Yikeweiqi (弈客) is coming, almost ......

Most of you would have heard of Yikeweiqi recently via several Internet-based events they sponsored, notably Leela Zero's 7-game match against Golaxy. Now Yikeweiqi is about to launch officially in the west. A press release will be held during the 4th European Go Grand Slam Tournament. In fact that tournament is officially named as 'Yike Cup' (https://www.eurogofed.org/EuropeanGrand ... m2018.html).

Yike, started about 3 years ago, is China's largest mobile Go platform with millions of users. What will be announced shortly is Yike's Android version of app which is properly translated in English so western Go fans should have no difficulty using it. I will supply the download link shortly after the press release.

As you will soon be able to see, and as Yike's slogan says - "Record your live story of Go" - this app include almost everything you need as a Go player. I will only list its main features here and I may return to some of the features with more details later in this thread.

* Go playing - online game playing, both real-time and corresponding (a large pool of opponents 24/7); Organizing and participating online tournaments

* Following Go Scene - Live broadcast of major professional tournament games; Go news. Note that Yike does have a dedicated international team who produces news articles in English, as well as performs live game commentaries in English.

* Game record - access Yike's large game database; use Yike app to record your own games

* Go problems - Thousands of Go problems, organized by difficulty levels.

* Networking - social networking functionality: friends, messaging, commenting at various locations e.g. news and live broadcasting sessions.

* Study helps - various advanced technologies (including AI) to help you Go studies. For example, you can play against near-pro-level AI; or ask AI to recommend moves; or ask AI to give positional judgement, etc.

So many features packed in a single app and so many features for you to find out! Most of these functions are freely available. You may need to use so-called 'beans' - a virtual currency - to access some functions.

Finally, I am not part of Yike but I do maintain a very close working relationship with Yike, including sharing databases and technical solutions. For example, while reviewing game records in Yike app, you can use its built-in pattern search feature to find game positions in the Go4Go database.

So if you need any assistance, want to give feedback, want to contribute news pieces, or look for collaboration opportunities, and you want a trusted person to be the messenger, then please feel free to contact me.

Photos from the Yike Cup European Go Grand Slam Tournament (large, open with care)

Yike Cup trophies

I promised to post the download link of the Yikeweiqi Android app. This was delayed due to a software bug which had to be patched urgently. Here is the URL:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... s&hl=en_US

Thanks -- any plans for iOS, Windows, and MacOS ?

The second I installed the app from the above link, Lookout flagged another app as spyware, called 'Go Links' which I did not explicitly permit to install. Does anyone know why that might happen?

Sure, I suppose all these will come in the future. It is just a matter of development effort.

The translation (or probably localization is a more suitable term) of the Android app is by far the most complex such projects I've seen - took several full-time staff and many volunteers many weeks to get to the current state. This is partly because there's so many functions packed in the app and so many things to translate, partly because Chinese is considerably more concise than English so screen layouts adjustments for English UI were necessary. This is a single universal app meaning that one can swap the language from inside the app. The initial language would be English unless your system default language is Chinese.

When you say "Windows and MacOS", you probably think of using Yikeweiqi from PCs. You can play games from a web interface (http://portal.yikeweiqi.com/online/index/index.html) without any software installation, although that web page still requires translation. One nice feature is that you can play the same game using the app and the web interface simultaneously.

Go Links is a codename they've been using. I am not sure about the spyware detection - the app does not display any advertisement. The only thing that is akin to an advertisement is the initial screen which normally highlights an ongoing tournament, or promotes other Go-related activities. Let me check with the developers to see if they have inadvertently used any third-party SDKs which might be flagged as unsafe.

If you can contact them, that would be great. The 3rd-party SDK thing is indeed a common reason. The newest version, 6.0.500, released on 2018/05/16, has the same problem.

Hi macelee,

Thanks for the link

I'm trying to register via the webpage, but got stuck:
What's the 3rd entry ?

It is a code for validation. You fill an email address in the 2nd line, then click the word at the end of the 3rd line. Then go to check your email account, you will find a 6-digit number which you type in line 3.

Hi macelee, is there a problem with certain domains, like gmail ( google, youtube, facebook, etc. blocked ) ?

If you mean using a gmail address to receive the registration information, no there shouldn't be any problem.

Hi,

When I try to register and I ask for a verification code, i get this message: "Phone number/email does not match"

An no code is sent, I used a gmail address.

Hi macelee, I also used a gmail address, and didn't receive any code.

As far as I can see the it works well. I even used one gmail account to test and received an email immediately with a 6-digit code. I don't know what else I can suggest.

To be absolutely sure, the correct sequence of action is:

at the registration form, type your email in the second line; then click the Chinese characters at the end of the third line. Doing these will have an email sent to you with a validation code. Use that code to complete the form to get your account.

Hi macelee,

That's what I did. I typed a username for "Name", then my gmail address on Line 2, then I clicked Send.
A count-down appears (from "30" seconds down to zero). I check my gmail, nothing.
I tried this both from an iPhone Safari, and on a Mac OS Firefox -- same result, nothing in my gmail account.

You're in the UK, and here is CA. That shouldn't matter... but you never know.

Oh, well.

Sorry to hear that. I really don't know what's went wrong. If you have burning desire to use this service, another alternative is to get a Wechat account first, then login by scanning the QR code using Wechat. Wechat can be used to log in many to Chinese services so having it on your phone is not a bad idea. BTW, wechat itself is designed very properly for international users so nobody should experience any difficulties getting that sorted.

But a translation of the webpage to english is planned? Because the server sounds interesseting but i only play from my laptop and with it being MacOS my server options are limited. (I'm currently starting playing again and i'm unsure which server should become my main server)

Edit:
I tried the server today. Registering through the android-app and using the webpage with Google Chrome translation. However i was not able to play (yet). It is to note that the Yike asks you your real name for "identification purpose" and this is apparently also manually verified. After registering (i only entered my first name) i was not able to start a new game as i was in "real name review". A few minutes ago, around three hours after registering, that verification failed. Apparently i can try to re-verify (i assume i can edit the real name i entered) and at the moment i'm unsure if i want to give them my real name (and i wonder how they actually try to verify it).
Just for your information, if you consider using this server.

_________________
Magics way up the hill (personal study journal)

The developer just informed me that the above problem has been fixed in the latest version. You can download it from Google app store. It is indeed a problem with a third-party library which, I understand, has been replaced.