I try to count as often as possible and I usually count during my opponents turn whenever possible. I would estimate that I count at least 15 times a game, more if the game is closer and less if the winner is already clear.

Counting is extremely important imo, you really need to know the overall position before you make an accurate plan. If you are ahead by ten points, why enter the insanely complex fight? But if the situation is reversed, then you should welcome all fights and try to make it as complicated as possible.

Counting is part of positional judgment, which is one of the most important skills for a go player. So, you all should really encourage yourself to count more =)

When I visually estimate, I commonly make the mistake of seeing my territory as smaller than it ought to be, and seeing my opponent's territory as larger than it ought to be. This is why I count as much as I can.

Every time I visually estimate, I can hear Cho Chikun's quote from Positional Judgment – "Let's actually count the game and stop letting fancy rule our heads."

When the game goes territorially, I try to count, with mistakes. I try too to evaluate how many points a short sequence gives (approximately) to me, or coasts to me. In the last case, I try to find another elsewhere that keeps the balance.

But most of the time, in my serious games (at my local club), my opponents play territorially and I find myself with walls everywhere and no territory, so I go for the fight, and I count only if we reach the endgame, then resign

I can't count when my dog will born, so counting a go game is impossible for me

_________________
Stefany, web programmer

I cant count my mobile phone number, but in go it goes suprisingly well...

_________________

Sure do. Although I can't do it in moderately fast paced games, cause it takes a little bit of time. Hehe, sometimes if I want to count and its fast-paced, I'll start counting and continue while moves are being played if my opponent is playing something definitely sente. If you're talking about endgame value, I count all the time for that.

_________________
TucsonGo.org - Play Go in Tucson
We meet twice a week, visit us!

Honinbo Jowa advised assessing the position (which includes counting, but is not the same) at move 30, move 50, and move 100.

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Those are rather arbitrary numbers, and the spacing is weird as well. I prefer to constantly be analyzing the overall position, but take a closer, more thorough look when there isn't a superactive area on the board. That way I can decide what I need to do from that point on.

_________________
We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

I count ... but I count very badly. For instance, I was just surprised in a recent game where I thought I had counted correctly and was down 15 at the end ... I won by 9.5 ...

DrStraw, I downloaded your counting lessons years ago and still look them up every now and then. They have been very helpful to me, thanks for doing that (can be found here for those who don't know: http://senseis.xmp.net/?SteveFawthrop%2FCounting ).

I (try to) count 4-10 times per game depending on time remaining and how close the score is (If I have a 20 or 30 point lead with 5 minutes remaining, I won't count as often as I would when behind 5 points with 15 minutes remaining).

When I really don't have time to count, I use a quick strategy I recall reading about either somewhere else on this forum (eh, maybe on KGS): comparing areas. For example, Black's top-right corner and White's bottom-right corner are about the same size, but White has a bigger area on the left side, therefore White is winning... and count more closely when I have time (opponent's turn usually).

_________________
All About Go | Go website featuring lessons, history of Go, downloads, articles by professionals and more.

When I first started counting, it always ended up like that. However, I found that with just a bit of experience that I quickly improved my accuracy. Hopefully you'll be able to too.

_________________
We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

It feels very rewarding the first time you count that you are ahead by half a point, and shortly after win by that much .

_________________
All About Go | Go website featuring lessons, history of Go, downloads, articles by professionals and more.

I don't count. I should, though. My intuition seems to be hit and miss so I need something reliable.

_________________
My plan to become an SDK is here.

I recall a recent game that was very close, and I really wanted to defend a position full of bad aji, but given how close it was, I was reluctant. So I counted (not for the first time), determined I was up by 2.5, played the gote safety move, and duly won by 1.5 points.

Well i pretty much never count. In the endgame i can pretty much count the territory everything pretty quickly but since i cant evaluate the value of the moves i cant see what i gain from it.

During more serious games i sometimes do some rough counting and alot of gutfeeling assesments in the middlegame.

Hmmm well I think my problem is that I start counting to late. When the game is almost finished or only 2-3 points-endgamemoves are available, it is to late to count, because you cant change the outcome anyways.

I need to count more in the middlegame and I need to let my counting-result slip in my judgement.

In Golden Opportunities by Rin Kaiho (which I recommend), he has this to say:



I try to do this, but I often forget to. Actually I usually only think to count when I see a shobute, and I want to decide if it's worth playing!

i only count in real life games (i usually have an ocean of time available to me, since i am a fast player, so at some point i usually count) or online when i think i am losing or have a chance at losing

How do you know you are losing if you do not count?

_________________

You don't need to count to have an estimate of the position.