Hello Jeff Genzod. At 15 Kyu your next milestone is 10-12 Kyu when you know about live groups, connecting and cutting, etc.
The elements of Go are strategy, timing, and reading ability.
A simple strategy: Push through and cut and capture the weaker side. (De giri)
A higher level strategy: Make territory while attacking.
Look at the whole board.
Personification: The empty board represents freedom of choice. Your personality comes out in the way you play.
Don't be greedy. See who needs help. Give them some help.
Priority of moves: play urgent moves (life and death) before large moves.
In the beginning (fuseki): 1st: Play in the open corners.
Secondly, enclose a corner with your second stone (shimari) or attack the opponent's corner stone (kakari).
Thirdly, extend on the side at the widest place.
Third line walls for territory, 4th line walls for center influence.
Play double sente > sente > reverse sente > gote.
Capture on a large scale. Let your opponent capture the small group, in gote.
Use sente (your free move) to do something bigger, even another sente move.
Read some books on good shape.
The Ten Golden Rules [of Go] List
Wei Qi Shi Jue = Ten proverbs of Go
(Although no Go terms are mentioned in the original ‘Ten Golden Rules’.)
Wei Qi = the ‘surrounding chess’ game.
Shi = ten
Jue = secret of success or key to success
Golden rule number one: Tan Bu De Sheng = Tān bùdé shèng （贪不得胜）
Greedy, cannot or do not, get, victory or success.
The greedy do not get success.
Do not be greedy for victory.
Don’t be greedy.
If you are greedy, you will lose often; if you are timid, you will succeed little.
And a variation: BuDe Tan Sheng = You cannot be greedy and win. Never (be) hankering for victory.
One should not hanker after winning. (Look for perfection of beauty instead of winning.)
Golden rule number two: Ru Jie Yi Huan = Rù jiè yí huǎn （入界宜缓）
Enter, boundary, should or ought to, unhurried or slow.
Be unhurried to enter the opponent’s territory.
We should take care when entering the opponent’s territory.
“In opponent’s sphere of influence, avoid sharp conflict,
don’t move too deep.” --- Hideo Otake.
Ru = to enter, not inside.
Huan = unhurried, slow, not too deep (considering the opponent’s nearby weaknesses.
Otherwise prone to become heavy and surrounded).
Distinguish between fast and slow moves.
Distinguish between light and heavy go stone groups.
Golden rule number three: Gong Bi Gu Wo = Gōng bǐ gù wǒ (攻彼顾我）
Attack, the other, give consideration or take care, self.
Take care of oneself when attacking the other.
One should give consideration to his own stones when he attacks the other’s stones.
“Never be too sure about your plan,
and always doubt about killing your opponent’s stones.”
--- Zhong-Pu Liu, North Song Dynasty, c. 1078.
“Fighting must not be the key of Weiqi.
It should be reserved as a player’s last resource.
And when carried out, one should be extremely careful.”
--- Zhong-Pu Liu, North Song Dynasty, c. 1078.
“The most important thing is to be careful.
Those who are good at winning don’t usually contend.
Those who are good at making shape don’t usually fight.”
--- Xue-Shi Zhang, Song Dynasty (960-1279)
Golden rule number four: Qi Zi Zheng Xian = Qì zǐ zhēng xiān （弃子争先）
Discard, stone, (to) fight for, lead.
Discard a stone to gain sente (control, the initiative, a free move)
“With global board in mind, discard residual stones;
get the important point on the board.” --- Hideo Otake.
(a Japanese to Chinese to English translation)
Xian = the control, the lead on the board; having sente, the initiative.
Golden rule number five: She Xiao Jiu Da = Shě xiǎo jiù dà （舍小就大）
Give up or abandon, small, save or rescue, big.
Abandon small to save big.
Giving up the small to save the big.
Abandon small groups to save big groups.
Jiu = save, rescue; look for, go to, look after, help.
Distinguish between big and small Go stone groups.
Golden rule number six: Feng Wei Xu Qi = Féng wēi xū qì （逢危须弃）
Meet, danger, must, discard or abandon.
When in danger, sacrifice.
When in danger consider qi.
Zi = Go stone.
Qi Zi Zhan Shu = discarding stone tactics.
Qi = sacrificing, throwing away, discarding, abandoning, sending (stones to the opponent as a gote move).
Qi Jin (Qi Jing?)= ~important stones (even one or two stones that you cannot afford to be taken by the opponent
(in a ko fight, or being a cutting group).
Qi Zi = discarding stones.
tenuki: going away, playing elsewhere (when the position is unfinished or unsettled and you risk a local loss;
but also waiting or hoping to return and respond there later).
Zi = stone.
Fei Zi = useless stones that you can afford to give away, even 15 or more.
“What move scares you?
It’s not the move capturing your stone.
It is the move allowing you to capture” [in gote]
--- Ti Sheng Guo, professional Chinese Go player
Golden rule number seven: Shen Wu Qing Su = Shèn wù qīng sù （慎勿轻速）
Cautious or careful, avoid or do not, light, rapid or speedy.
Make thick shape, avoid hasty moves.
(Making your group alive or) becoming thick often ends up with gote.
Thick for gote and thin for sente.
“Make good shape, don’t blindly contend for sente.” --- Hideo Otake
Golden rule number eight: Dong Xu Xiang Ying = Dòng xū xiāng yìng （动须相应）
Move, must, each other, respond or echo.
A move must respond to the opponent’s (move).
Always keep a global board in mind, moves at local areas of the board should be in concert.
“Under your opponent’s attack, you should counterattack.”
--- Hideo Otake.
Golden rule number nine: Bi Qiang Zi Bao = Bǐ qiáng zì bǎo （彼强自保）
The other, strong or powerful, oneself, safeguard or protect.
Against a strong position, play safely.
Bi = the other, your opponent.
Qiang = strong, powerful, thick.
Zi = oneself, you.
Bao = safeguard, protect.
“When opponent’s shape is thick, one should safeguard by making himself thick.
Never get close to your opponent’s thick shape.”
--- Hideo Otake, 9 dan professional Japanese go player
Distinguish between thick and thin go stone groups.
Golden rule number ten: Shi Gu Qu He = Shì gū qǔ hé （势孤取和）
Shape or influence, isolated or alone, look for, peace.
Look for peace. Avoid fighting in an isolated or weak situation.
Bao = safeguard.
Gu = take care.
Xiang Ying = in concert.
Huan = unhurried.
Wu Qing Su = keep good and thick shape.
Qu He = look for peace.
Look for balance. Be smooth. Be balanced. Consider the balance between fast and slow, strong and weak, territory and shape thickness.
#11.
Have an eye on every cut. Be mindful of every cut.
#12. Yi Qi Hui You --- a Chinese proverb.
Meaning, don’t look by ranks when you look for go players;
use the game Weiqi to meet friends. --- by Youyi Chen, 1992-1993.
University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Email:
yychen@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca Adapted and summarized from the Ten Golden Rules List from Sensei’s Library. February 2014.
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