&gt;a computer doesn&#x27;t know the difference between formal and informal this seems to indicate that Alpha isn&#x27;t truly above Fan Hui in strength. Also the formal games were played with fast game rules,<p>I&#x27;m not sure if I&#x27;m misunderstanding you, or you&#x27;re misunderstanding the situation, but the informal games had faster time controls than the formal ones: the formal games had one hour of main time, while the informal games just had byo-yomi (3 periods of 30s: if you take more than 30 seconds for a move, you &quot;use up&quot; a period).