Where should a beginner look for moves?

skydyr · **#21**

PeterPeter wrote:

I think I am OK with the opening, for my level at least. There are some good guidelines I can apply: corners-sides-centre, biggest empty space, prefer line 3 and line 4, make boxes, etc.

The middle game is where I get lost. It is so much more complicated. Stones everywhere. I could easily come up with 20 'OK' moves in a position, not rank them very well, and still miss an obvious one.

They say that if you always have an idea where to play (even if it's wrong) you are at least shodan

PeterPeter · **#22**

EdLee wrote:

Peter, thanks -- would it be fair to say, maybe often (60%+?) or
even most of the time (80%+?), you have no idea where to play in
the mid-game, and sometimes even in the opening ?
(If "no idea" sounds too extreme, we can tone it down to "unsure"
or "frustrated at being not 100% sure" of the next move.)

I think the best description is that I can see a large number of moves that look plausible, but have difficulty in efficiently pruning them down to a likely handful that deserve proper consideration.

skydyr wrote:

They say that if you always have an idea where to play (even if it's wrong) you are at least shodan

Well, that's very flattering, but I think I have too many ideas rather than too few.

Bill Spight · **#23**

PeterPeter wrote:

EdLee wrote:

Peter, thanks -- would it be fair to say, maybe often (60%+?) or
even most of the time (80%+?), you have no idea where to play in
the mid-game, and sometimes even in the opening ?
(If "no idea" sounds too extreme, we can tone it down to "unsure"
or "frustrated at being not 100% sure" of the next move.)

I think the best description is that I can see a large number of moves that look plausible, but have difficulty in efficiently pruning them down to a likely handful that deserve proper consideration.

skydyr wrote:

They say that if you always have an idea where to play (even if it's wrong) you are at least shodan

Well, that's very flattering, but I think I have too many ideas rather than too few.

You probably have the right number of ideas for where you are.

What tends to happen is that after a while people go to the other extreme and do not consider enough moves. This is one reason that learning joseki early on is not such a good idea. At your stage, learning to prune bad moves is probably better than learning to make good moves.

Bill Spight · **#24**

PeterPeter wrote:

I am spending too much time on my moves, crawling over each area of the board in turn, saying to myself

Would that be a good place to play? No.
Would that be a good place to play? No.
Would that be a good place to play? Maybe.
Would that be a good place to play? No.
Would that be a good place to play? Probably.
Would that be a good place to play? No.

:oops:

There is a saying the the board has no memory. That is, except for kos and superkos, it does not matter what has happened before, the situation is what it is. It does not matter what plans or hopes that you had, you have to deal with what is.

Well, the board may not have a memory, but you do.

Even in the middle game, the board is starting to gel. You can assess parts of the board and possible moves, and the next move will affect only some of those assessments.

One thing that I learned to do early on was, when I would tenuki, assess the area where I made my last move and consider possible plays around there when play returned to that area. That is one reason that I can play the endgame quickly. I have already thought about it.

In chess, E. A. Znosko-Borovsky recommended taking time at some point to do a thorough analysis of the board, in preparation for making a plan. Such a thorough analysis takes time, and a detailed analysis of a go board may be beyond your abilities right now, but it doesn't hurt to pause a few times during the game for analysis and planning. Honinbo Jowa recommended assessing the board at around moves 30, 50, and 100.

PeterPeter · **#25**

Priorities are constantly shifting, ladder breakers get played... It is a lot to keep track of. I have been caught out a few times after abandoning a group that was fairly safe as it stood, but ended up losing it when a move which I did not mentally connect to the health of the group was played sometime later.

PeterPeter · **#26**

Bill Spight wrote:

This is not a guess the next play problem. It is to prompt discussion. What are some good moves in this position?

These are potentially so instructive, each one could be a separate thread in the Study Group sub-forum.

If only there was a way in the diagram system for the provider of the position to later assign each empty point on the board a score from 1 to 10.

Or how about circles for candidate moves, crosses for wasted moves, and left blank for the 80% of moves inbetween?

Uberdude · **#27**

That first position Bill posted is not a beginner problem (I didn't look at the rest). The first thing to do when presented with a position is to go round the board identifying what's connected to what to form groups and then assessing the status of them. Then you can do things like counting. But with that position there are lots of groups whose status is unclear so the board is very complicated. I would recommend beginners not to create so many interacting weak groups so the game is simpler and easier to formulate a plan. (And yes your opponent may have other ideas but if you settle your groups quickly you can stop the game getting out of hand).

Bill Spight · **#28**

PeterPeter wrote:

Bill Spight wrote:

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O X X . . . . X . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X . X O . . O X O O X X . . . . . . | $$ | X . X X O O . O O O . O . . X , X X . | $$ | . X O O X X O . . . O . . . . X O . . | $$ | . . O . . X X . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O X . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . X X O . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . O . O X X . X X . O X O O . . . | $$ | . . X O . O O X . X . X O . X O O . . | $$ | . . X . . . X O O O X O O . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . . . X . X . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . X . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . O . , . O O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . O . . X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

This is not a guess the next play problem. It is to prompt discussion. What are some good moves in this position?

I'll just have a go at the first one for now, to check I am on the right lines. How many is reasonable? Should I label each move and give reasons?

There are so many possibilities...

The main priorities seem to be:
The big unclaimed area at the bottom;
Protecting the weak black group in the lower right (finding an escape route); and
Attacking the 2 white groups in the upper right (R10 and R14), by separating them.

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bc Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O X X . . C . X . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X . X O . . O X O O X X . . . . . . | $$ | X . X X O O . O O O . O . . X , X X . | $$ | . X O O X X O . . . O . . . . X O . . | $$ | . . O . . X X . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O X . O X . C . . . . . . . C . . | $$ | . . O . . X X O . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . O . O X X . X X . O X O O . . . | $$ | . . X O . O O X . X . X O C X O O C . | $$ | . . X . . . B O O O X O O . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . . . X . X . . | $$ | . . X X . C . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . C . X X C . X . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . O . , . O O | $$ | . . . O . C . . C . . . . . O . . X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

White was Hayashi Gembi, Black was Honinbo Jowa.

It is important to note that the White group on the left is not completely alive yet. It has only about a half eye on the side and could be in trouble if the :bc:

stone escapes. The bottom side is a big place, but there are more exciting places to play now.

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bc Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O X X . . . . X . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X . X O . . O X O O X X . . . . . . | $$ | X . X X O O . O O O . O . . X , X X . | $$ | . X O O X X O . . . O . . . . X O . . | $$ | . . O . . X X . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O X . W X . S . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . X X W . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . O . O X X . X X . O X O O . . . | $$ | . . X O . O O X . X . X O . X O O . . | $$ | . . X . . . B O O O X O O . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . . . X . X . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X S . X . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . O . , . O O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . O . . X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

I have marked with squares the two plays that look bad to me. Both are purely defensive. The play in the center secures life for the Black group, but it looks alive, anyway. There is an obvious eye for the :wc:

stone on the left, and if the other :wc:

stone runs, there is plenty of play. Besides, neither the White group on the left nor the three White stones in the center are yet secure.

As for the play on the right, how does it improve the eye potential for Black? It is a purely defensive play that does not secure life.

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bc Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O X X . 3 1 2 X 4 5 . . . . . . | $$ | . X . X O . . O X O O X X . . . . . . | $$ | X . X X O O . O O O . O . . X , X X . | $$ | . X O O X X O . . . O . . . . X O . . | $$ | . . O . . X X . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O X . O X . . . . . . . . . S . . | $$ | . . O . . X X O . . . . . . X . a . . | $$ | . . . O . O X X . X X . O X O O . . . | $$ | . . X O . O O X . X . X O . X O O . . | $$ | . . X . . . B O O O X O O . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . . . X . X . . | $$ | . . X X . S . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . S . X X . . X . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . O . , . O O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . O . . X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

is a nice idea, to attack the White group. However, as the variation shows, White gets an eye on the top side, anyway.

The one space jump on the left threatens to save the :bc:

stone and maybe kill the White group. The jump on the right looks nice, but it is mostly a running play which does not threaten the White center stones very strongly.

The attachment against the two White stones in the top right is a nice idea, but White can easily give up the two stones now. Besides, "a" looks like a better point for attack. In general, attachments are not so good for attack. The attachment stone may be vulnerable, while a slightly more distant move usually offers fewer options for the opponent.

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bc Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O X X . . . . X . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X . X O . . O X O O X X . . . . . . | $$ | X . X X O O . O O O . O . . X , X X . | $$ | . X O O X X O . . . O . . . . X O . . | $$ | . . O . . X X . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . O X . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . X X O . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . O . O X X . X X . O X O O . . . | $$ | . . X O . O O X . X . X O . X O O C . | $$ | . . X . . . B O O O X O O . . . . S . | $$ | . . . O . . S . . . O . . . X . X . . | $$ | . . X X . C . . . . . . S O . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . C . X X . . X . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . O . , . O O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . O . . X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Now the squares are three plays that I would think about. They are close to moves that you considered.

You can compare the plays and see what you think.

Here is the game itself.

Yes, as a problem it is difficult. But, as I said, I was not presenting it as a problem, but as something to discuss. I am pleased with PeterPeter's ideas. A couple of them I think are mistakes, but he identified good regions to play in. That is the most important thing. Next is to find the right play in the right area.

daal · **#29**

My thoughts on some of the board positions presented by Bill..

1. Since the marked groups are all not yet alive, I would like to make black alive while at the same time threatening one of the weak white groups.

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X O X X . . . . X . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X . X O . . O X O O X X . . . . . . | $$ | X . X X O O . O Q O . O . . X , X X . | $$ | . X O O X X O . . . O . . . . X O . . | $$ | . . O . . X X . . a . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . Q X . O X . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . X Y O . . . . . . X . . . . | $$ | . . . O . O X X . X X . O X O O . . . | $$ | . . X O . O O X . X . X O . X O O . . | $$ | . . X . . . X O O O X O O . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . O . . . X . X . . | $$ | . . X X . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X . . X . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . O O X . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . . O . , . O O | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . . O . . X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

2. First of all, that moyo looks huge. I count that black has about 60 points, so that moyo will need to be reduced. Next, my eye goes to the two triangled groups. Neither are all the way alive, but I think they could both manage if pressured. Nonetheless, a move at "a" would also allow black to pressure the two circled stones, which might help black get into that huge white moyo.

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . O O X X . X X X X X X . . . O X . . | $$ | . . . O X X O O X O O . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . O . X O . O X O . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . O O O O . O . O . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . X O X . X . . O . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . X Y X . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . W , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . | $$ | . . . . . . X . W . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . a . . . O . . . . . . | $$ | . . O O Q O O O X O . X . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X X X O X . O . . . . . O . . . | $$ | . . X X . O X X X X . X O O . , O O . | $$ | . . X . X O O . . . . X . . . X O X . | $$ | . . . X O . . . X O . . X O X . X X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

3. Is the circled group alive? I can't really imagine letting it die if it isn't, so figuring that out seems to be a priority... Other than that, the two triangled groups are not alive, so it would be nice to help one while hurting the other. I'm looking at something around "a", which also serves to pressure the corner and speaks to the squared stones.

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . O O . . . . | $$ | . . . , a . . . . , . # O . O , X . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . X O O X X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . Q X . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . | $$ | . O . X X . . Y X X . O X X . . . . . | $$ | . . . X X X . X O X O . X O O O . . . | $$ | . O . O X O O O O O O . . X O . O . . | $$ | . O . O X O X . X X X . . X O O X . . | $$ | . X X X O O O . X O . . X . X O X . . | $$ | . . . B O . X X . O . . . X . X O O . | $$ | X O . X O . . . . . . . . . X X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

4. "a" doesn't work, so I want to play "b" to help the marked group - hopefully by killing the white group.

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X O X . | $$ | . . . . . O . X . O . . . . O O O X . | $$ | . . . O . O . . X O . . . O . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . X . . . . . O O X . . | $$ | . . . . . . X X . . . . X O O X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . O . O . X O . X a . . . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . . X O O O X O O O . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . X . O X O O X X . . | $$ | . . . X O . . . . . . . X X O Y X X . | $$ | . . . X . . . . . X . . X . X X O . . | $$ | . . . . X O . . . . . . . X O . Q . . | $$ | . . . X O . O . . . . . . O O . . O . | $$ | . . . . O . . . X X . . b X . X . X . | $$ | . . X , . . X . X O . O . O X , . . . | $$ | . . . X O . . O X O . . . O O X . . . | $$ | . . . . O . . . O . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

5. For black to keep an attack alive against the white groups, his marked group needs some more liberties. I'd start there.

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . O . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . X O . O X . . . O X O . . . . . . . | $$ | . O X O O X . X X X X X X . X . . . . | $$ | . . X X X O . . . O X O . . . , X . . | $$ | . . X . O O O X X O O . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . X . X . O O X . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . O O . . . O . . X . O X . . . . . . | $$ | . X O O . . . . O . Q . . . . . X . . | $$ | X . X O . . . . . . O X X . . . . . . | $$ | . X O O . . a X X Y X O . X . , O . . | $$ | . . X . . . . O O X O Q . O O . . . . | $$ | . X . . . . . X O O X O . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

6. Is the marked white group alive? Can it be killed? I'd try. (if it is alive, black has about 60 pts, and white about 20 plus the moyo - can it be reduced to less than 40? Or perhaps a move around "b" is enough for b?

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X X O . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . X O . O . . . . . O . . O O X . . | $$ | . . X O . . . . . O . . . O . X . . . | $$ | . . X O . . . . . . . X . O . . . . . | $$ | . X O . . . . . . O . . . O X X X . . | $$ | . X O . . . . . . . X . X O X O O . . | $$ | . . X O . . . . O . . . X X Q . . a . | $$ | . . . . . . . . O X . . . O O O . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . X . . . O X X O O . | $$ | . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . X . O . X . X . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . | $$ | . . X X . X . . . . . . O . . . X O . | $$ | . . X O . . X X X X . . . . X X O O . | $$ | . . X O O . O X O O X X O . X O . O . | $$ | . . . X . O . O . O O X . . X O O X . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

7. The marked group is in trouble. The best chance seems to be to enclose white - threatening to make an eye on the side, and if white prevents it by playing at "b", to try to get a ko by following with black c, white d, black e.

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . . . O X O O . . | $$ | . . X O O O . . . . . . . O X X O . . | $$ | . O X X . . X . . , . . . . . Y O . . | $$ | . O X X O O O . . . . . O O . X O b . | $$ | . O O O X X . . . . . . . X X . X . . | $$ | . X X X O X . . . . . O . . . . X a . | $$ | . X . O O X . . . . . O . X X . c O e | $$ | . X O . . . . . . . . O X X O O d . . | $$ | . . . , . . . . . , X X O O X O O O . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . X O . . X X O . O | $$ | . . . . . . . . . O X O . O . X X O . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . X O O . . . O X X . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . X . . O . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X O . X . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . , . X O X . , X . . | $$ | . . . . . X . . . . X . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

Bill Spight · **#30**

@ daal

Black to play

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Black to play $$ --------------------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . . O . . . . . . . . . O O . . . . | $$ | . . . , a . . . . , . B O . O , X . . | $$ | . . X . . . . . . . . X O O X X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O X . . . . . X . O . . . . . . . | $$ | . . O , . . . . . , . Q X . . , . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . | $$ | . O . X X . . Y X X . O X X . . . . . | $$ | . . . X X X . X O X O . X O O O . . . | $$ | . O . O X O O O O O O . . X O . O . . | $$ | . O . O X O X . X X X . . X O O X . . | $$ | . X X X O O O . X O . . X . X O X . . | $$ | . . . B O . X X . O . . . X . X O O . | $$ | X O . X O . . . . . . . . . X X . . . | $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $$ ---------------------------------------[/go]

There is a miscopy in this diagram in your post. The :bc:

stone is actually Black.

daal · **#31**

Thanks, I edited it. BTW, even if I failed miserably, I think this is a great type of exercise. :tmbup:

PeterPeter · **#32**

This thread has been really helpful in focussing my middle-game play on potentially vulnerable groups, and attacking them. Thanks all! :tmbup:

Phoenix · **#33**

PeterPeter wrote:

This thread has been really helpful in focussing my middle-game play on potentially vulnerable groups, and attacking them. Thanks all! :tmbup:

Remember to watch for your own stones. It's easy to attack a weak group and find yourself on the defensive ten moves later. Always plan ahead. :mrgreen:

Mef · **#34**

There are a lot of good answers and good discussions going on. Just to throw one more idea into the mix, a saying I heard somewhere and have found useful - Only play moves you can name.

It might seem strange at first, but there's a certain logic to it. If you can name the move, it's something you have seen before and are familiar with. If you can properly describe the move you know what you are trying to accomplish with it. Perhaps an example will help. this is slightly artificial, but a similar position came up in a game I was review recently:

Awkward shape

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$B Awkward shape $$ ------------------------- $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . $$ | . . . O . . O O O X . . $$ | . . . , . . . . B X . . $$ | . . . . . b a . . . . . $$ | . . . . . 1 . . . . . . $$ | . . . . . . . . . . . .[/go]

was a move that had been played along the edge of two frameworks trying to expand. But the shape relationship between :b1:

and

is an awkward one. I don't know how to describe it and I'm pretty sure the person playing black didn't either (=

Now a move at 'a' on the other hand would feel natural, and is easy to describe (knight's move!). Being familiar with a knight's move you would know how relatively connected it is to :bc:

, you would know common cuts to watch out for, and maybe that a ladder to the lower right corner might come into play later. Similarly, you could look at 'b' and it would be a familiar large knight's move. You would know that this is a larger, looser expanding move, can be more easily cut with move at 'a', and that perhaps could be used for a sacrifice or redirection strategy. Coming back to :b1:

you don't quite have that same familiarity. Similarly, the fact that there isn't a common shape name for it might suggest it doesn't solve a lot of common problems.

Now this can be applied for both tactics and strategy, but at the end of the day it helps specifically if you can put what you are doing into words (Name your move) -

Common Tactics: Hane, connect, one space jump, knight's move, diagonal move, eye-stealing tesuji, shoulder hit, cutting at the waist, etc, etc

Common strategic aims - Wedging, reducing, splitting, etc

skydyr · **#35**

Mef wrote:

There are a lot of good answers and good discussions going on. Just to throw one more idea into the mix, a saying I heard somewhere and have found useful - Only play moves you can name.

It might seem strange at first, but there's a certain logic to it. If you can name the move, it's something you have seen before and are familiar with. If you can properly describe the move you know what you are trying to accomplish with it.

Just make sure it's not a bad name, like "broken shape" or "empty triangle". :-D

EdLee · **#36**

Quote:

Only play moves you can name.

I've never heard that and I respectfully disagree -- I think it's terrible advice.

If nothing else, that's the start of yet another bad habit, mental block (and we all develop enough of those as it is.)

Go is FREE. That's the correct direction, not the other ways --
"Only play such moves...", "Never play such other moves..."

(I'm under the impression that not long ago, the top Japanese Go schools (like the Honinbo)
would forbid certain moves in the opening, like the star point.
This was their understanding [*cough-dogma* for a few hundreds years?];
until people like Go Seigen, Kitani changed it.)

Twitchy Go · **#37**

Mef wrote:

Only play moves you can name.

This feels wrong to me also. As a maxim at least. If we treat it like a go proverb I might be able to accept it. After all, an empty triangle is bad....until it isn't. A one-point jump is never bad...until it is. And A ponnuki is worth thirty points....except when it isn't.

Likewise, standard hanegama(which are likely moves with names) usually work. But if your reading tells you this crazy move works better go for it. :cool:

http://senseis.xmp.net/?GoProverbs

billywoods · **#38**

EdLee wrote:

that's the start of yet another bad habit

There are bad habits that keep you stuck at 20 kyu, and there are bad habits that can see you through to 5 dan. I think Mef's 'bad advice' would not have served me particularly badly up to now.

It's pedagogically sound, too; mathematics is free, but try teaching it to schoolchildren (or even university students) like that, and you'll be met with "yes, yes, but what do I do?".

golem7 · **#39**

billywoods wrote:

EdLee wrote:

that's the start of yet another bad habit

There are bad habits that keep you stuck at 20 kyu, and there are bad habits that can see you through to 5 dan. I think Mef's 'bad advice' would not have served me particularly badly up to now.

It's pedagogically sound, too; mathematics is free, but try teaching it to schoolchildren (or even university students) like that, and you'll be met with "yes, yes, but what do I do?".

I definitely have to agree with ed here. Getting stronger is all about reading deeper but also reading wider (that is considering more moves). Of course, proverbs (pruning) help, but only to a certain point. You definitely have to unlearn rules and learn to consider unlikely moves or else 5d will stay far far away. Maybe one could even argue that you pass the border to master (dan) level when you start questioning established guidelines and begin to think creatively for yourself (backed up by solid reading, of course).

As for the original question, one of my own guidelines: always play moves that have a clear purpose or follow-up (defend/attack/take territory/build influence/cut/connect)! The more purposes you can combine in one move, the better. And try to read as deep as you can if you can really achieve your goals. Of course, you have to evaluate the varying degrees of effects on different areas of the board, too. No one said it was going to be easy

snorri · **#40**

Lots of good ideas. I think that for beginners, Bruce Wilcox's rules (in Go Dojo and Easy Go) are useful. Not to be followed religiously, but I think that beginners leave positions which are tactically unstable alone for too long but at the same time tenuki too little, so watching liberties is important and will pay off later.

Also, his concept of sector lines is pretty powerful. It's a good way to get you looking at the whole board and also a way to avoid being surrounded by surprise.

In Michael Redmond's ABCs of Attack and Defense, the main rules fall into cutting/connecting and escaping/surrounding.

The only other thing I'd recommend for a beginner is to spend some time looking at where your opponent wants to play. You have to learn to do this while simultaneously not being greedy.

Hmm. Go is hard...

Where should a beginner look for moves?

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