I really enjoy watching a game where a strong amateur gets to play a professional. Sometimes if I am lucky I stumble upon a game like that on go4go however it is very rare nowadays.

Does anyone have any clue where I could find a lot of amateur vs pro games?

Thanks.

Yeah, but I am looking for something free, paying to download games seems absurd.

Cho Hun Hyun Handicap Go Series

Here's a playlist of teaching games that Cho Hunhyun played against amateurs who play baduk. Very fun to watch. Cho HunHyun plays gently but lightly and I think he lets them win sometimes, or at least always tries to keep it close.

It's basically him going around to people who are doing good things in the world (businessmen, congressmen) and interviewing them, and then he plays a game with them.

He gives a 6k amateur six stones, and a 6d amateur 3 stones, so its very likely he is going very easy on them so that they can play and enjoyable and not too embarassing game.

Cho Hun Hyun Handicap Go Series

Here's a playlist of teaching games that Cho Hunhyun played against amateurs who play baduk. Very fun to watch. Cho HunHyun plays gently but lightly and I think he lets them win sometimes, or at least always tries to keep it close.

It's basically him going around to people who are doing good things in the world (businessmen, congressmen) and interviewing them, and then he plays a game with them.

He gives a 6k amateur six stones, and a 6d amateur 3 stones, so its very likely he is going very easy on them so that they can play and enjoyable and not too embarassing game.

Thanks a lot, very interesting

Anyone know if there is a book with games like that? But preferably the pro not going easy and not giving handycaps (so basically crushing the amateur)?

Araban: Thanks, I'll look into buying that

illluck: How is that poor taste? I've read a chessbook like that once and its a really great way to see how better players punish common mistaks.

It's almost a form of bullying. A chess match is a relatively fast undertaking, and a good amateur can hold on its own for "a while" against a master until a blunder happens. But the distance between a pro or top pro and a mid-level amateur (a SDK-low dan) is *huge*. If the pro puts himself into it the game may not last more than 100-120 moves and be essentially Chuck Norris against a Teletubby.

There are a number of Japanese amateur players who are capable of winning no-handicap games against pros. Most of the players who win national championships are pro-strngth amateurs. Kikuchi Yasuro has beaten several top pros in even games.

Some people assume that if a player is strong enough to play on even with pros then he would want to become a pro. But such is not the case in reality. No doubt there are amateur players in China and Korea who can play on even with professionals.

I'm not sure I understand this point? Firstly, 100 moves is longer than your average chess game. Secondly, as a weak dan, I'm pretty sure I could hold "for a while" against a pro. If we play some conventional joseki sequences, and I don't make too many mistakes in direction, and the pro waits for me to make mistakes rather than starting complex fights from the start, I could enter the middle game with a reasonably even position. Yes, lots of if's, but in a teaching game they are not unreasonable.

Is your point that the gap between a pro and a weak dan is greater than the gap between a chess grand master and a moderate club player? I'm not sure that's true, or if so, not by much. I read somewhere once that while chess has about 30-32 unique skill levels (a level being where the stronger player beats the weaker player, one level down, 2/3 of the time), go has about 40 levels. I don't know how true this is for chess, but for go, it's only true in the most technical sense, because its plausible for a player to increase from 28k to 27k within a single game, so I don't think the 30-23k ranks are all that well defined.

There are a number of Japanese amateur players who are capable of winning no-handicap games against pros. Most of the players who win national championships are pro-strngth amateurs. Kikuchi Yasuro has beaten several top pros in even games.

Some people assume that if a player is strong enough to play on even with pros then he would want to become a pro. But such is not the case in reality. No doubt there are amateur players in China and Korea who can play on even with professionals.