone under the table and used an AI program during the match.
After reviewing video footage and testimonies from judges, players, and staff, the association confirmed that Qin hid a phone at the venue hours before and used an AI program during her match.
The game’s records showed that 73% of Qin’s moves matched those suggested by the AI, domestic media reported. Her rapid improvement also raised suspicions, with her win rate surging from 39% in 2023 to 71% in 2024.
The association emphasized the importance of sports ethics and pledged to improve tournament management and measures to counter cheating, in response to the growing challenges posed by AI. “Fairness and justice are the lifeblood of sports,” they said in a statement.
Online, the action has been widely supported by Chinese fans. “Learn to be a person before learning to play Go,” one popular comment read, echoing the belief that mastering life’s principles is just as important as mastering the game.
Some, however, expressed sympathy for Qin’s future ending at such a young age. One user on the lifestyle app Xiaohongshu, identifying as a Go player, underscored that the prospects for low-ranked professionals are limited, as years of intense training leave little time for academic studies, making it difficult to sit for the college entrance exams.
“At the age of 18, pursuing education is actually a great opportunity for Qin,” the post reads. “The individual competition offers the opportunity to earn a skill level ranking, providing direct access to top universities.”
In East Asian countries, including China, Japan, and South Korea, Go still holds high regard as a pursuit of intellectual mastery. Given the nearly infinite number of possible moves on its 19-by-19 grid, the game was long considered too complex for computers to handle until the world’s top-ranked Go player, Ke Jie, was defeated by the AI-powered AlphaGo in a highly publicized match in 2017.
While training with AI is now commonplace, using AI in competitions is strictly forbidden. The rise of AI tools, which can drastically improve a player's performance, has fueled a surge in AI cheating in competitive Go games.
In recent years, China issued a one-year suspension to another Go player, Liu Ruizhi, for using an AI program during a preliminary match in a national game. Similarly, the Korea Baduk Association took punitive measures against professional Go player Kim Eunji for similar rule violations.
Editor: Apurva.
(Header image: Shijue Focus/VCG)
