I'm curious as to how one would most efficiently use a go database for training. For example, in chess you can use it to find certain positions that have arisen in other games, but in go it seems like that is much less likely since positions seem to arise less often.

What am I missing here?


Edit: Also, is there a certain database that is considered to be the best? The "Chessbase Mega Database" of go, so to speak.

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I came to go through Kawabata and was introduced to a whole new world.

I use SmartGo and GoGoD combination to find common corner positions or fuseki all the time. It's just a way to get an idea if you're playing reasonable moves that pros would also look at. From there you can find games you want to study to deal with specific positions.

In go we mainly classify local rather than global patterns, unlike in chess pieces don't move all the way across the board very quickly, so looking at only a local position can make some sense. So even if global positions tend to be unique there is something to be learned by looking at how a purely local position was handled in other games.

Then we must try to apply this to our own game, which involves looking at how the local position relates to the whole board. This relation between local and global strategy is one of the more interesting parts of go for me.

Personally, I've found them useful for pointing out "reasonable" moves and sequences in corner positions and openings. As has been already pointed out, the context (full board situation) of these positions are very important so you can't just go with "majority rules" moves and expect great results.

Again personally, I like looking at the KGS archives (kgs.fuseki.info) to either verify my own ideas or try to get some new insights into various positions. That site allows to you look for whole board sequences or 12x12 or 9x9 or 19x11 areas.

Good luck with this learning method. I can prompt some new thought but shouldn't be relied on as an end-all, received wisdom resource. All it takes is one move out of the ordinary and you are on your own again and developing the skill to think on your feet in the situations you face on the board is one of the main aspects of the learning curve of go (and one of the most satisfying once you get a grip on it).

Bruce "Cheater" Young

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Currently reading: Plutarch, Cerebus, and D&Q 25th Anniversary

A good level pro who is also a good teacher.

Do any pros or strong players actually use go databases?

Yes.

I use GoGoD + Kombilo, and I find it very helpful for studying opening & direction of play. For example, say I'm curious about a side position after joseki:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$Bc How should black play?
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . X . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

Answer:

emeraldemon,
Ignoring the rest of the board, the reasoning is that since both B and W groups are settled,
and both and are low, we see that the development at either
the top or the right side is smaller than on the left side, so (a) direction is natural.
But it's good to confirm this with pro games.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . B . X . . . |
$$ | . . . O . . . . . , . . . . . , X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . |
$$ | . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . , W . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

I use SmartGo + its own database extended by the GoGoD and Go4Go databases (for a total of about 75500 unique pro games). Much for the same reason as others: looking up josekis and fusekis. I also frequently browse through/replay specific games of the past, or games in general by an individual player. It isn't an essential study tool for me, but something I enjoy doing and find useful.