Google’s AlphaGo on May 23 won the first game in a best-of-three contest against Chinese Go master Ke Jie. It was an unsurprising result in the eyes of many, as this latest human-versus-machine challenge follows a string of victories for AlphaGo.

Go, an ancient Chinese board game popular throughout East Asia, involves two contestants moving black and white stones on a square grid with the aim of seizing the most territory.

The 20-year-old Ke’s game against AlphaGo in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province marked the latest match-up between AI and a human, after AlphaGo defeated South Korean Go master Lee Se-dol 4-1 in a best-of-five series in March 2016.

According to renowned Chinese Go legend Nie Weiping, Ke fell behind right out of the gate, as AlphaGo orchestrated an impressive layout and soon dragged Ke into its trap.

“A few moves by AlphaGo totally surpassed expectations. Though they seemed odd at first, they turned out to be brilliant. From this game, I can tell that Ke lags far behind AlphaGo,” Nie told National Business Daily.

Similar pessimistic remarks were circulating before the contest began, unlike before the first human-AI match-up.

Two more games will be played between Ke and AlphaGo on May 25 and 27 in Wuzhen.

On the eve of the highly anticipated first game, Ke wrote on his Sina Weibo that he would never give up in the upcoming sets.

“Win or lose, this will be my final contest with AI ... I believe that the future will belong to AI, but it is after all a cold machine. Compared with human beings, I cannot feel its passion and love for Go,” Ke wrote, adding that he will fight with all his enthusiasm.

At the opening ceremony of the contest, Demis Hassabis, chief executive of Google DeepMind, said he hoped the match would encourage man and machine to jointly explore the mysteries of Go together.

"Many Go players come up with new moves they have never thought of before after competing against AlphaGo. Whether man loses or wins, it is a victory for human beings," Hassabis said, China Daily reported.